Government to promote women entrepreneurs

KATHMANDU, MAR 9: 

Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai said that the government will accord top priority to investment by women in the investment year. "Developing women entrepreneurship will be the key agenda for Nepal Investment Year," he said at an International Women's Day celebration jointly organised by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Associations of Nepal (FWEAN) today. 

The government has been working on ways to attract investment through women and to make them entrepreneurs, 

he said, adding that the new industrial policy and the investment year will help boost that concept in the coming days. "The government will promote women entrepreneurship by adopting a positive discrimination policy," he assured. 

Earlier, vice president of FNCCI Bhawani Rana had urged the government to announce fiscal year 2012-13 as Women Entrepreneurship Year along with Investment Year. "Nepali women need motivation to attract them towards entrepreneurship, so the announcement of the Women Entrepreneurship Year could be an advantage," she said.

President of FWEAN Chhaya Sharma urged the government to include women in the country's investment and entrepreneurship strategies. "The government must start motivation packages for women from the Women Entrepreneurship Development Fund," she said. The industrial policy adopted two years ago envisioned the fund but it has not started work yet. 

Women entrepreneurs and activists asked the government to provide land for handicraft villages in the five development regions of the nation. "Handicraft is mainly a woman's business, so the government should support it," said Sharma. 

Indian entrepreneur Mukta Nandini Jain explained about women entrepreneurship in the 21st century. She said that developing entrepreneurship is like rearing children for women. "Therefore, their involvement in businesses will lead the country towards prosperity," she added. 

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry senior vice president Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar urged the government to start facilitating women entrepreneurs to motivate them to start businesses. A planned promotional campaign will help develop women entrepreneurship in the country, he said.

Source: THT