Shabda Gyawali's Blog

Lets privatize the public toilets........................................... What sucks?

Kudos to Mr. Radesh Pant for accepting the career denting challenge of heading the Nepal Investment Board (NIB). I hope under his leadership,NIB will lure in lots of much needed FDI in the country. Mr Pant knows it well that he is going to face significant domestic challenges like militant labour, extortion, local opposition, arbitrary government policies, red tape, corruption, power cuts, bandas etc . I am confident that he and his team is competent enough to acclimatize/ face these never ending domestic challenges .In my opinion, in the coming year,the bigger concern for NIB will be the uncertainly in the global macro economic situation.......................... "According to a 2010 Central Bureau of Statistics survey, there were 1,897 firms operating with foreign investment from 139 countries. India had the largest investment in Nepal with 393 companies, followed by China with 179, Japan 132, South Korea 94, UK 94, Germany 61 and Switzerland 27." click here to read more N...

Marred by the fiscal austerity and debt deflating initiatives western countries are pivoting their "foreign aid" distributing mechanism. According to a recent article published in the Financial Times , UK will try Sovereign Wealth Fund model to distribute aid in India. Which basically means the United Kingdom's Government will start investing rather then giving "grants" and other kind of free/subsided money to resolve pressing social and environmental challenges in the developing countries.These investments are expected to make financial returns to the UK taxpayers. If this model is successful in India UK government has plans to replicate this investment,rather then aid model to other foreign aid recipient country ...... USAID has also started a similar kind of "impact investing"model.....one of the many initiatives of USAID is its recent partnership with -JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundati...

Since the inception of the Youth Self-Employment Programme,"consultants" have charged development organizations thousands of dollars to conduct diagnosis and give a third party accreditation to the program. The glossy annual reports of various development organizations proudly claims that -Youth Self-Employment Programme is the solution to ignite entrepreneurial cultural and generate self employed jobs for the youths in the country. Despite of the lofty claims,the "real" performance of the program has been extremely unsatisfactory - " Although the government targeted to employ 50,000 individuals through the Youth Self-Employment Programme (YSEP) this fiscal year, the progress so far has been disappointing, with just 1,842 employed. " ( Kathmandu Post, Dec 20) SO what Sucks? What is not working ? " The fund has so far provided bulk loans worth Rs 330 million through 28 Banking and Financial Institutions and cooperatives out of its total app...

Need to showoff a little bit..Was lucky enough to interact with JED EMERSON..Thanks to Professor PAUL HUDNUT...

I personally feel bit frustrated when Nepal is not mentioned or considered as a potential market for Impact Investing activities in glossy impact investing reports .....................For CRYING out load, Nepal is if not the poorest, one of the poorest countries in ASIA........ Our people also have strong entrepreneurial spirit and YES we also believe that it is entrepreneurship and investments not AID that leads to Economic Development ............ Asian Development Bank came out with a report called " Impact Investors in Asia Characteristics and Preferences for Investing in Social Enterprises in Asia and the Pacific" Yes What Nepal is not even mentioned ............................................... Some time it makes me wonder if impact investment is also about " Trophy Investments" and they don't want to take risk ??

Recently read a news about how .... " 1,300 chickens and 200 ducks at Manohara Landless Squatters´ Settlement have been destroyed on the suspicion of bird flu.".... These birds were destroyed as per the government decision............ Kudos to rarely experienced proactive effort of the Government of Nepal to tame this dangerous endemic .........In my impact investing mode ,r eading this article few questions and thought came crossed my mind.. 1,300 chickens and 200 ducks had a lot of financial value. What are the implication of destroying the 1500 birds ? These birds might have been the financial asset of many low income people ... Did the Government announced any compensation package to those who suffered the financial loss ? Nepal Insurance Board need to put there act together and promote micro insurance among the low income people. M icro insurance coverage for livestock ( is chicken considered livestoc k) can help low income people to hedge there ri...