Nomination process on for top 10 entrepreneurs

KATHMANDU, MAR 24 -

Fulmaya Tamang, an entrepreneur from Kavrepala-nchok district, is among the 10 people nominated for the annual Asha Social Entrepreneurship Awards that recognises individual efforts in bring social change.

An entrepreneur associated with Bhattedanda Women’s Agriculture Cooperative, Tamang has been working to uplift living conditions of poor women in the area.

She started her work some 11 years ago by organising 20 women to collect Rs 50 per month each for informal savings account. She braved initial criticism from the community people to expand her cooperative, which now has 400 members.

The cooperative has been providing loans at low interest particularly to the women for livestock and vegetable farming. The cooperative, under the revolving fund scheme, has introduced ‘one buffalo, one child education’ programme that allows the earning from a buffalo is spent for educating a child of the family. Tamang has

also planned to expand the service in health service by establishing a health clinic in the village.

 Dipak Prasad Koirala, another nominee from Sindhuli has been operating Junar Cooperatives. It focuses on improving the socio-economic standards of farmers cultivating junar, developing and extending market networks of junar products and shares technical and administrative know-how with the farmers. The cooperative currently operates as an umbrella organisation, representing 7,500 households, 48 local cooperatives, two district level cooperatives.

 Likewise, Madhukar KC who hails from Pyuthan district has invented a patented air-flow cover for wood fire stoves and started manufacturing such stoves. With this effort, he has helped reduce cooking time by up to 60 percent and consequently the number of cases related to respiratory diseases among the people. KC is a proposed finalist for the award.

 A total of 119 nominees were selected in the preliminary round of the awards, of which 10 finalists are being assessed for the final round. Surya Nepal, the organisers of the awards, will honour five outstanding individuals as a social entrepreneur for their achievement at a ceremony on March 28.

Source: The Kathmandu Post