Umang Agarwal is the Managing Director and Founder of Millennia Global, a subsidiary of MS Group, and Director of MS Group Nepal. Millennia Global deals in international FMCG and consumer durables trade where they have partnered with various international brands for distribution within the Nepali market. Within a span of three years, Millennia Global’s products and services have reached over 35,000 outlets in Nepal.
MS Group has interests in diverse fields such as manufacturing (steel, sugar and yarn), international trade, banking, insurance, real estate, hotels, hydropower, etc. MS Group accounts for 7.8% of the total exports of Nepal and provides employment to over 8,500 people.
Agarwal has a degree in Economics Honours from the University of Manchester and Masters in Management from Imperial College London. He is also the designated Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guatemala in Nepal and is one of the youngest in the world to hold the position. Besides business, he is fond of playing tennis and used to DJ back in his university days.
In this edition of Business 360, he shares his pick of top brands and what he has learnt from some of them.
Top 4 apps that you use
LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Outlook and Apple Music
3 destinations within Nepal you want to travel to
Mustang, EBC and Ilam
Women-run businesses you think deserve recognition
Makkuse and Vegan Dairy Nepal
An entrepreneur who inspires you
This answer may seem redundant but it’s my father, Sumit Kumar Agarwal. He has changed the outlook of how I perceive business and I still feel I haven’t learnt enough from him. One can study in the best business schools around the world but the knowledge you get from your father and other family members is priceless.
A non-profit you want to contribute to
Shakti- The Empathy Project, which is an amazing non-profit run by my sister in India.
The best work advice you have received
My great grand-father used to say, ‘Never build a well in the summer because there are many who do that; build a well in the winter, because there aren’t many who do that’. And that is something that our company has been following since its inception, getting into those businesses when Nepal wasn’t even ready for them. Taking calculated risks is an adrenaline rush to us.
If you could change ONE thing about the present entrepreneurial scene in Nepal, what would that be?
Nothing to be honest. The kind of aspirations business people and entrepreneurs in Nepal carry are amazing.
Who among the Nepali influencers do you want to work with?
Prabal Gurung. I would love to collaborate with Prabal X Hershey’s collection.
3 things patrons can do to promote local businesses
We are sometimes so guided by international brands that we forget local brands and businesses. I think probably the one most important thing patrons can do is to increase their consumption of local products and buy from local businesses.
Startups are important for a country like Nepal because…
Startups in Nepal are shaking established business models and creating new markets. Across all sorts of industries in Nepal, startups threaten to disrupt established businesses. In so doing, these startups act as catalysts for innovation in Nepal’s business ecosystem.
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