Start-ups fight to win over judges at Nepal BootCamp
KATHMANDU, MAY 07 -
The REC@nnect Nepal BootCamp provided the participants an opportunity to have a one-on-one mentorship with local and international investors and entrepreneurs on the second day of the event on Tuesday.
The event, organised by CRDF Global in partnership with the US Department of State, Ace Institute of Management and Microsoft Innovation Centre Nepal, has drawn around 40 tech start-ups from Nepal and 12 countries from the South and Central Asia.
On Tuesday, the partcipants were seen busy pitching their business ideas to the judges after receiving vital tips from the facilitators, including eminent Nepali entrepreneurs Sanjib Raj Bhandari, chief executive officer of Mercantile, and Vidhan Rana, founder and managing partner of Biruwa Ventures.
“The event has turned out to be very supportive for entrepreneurs as it deals with crucial issues such as business model, market research and fixing market strategy,” said Aizhan Julanova, an entrepreneur from Kazakhstan. She added that the event has also turned into a platform to catch up with young and innovative minds and to explore new dimensions. Of the 40 entrepreneurs, the top 10 startups will pitch their ideas to potential investors and the wider entrepreneurial community at a programme on Wednesday. Other start-ups will also showcase their products to the investors and guests on the event’s final day. The first three start-ups will receive cash prize of $3,000, an iPad and an iPad mini respectively.
According to Ovidiu Bujorean, senior manager, Entrepreneurship and Innovation at CRDF Global, the prime objective of the event is to find out entrepreneurs and that they aim to continue with similar other endeavours in the days to come.
Likewise, Allen Bailochan Tuladhar, country director Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal, said that the start-ups are being groomed by 30 seasoned entrepreneurs. “For start-ups, in the filed of information and technology, have a similar level-playing field compared to the entrepreneurs of the developed countries,” said Tuladhar. “This kind of initiatives allow our youths to take to the global arena while remaining in the country.”
The three-day event has 20 Nepali tech entrepreneurs and the equivalent number of start-ups from 12 countries in South and Central Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
