We believe in strong integrity, being professional and accountable

Sabin Nepal is the Operating Manager of Purpose 1st, a business advisory firm that works with entrepreneurs and their firms at micro, start-up, small and medium levels. Purpose 1st also specialises in training programs on topics such as financial literacy, business literacy, supply chain management, negotiation, marketing and sales.

What are your primary responsibilities as a training institute?

As a training institute specialising in Financial/Business Literacy and Management related issues, Purpose 1st’s primary responsibilities would be to provide customised quality trainings for our clients, as per their specific requirements in these areas. Going a step further, assuring the clients of the practicality of the training so that it is immediately applicable is another primary responsibility of ours as a training institute.

When did you realise the market need for training institutes?

I have been working in the field of trainings for almost 10 years now. Looking back I realised that there were less professional opportunities, organisations and entrepreneurial movements and of course, less accessibility for exposure to new ideas hence less social awareness. Life was stable. You could easily get good jobs based on just your educational credentials, any other extra skills acquired through training was optional. But in the last five years things have changed. Educational markers do help giving you an entry point but success in your profession is now very much dependent on your ability to continuously learn and adapt to the fast changing and complex world. For this, one needs continuous updating of one’s knowledge and skills so that s/he can adapt easily in the surrounding context. This is where a training institute can significantly help.

Do you seek out clients or wait for them to come to you?

I do make sure that I pay visits to potential clients whom I see as benefitting immensely from the trainings that we specialise in. But yes, clients also do come to us.

What is the public perception towards training? Are people more interested in learning about financial literacy and getting support for their startups than they were before?

Over the last few years, public perception has changed quite a lot towards training. As I mentioned earlier, I have been in this field for the last 10 years. There was a time when most organisations and professional settings who conducted trainings for their staff or sent them for trainings was considered a luxury. Now trainings are a necessity if an organisation wants to raise the capacity of their staff for better performance. People are more interested in learning about financial literacy and getting support for their startups than they were before because many organisations/ businesses have come to realise that a strong and healthy financial system is one of the foundational layers that sustains a business in the long run.

Have you noticed any harmful trends or practices in Nepal’s business culture?

I find the lack of good financial foundation or not giving enough importance to having good financial management as a harmful trend in Nepal’s business. Due to which many good business partnerships become bitter or entrepreneurial startups get gradually frazzled. There are others issues too, but this was one of the reasons that led us to focus specifically on financial/business literacy apart from providing trainings on other management related issues.

Does your agency have any goals towards the betterment of the community?

Certainly, our firm is named Purpose 1st for two reasons:

• When working with clients, we always puts the purpose of our clients to the front
• Our own purpose is to help clients be successful at what they do.

This I think should sum up as to how we contribute towards the betterment of any community we work with.

What are your ethics and values?

We believe in strong integrity, being professional and accountable. We also believe in having strong work ethics that encompass a positive and productive approach to work.

In which areas do you believe there is potential for entrepreneurship in the near future?

We  believe that there is scope of entrepreneurship in any area where the entrepreneur comes up with an idea to reduce the pain points of a large number of potential customers.