FNCCI-backed investment company to invest in startups

KATHMANDU: Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Chandra Prasad Dhakal has said that startups and small entrepreneurs can seek investments from the Investment Company that the FNCCI has established. 

Dhakal mentioned this while delivering his speech at the inaugural session of Startup Nation 2030, held on Wednesday, in Kathmandu.

The Investment Company, with a capital of Rs 10 billion, was established on the initiative of the FNCCI, Dhakal said. However, it will be operated independently and any investor can invest in the company, Dhakal clarified. 

Dhakal added that to boost the economy, along with foreign direct investment, we can also tap into the funds of small investors spread across the country who want to invest in an industry or business. However, since the funds are small when taken individually, we need to pool all their money to form a large fund, he stated.

Dhakal said that this large fund then can be used to invest in bigger development projects that the country requires. The fund can also be used to invest in state-owned industries that have remained shut for years. Not only will this help in industrialisation but also help in generating employment within the country, Dhakal said. 

The FNCCI President also stated that the budget started allocating funds for startup programmes nearly a decade ago but it was only recently that startups were formally defined. Just four months ago, a legal definition of startups was included in the Industrial Business Act, one of the eight laws amended during the investment summit, Dhakal informed. 

Subsequently, the Startup Policy was passed, said Dhakal, expressing his delight that the FNCCI had presented the first draft of this policy to the government.

He also said that to facilitate startups and new entrepreneurs, we need to establish incubation and innovation centres to assist young people. As an initial step, the FNCCI, in collaboration with the Sudurpashchim Provincial Government and Kailali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has begun the process of establishing an incubation centre, Dhakal informed. He urged both the federal and provincial governments to collaborate in this endeavour.

President Dhakal also mentioned that the FNCCI has a presence in all 77 districts and even in municipalities, totalling 123 locations. He said the umbrella organisation of the private sector has offices in all provinces and possesses the capacity to drive this initiative forward. Therefore, we are capable of establishing these centres in collaboration with the provincial governments, he added. 

We also aim to establish a centre at the FNCCI central office, he informed. 

The Startup Nation programme is organised by the Government of Nepal, the FNCCI, along with the Industrial Business Development Centre, the University Grants Commission, ICIMOD, and PUM Netherlands.