social entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship in Nepal

Did you know that Nepal has more than fifty thousand NGOs?

That’s almost one NGO to help less than 600 people. But can all these NGOs solve the numerous social and economic problems of the masses? If they could, they probably would have done it. As non-profit generating entities, NGOs are highly dependent on donations and grants and that is where social entrepreneurship in Nepal will play a huge role. The scalability of the NGO is a major problem and therefore it ends up doing much less than it could have done.

social entrepreneurship

The solution?

Generate profits while solving social problems!

Social Entrepreneurship is probably the best way to solve social, climate, environmental, or basically any kind of problem that persists in the world. Problems like hunger, poverty, nutrition inefficiency have been solved largely by innovative social entrepreneurs all around the world. Our country remains one of the poorest countries in the world and it is difficult to make things right with just money-making ventures or non-profit organizations.

“Social Entrepreneurship is everything that lies between a Charity and Commerce.”

Social Entrepreneurs use creativity and innovation to smartly solve big and persisting problems. They design business models that are scalable and carry the potential to solve the problems at a large level. There are businesses already working on such solutions throughout the world. Many African countries and even Bangladesh has benefitted tremendously with the power of Social Entrepreneurship.

For a better understanding of the concept, let me tell you about my favorite social entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS. On a tour to Argentina, he found out that most of the children in that area do not have access to shoes and although there was an NGO working to tackle that problem, they never had enough funds.

That is when he started TOMS Shoes with a One-for-one business model, which means for every shoe they sell, they will give one pair to the needy children. This was a huge success immediately and they still continue to be in profit after all these years.

What are the benefits of being a Social Entrepreneur?

  1.  You will have a story to build your brand about. A handbag company that provides for orphan kids with school bags is definitely more attractive than the one who simply sells handbags.                                                                    
  2. You will attract employees who are dedicated to your mission and therefore will work hard for you to achieve it. Employee retention rate will be much higher.                                                                    
  3. Your customer acquisition strategy will work like magic. You will attract loyal customers who will keep coming back to you because then they will be helping other needy ones too.                    
  4. You will get higher media coverage than you would do with just another commercial venture multiplying your brand identity.                                                              
  5. Word of mouth will be very active in your brand promotion.                                          
  6. Most of all, you will not be just another money-making machine, you will have a greater sense of achievement and success.

 

“An entrepreneur creates a company, a social entrepreneur creates a movement”

Therefore in backward nations like Nepal, this is the most effective form of entrepreneurship since this will help in economic development, social upliftment, generation of employment as well as our own personal as well as organizational growth.

The need of social entrepreneurship in Nepal is inevitable and must be empowered at all costs. To understand more about social entrepreneurship I advise you to read about the establishment of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus and the story of Charity Water by Scott Harrison. There are a number of free courses/content available on the internet to learn social entrepreneurship. Try Coursera they have the best ones.

Next Up

investment for your startup in nepal

How to get Investment for your startup in Nepal?

Funding and investment is the biggest problem entrepreneurs face in Nepal. This blog lists down the ways you can fund your startup from. It also includes an Interview with Sixit Bhatta, CEO and Co-founder, Tootle.

Liked it? Share with your friends.

1 thought on “Social Entrepreneurship in Nepal”

  1. Pingback: Books for aspiring entrepreneurs(and the successful ones)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *