Shabda Gyawali's Blog

For the past couple of weeks,I have been helping an impact investing fund to write its investment prospectus.I have been doing quit a lot of research on the  potential of  Nepali bottom of the pyramid market  particularly in the sectors like internet connectivity,healthcare,water and sanitation, culture ,education and  education ....... Despite lot of potential,current market is very fragmented and due to the difficultly  of geographic  terrains, managing distributions channels is  challenging .... It is  inevitable for both  domestic and international investors  to  be successfully in Nepal without addressing the  hurdles like achieving economies of scale, weak distributions channels,consistent quality of the product and weak infrastructure   like roads,energy,internet .... to add to that  very idea of entrepren...

Interesting  conversation on private equity investments in education.....

learnt about  - Cotton Mill (Nepal) . ....... you guys should check it out and buys their  products ...... Products are  Hand Made in Nepal .......... I have not done much research  on  their business model , however I am hoping that  success of  the  business leads to hiring of more and more craftsmen and artisans .... I also hope Cotton Mill (Nepal) gets an international market and help our country's export market.... Just a thought: one of their  product  is -  Wine Bottle Gift Wrap------ so may be Cotton Mill (Nepal) should tie- up with Nepali wine manufacturers like  Hinwa or others .....

" Indian hospitality chain Oberoi Hotels Pvt Ltd has sold its entire 6.84 per cent stake in Nepal’s Soaltee Hotel Ltd to Sibkrim Land and Industrial Company Pvt Ltd, for a consideration of $1.68 million, the company has said in a statement. A total of 14,924,063 shares owned by Oberoi Hotels were transferred at Rs 140 per unit. Khaitan & Co LLP was the official advisor for Oberoi Hotels. While Soaltee Enterprises owns the largest stake in Soaltee Hotel, Nepal Airlines Corporation holds 12 per cent stake and Holiday Inn Investment Nepal, a subsidiary of Holiday Inn, has around 10 per cent stake. Soaltee posted a profit of around Rs 110 million during FY2010-2011 and currently employees 700 people."  Source : Vccircle.com

Lazy  days  watch  moved to movies but till managed to read First few pages of -  Accelerating Inclusive Business Opportunities ," identifies seven inclusive business models that expand access to goods, services, and livelihood opportunities for the world’s poorest people while generating strong financial returns. These models are helping companies turn underserved populations into dynamic consumer markets and diverse new sources of supply. In the process, companies are developing product, service, and business model innovations with the potential to tip the scales of competitive advantage in more established markets as well. This report summarizes and analyzes patterns in the solutions companies with inclusive business models are using to succeed. Source:  Click here to read  An article published in current Business Today ( India)  -  Name of the Article is  Rural Marketing  -  Spreading  light. Click here to read  ...

CLEAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL Energy to base of economic  pyramid Click here to read 

Very excited to learn about one of the very few Impact investing funds operating in Nepal............... If you are a  social entrepreneur working in Nepal  and  looking for external financing - The Dolma Development fund is interested in   going over your business plan .....    " The Dolma Development Fund was founded in 2003 as a non-profit impact investor, education sponsor and development advisor. Our mission is to use commercially sustainable methods where possible to alleviate poverty in remote areas, currently in Nepal and Ethiopia. We provide both financing and advice to local projects and businesses that have a positive social and environmental impact in their DNA, and we reinvest any returns into education and other support for our partner communities. In this way our capital is essentially  recycled  and used multiple times for good."  source: click here to read  http://www.dolmafund.org/...

Current  Situation - Current slum inhabitants in Kathmandu - 50,000 Total number of   slum households -  2,763 . The number of squatter settlements has grown from 17 in 1985 to 63 today. Below the Bagmati Bridge, there are more than 310 households in what is supposed to be 'UN Park', although it has nothing to do with the United Nations. (Source:  Nepali time click here to read more) Average Home Loan intrest rate charged by commercial banks - 14-16 %  "According to government data, nearly 430,000 families live in sub-standard housing in Nepal. The gap between the supply and demand of decent and affordable housing in Nepal is wide. In a rough estimation, about 70,000 new homes per year would need to be built to close the housing gap in Nepal." source:  HABITAT FOR HUMANITY NEPAL Picture source: Nepali times, grey dots show the slum settlements around Kathmandu  Current Solution:" Housing Micro-Fi...

Mr. Dipak Gyawali  talks about collaborative and ground level solution, water politics and many more interesting issues  regarding development ...... The bigger idea/concept what Mr.Gyawali is talking about  reminds me of the "Shared Value Concept" of  Dr. Porter from Harvard.......     Mr. Bill  Drayton, CEO of Ashoka also talks about it .... he calls it " Hybrid Value Chains" " For-profit organizations today have an opportunity to collaborate with citizen-sector organizations (CSOs) on large-scale problems that neither group has been able to solve on its own. The power of such partnerships lies in the complementary strengths of the participants: Businesses offer scale, expertise in manufacturing and operations, and financing. Social entrepreneurs and organizations contribute lower costs, strong social networks, and deep insights into customers and communities. But to work together effectively, they must focus on creating real ...

Ambulance demand in Kathmandu- " According to a study by Patan Hospital, of patients arriving at emergency rooms, only 10% arrive by ambulance. 54% arrive by taxi. only 10% of them arrive by ambulance." Social and economic consequences - " Recent estimates from the Nepal Community Emergency Preparedness Group concluded that Nepal loses about 530,000 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per year to injury. By projecting current trends, injuries are estimated to become the 3rd most common cause of DALY loss in Nepal by 2020, as compared to the 9th most common cause currently." Source: NAS Website , Picture Source: Nepali Times What is Nepal Ambulance Service (NAS) ? " NAS is an independent non-profit initiative which offers ambulances equipped with specialised life-saving equipment and trained emergency medical technicians in Kathmandu and Patan. NAS's dispatch center provides emergency pre-arrival instructions and there are 14 on-cal...

A New Approach to Funding Social Enterprises - click here to read more ( must read more aspiring impact investors ) Firms with benefits - click more to read

So the finance ministry yesterday introduced few measures to reinvigorate the anemic stock market ( lowest level in six years ) . One of the move was - The Government has decided to increase the public awareness about benefits of investing in capital markets in semi urban and other areas in the country, with the hope that investments from non- Kathmaduites will increase liquidity in the market and help the NEPSE to reverse its perpetual trend ..... Looking from a distance, it looks like a very encouraging initiative taken by the government. After all each and every citizen of the country ( rich or poor) should get an opportunity to investment his savings in the stock market ,with a hope that the invested money will generate higher returns in the future..... In the Democratic republic of Nepal an individual should also be free to gauge his own risk appetite and make his own investments decision .....................One can also argue this measure as a "incl...

" The government´s ongoing project, under which jobless youths are receiving unsecured credit, has faced a major roadblock after several banks and financial institutions said they cannot afford to continue giving away collateral-free loans, arguing that it could generate holes in their balance sheets." Click here to read more Should a private public partnership be initiated to inject equity in these small enterprises or should the Government lift the lend rate cap ?