On 26th January 2022, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) in collaboration with Aria Solutions, NIMS College, and Himalayan Bio-Trade Pvt. Ltd (HBTL) organized a National Level Inception Workshop. The workshop was organized as part of the “Co-producing a shock-resilient business ecosystem for women-led enterprises in Nepal” (CREW) project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and led by SIAS in collaboration with Aria Solutions, NIMS College, and HBTL.
Considering the risks of the pandemic, the event was organized virtually and recorded a diverse set of participants. A total of 37 participants representing the government, non-governmental organizations, financial institutions, development projects, product-based commodity associations, women entrepreneurs associations, agriculture private companies, and independent gender experts attended the workshop. The program lasted for two hours in the afternoon from 2 PM to 4 PM.
The workshop aimed to impart information about the project, its objectives, and methodology and garner feedback from the participants for improvement. The first phase involved presentations from the project team about the introduction, objectives, methodology, work packages, and expected outcome. This was followed by rounds of feedback sessions from the attendees.
Dr. Maniram Banjade, Principal Investigator, CREW, introduced the project and shed light on the context behind its initiation. Envisioned in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on women significantly in the area of financial accessibility and entrepreneurial capabilities, the project aims to create a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women in Nepal. It also centralizes climate change-induced stressors and shocks and intends to contribute towards formulating realistic solutions for financially viable and shock-resistant agriculture and forest-based enterprises that support women’s economic self-sufficiency.
The project will be carried out in Dolakha, Ramechhap, and Arghakhachi. Women involved in legume production and cooperatives facilitating these women are the main target groups in Ramechhap followed by vegetable producing women’s cooperatives and groups in Argakhachi and women engaged in wintergreen collection in Dolakha. Dr. Meeta Pradhan, Co-Principal Investigator took the presentation forward with an explanation of the conceptual framework and highlighted the importance of resource, agency, and voice which would capacitate women entrepreneurs in decision making, well being and risk management to attain shock-resilient women-led enterprises.
Mr. Bibhor Kayastha of Aria Solutions addressed the intervention package in detail, focusing on the activities and outcomes associated with the project’s interventions. Additionally, Mr. Khilendra Gurung of HBTL discussed the prospects for women in Dolakha to derive value from wintergreens by expanding their responsibilities beyond collectors.
As the presentations ended, Mr. Netra Timsina, Chairperson, SIAS moderated the further session to collect feedback and comments from the audience. Representatives from the private sector, cooperatives, not-for-profit organizations came forward with their critical suggestions and also expressed their interest in collaboration for the project in different capacities. In the end, Dr. Dil Khatri, Executive Director, SIAS concluded the workshop with his remarks and thanked the participants for their insightful feedback that will be instrumental in improving the project’s implementation and outcome.
Overall, the inception workshop successfully concluded with active participation from a diverse range of attendees. The outcome of the workshop is expected to further open gates of collaboration and enhance the project.
