Launch of BUCSBIN
BUCSBIN was launched among Nepali entrepreneurs, recognized faces from the Nepal’s startup ecosystem, and academicians on August 17, 2017 at Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) right after this year’s Slush Global Impact Accelerator Pitching Competition.
What is BUCSBIN?
BUCSBIN — Building University Capacity to Support Business Incubation in Nepal — is a three year project developed in consortium of Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM), King’ s College, Oulu University of Applied Science, Finland (OAMK Labs), Ideas Studio and YoungInnovations.
The project aims to increase university capacity in Nepal for developing entrepreneurship education and business incubation programming. The project will cover the CIMO Priority Area of promoting employment, livelihoods and well-being in Nepal, which is a priority development country under the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The overall goal of the cooperation is to share knowledge and experience gained through the success of the innovative and award-winning incubator programs — Oamk LABs — established in 2012 at the Oulu University of Applied Sciences.
Panel discussion and introduction to BUCSBIN during the launch
During the launch of BUCSBIN, a panel discussion was held to explore the opportunities and challenges in startup ecosystem in Nepal. To dig deep in it, our esteem panelists — who are involved in the startup scene in Nepal and abroad — shared their experiences, ideas and thoughts that were helpful to understand about current scenario of Nepali startup ecosystem. Our panelists for the day were:
- Mr. Rupesh Krishna Shrestha, Assistant Professor, KUSOM
- Mr. Narottam Aryal, Executive Director, King’s College
- Mr. Amod Rajbhandari, Program Director, Enterprise
- Mr. Blair Stevenson, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Finland
- Dr. Tshering Lama, Chairperson, Ideas Studio
- Mr. Bibhusan Bista, CEO, YoungInnovations (Moderator)
The key takeaways from the panel discussions were:
- In Nepal, we have witnessed gradual shift in the mindset of people towards entrepreneurship. Lately, more people are interested to be entrepreneurs and are willing to take risk. However, sustainability of such entrepreneurial ventures are yet to be assessed to mark their impact on national economy.
- We need to work both on the academic and industry sides to keep the spirit of entrepreneurship alive and pragmatic. On the academic side, educators need to embrace new forms of entrepreneurship education, beyond theoretical rhetoric. Similarly on the industry side, companies need to foster the culture of innovation and intrapreneurship.
- The startup policy environment in Nepal is still in primitive stage. It’s easy to start something in Nepal but difficult to scale it up due to regressive policy regimes like difficulty in accessing international funds, difficulty in hiring international experts, difficulty in international expansion, etc. However, the Government of Nepal have shown signs of hope by at least staring discussion on startup policy and startup funds.
- In countries like Nepal, startup movement and entrepreneurship have a lot to offer in terms of addressing societal need and challenges. If we encourage youths to solve problems faced by the society, both at rural and urban settings and create a business out of that, we are likely to address development challenges of the country as well. This way startup movement is likely to compliment effort towards sustainable development goals (SDGs) and other development interventions directly.
- Although not formalized through proper policies, the investment climate for startups have seen quite a growth in recent times. Startups with ideas, working prototypes and fair bit of traction have the opportunity to reach out to various accelerator, pre-accelerator and incubation programs in the country. These programs not only help them refine their business models but also connect them with various individual and corporate sponsors and investors. However, startups need to be aware that they should be the ones reaching out and taking advantage of such programs.
- When we compare Nepalese startup ecosystem with international ecosystems like that of Finland, there are lot of similarities in terms of ideas, passion and zeal the entrepreneurs bring. The only difference might be the maturity of such ecosystems. For e.g. in Finland, country as a whole including the Government seem to have prioritized this, which might not be the case in Nepal.
- Programs such as BUSCBIN are really needed in Nepal to foster an environment where students have the opportunity to be trained on entrepreneurial mindset by being exposed to international best practices while still at college. At the same time, it creates an opportunities for capacity development of academic sector as well as other ecosystem actors to better serve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nepal.
After the panel discussion, Mr. Kimmo Paajannen, Project Manager for the project, introduced BUCSBIN to the audience.
Visit of team from OAMK Labs
The team from OAMK Labs visited Nepal for the launch of BUCSBIN. The team comprised of:
- Dr. Blair Stevenson, Senior Lecturer — EduLAB / Coordinator, LAB international partnerships Department of Media and Performing Arts, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Finland
- Ms. Ulla-Maija Seppänen, Senior Lecturer, LAB Master, Oulu University of Applied Sciences
- Mr. Kimmo Paajanen, Project Manager, BUCSBIN
- Mr. Janne Karjalainen, Lecturer and Lab Master, Oulu University of Applied Sciences
Also, they visited KUSOM, King’s College and other academicians to share the pre-incubator and incubator program they offer to students and introduce the BUCSBIN project. The team provided their time for Slush Global Impact Accelerator Pitching Competition as mentor and judge.
The startup community in Nepal is also maturing with new companies of various scale being formed each year. The introduction of pre-accelerator, accelerator and business incubator has supported the growth of this community, however more needs to be done. Higher education capacity and infrastructure is still lacking to expand on the role of Higher Education Institutions to support training in fields such as entrepreneurship and technological innovation. This is where BUCSBIN will try to fill in the gap for the prosperity of startup ecosystem of Nepal in coming days.
Coverage in media
http://www.bikashnews.com/2017/08/17/69605.html
http://en.karobardaily.com/news/81666
http://www.newbusinessage.com/Articles/view/6421
