Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Youth and Entrepreneurship

We see around that almost every youngster is complaining about the unemployment, lack of opportunity, insurgency, lack of infrastructure, and so on. Most of them desire to get some lucrative job or settle abroad as soon as they complete their higher education. Least of them think or dare to start a new venture and do something on their own. But youngsters solely cannot be blamed for this situation. We live in the society where from our childhood, we are constantly bombarded with the idea that we should grab a reputed profession like doctor, engineer, government officer or alike on our adulthood. None of the parents inspire their children to become an entrepreneur. They are happy if their child gets some regular income earning job and stick with that throughout their life without getting any chance to explore themselves further, know their ability, search for the opportunities and work on their innovative ideas .We always tend to choose the path carved by our ancestors that is presumed to be safe but lacks the room for creativity.

It’s high time to understand that the sustainable growth of enterprises do help in uplifting the economy of the country. It’s the best way of creating jobs and not letting our talent escape from our country. Some of the major problems like poverty, low living standard, unemployment, etc. can be solved or at least minimized by promoting entrepreneurship. Just we must have the vision to grasp the opportunity and dare to take the risk. But for this, Youngsters need to be encouraged by their friends, family, society and thus country when they start any kind of new entrepreneurial venture. Before that, they need to be educated and create awareness about the concept of entrepreneurship and thus inspire to become an entrepreneur.

Though the concept of entrepreneurship is still struggling to occupy the mind space of the people, it’s really nice to see the increasing number of youngsters taking interest on entrepreneurship. The importance is slowly being recognized. People are waiting chance to create the change and become the part of economic revolution of the country.

Rabindra Puri could have easily spend his life happily with a well paid job at GTZ; but his immense interest on architect did not allow him just to stay there and stare the old buildings pulled down to give an ugly concrete structure. Thus he started to restore the old buildings and monuments without destroying its architecture and associated emotions. His first project was a huge success which was declared as a “Model House” by Bhaktapur municipality. Slowly he moved towards the housing project where he restored old houses and built new ones in a traditional style. Being one of the most successful entrepreneurs of this time, he has proved that if a person believes on his idea and devotes himself for that, success is just going to follow him.

Mr. Amrit Tuladhar, after completing his bachelors and masters degree from USA, came back to do something here in Nepal. After working for 4 years in Himalayan bank, he thought of quitting his regular income earning job and taking his dad’s retail business to online. Thus he introduced “muncha.com” basically derived from Muncha house located at New road. It was the time when internet was out of reach of general public. But he had the clear vision of changing environment and in no time internet access became so common over here. He didn’t stop right there and continuously tried to experiment lots of things from allowing others to sell through him to printing and delivering photos uploaded at the site as per the order. He’s a great source of inspiration to those who think nothing can be done at this place and thus, migrate abroad.

He is just 28 and has conquered Mt. Everest twice. Though his mother is from Belgium, Dawa Steven Sherpa has acquired his genes from his Nepalese father along with whom, he manages “Asian Trekking”; a leading agency for expeditions and trekking in Nepal. He creatively raises money for ecology. The money raised would used in projects to prepare local villages to withstand the effects of climate change. In 2007, he founded the world’s highest bakery at 5350 meters in the Base-camp. He is a successful entrepreneur focused not only in earning money but uplifting the economic as well as the social condition of the country. He has created a new image of Sherpas living around Everest who were only just viewed as guides in previous days.

Born and raised in Nangi, a remote village in the mountainous Myagdi District of western Nepal, Mr. Mahabir Pun spent his childhood grazing cattle, and attending a village school. After graduating from USA, he returned to his native village and thus recognized the critical need for sustainable education. Pun founded the Himanchal High School with a special focus on computer education and other programs with income-generating capacity. Mr. Pun is a social entrepreneur. He started the distance learning and online education services at the rural part of the country. He built a new cultural centre and has developed communication links for yak farmers. His contributions are really appreciable inspiring the young generations of today on indulging on those activities that can change the shape of our country; if not at least that of our community. 

Chetan Bhandari was born in 2033 B.S. At home, he used tuki batti while studying. Today, Mr. Chetan Bhandari holds great pride in introducing himself as the chairman of Baje ko Sekuwa, a famous restaurant chain in the city of Kathmandu. The first few days came as a shock though. On the first day itself, he could not even sell three plates of sekuwa, out of the 3 kgs of meat that he had carried along. It was disappointing but that did not stop him from hoping for the better days. His patience paid off well. Because he was a Brahmin and would always wear traditional Dahura Suruwal, the officials in and around the airport started saying to each other, “tyo bahun baje ko ma sekuwa khaana jaun”. Soon enough, people started calling it, Baje ko sekuwa. It’s one of the most profitable brand at today’s date which is an ultimate example of how a small start can lead to a huge success.

We may not have heard so many success stories of young Entrepreneurs, but those few who have attempted to create a change, to become innovative and to work on their ideas, are the source of inspiration to all the youngsters. Following their footsteps, more Entrepreneurs are likely to born and the number will go on increasing for sure. However, the environment that a nation creates also determines the significant number of Entrepreneurs to be developed and grow. Strong and effective institutions that provide security to the life and property, maintain rule of law, encourage healthy competition and innovation are the basic requirements of Entrepreneurship development. Obviously Nepal lacks such institutions and laws with the minimum infrastructure and haphazard political, legal and economic condition. But just complaining would do nothing. If one dares to come out of the comfort zone and fight against the situation with his new, innovative ideas and strong determination, he is likely to set an example and inspire others to become a successful Entrepreneur.

The condition of the country is not as worse in real as it is in the perception of the people. There are tremendous opportunities waiting for the people to grab them and convert into the successful stories. Not anyone else but young generation should now take this responsibility. Instead of waiting for someone else to create a favorable environment, people need to fight against the existing situation and thus create a better opportunities for themselves and for the new generation. We can still be hopeful that youngsters will choose to be an Entrepreneur to any other options in the very near future.