16-18 February, 2018 (Kathmandu): With a view to promote entrepreneurship for women in Nepal, “Nepal Entrepreneurs’ Hub” (NEHUB) in collaboration with World Vision’s “Nepal Innovation Lab” (NLAB) organized 12th iteration of Startup Weekend titled “Startup Weekend Women, girls and SDGs” at Nepal Innovation Lab Office, Lagankhel. The final event took place on 18th February, Sunday at Alliance Francaise Kathmandu (AFK), Jhamsikhel. The event aimed to provide the platform to female innovators that have targeted solutions for humanitarian and development challenges in the sectors of any of the seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.
Participants paid a fee of Nrs.1500 after selection which included all meal and acquired accommodation expenses during the event. Selected applications received an official confirmation that included questionnaire and details required for the event.
The Startup weekend was an intensive three-day mentoring program designed for startups lasting 54 hours. Surrounded by smart, passionate people and with the best tools and approaches at disposal, taking giant leaps toward creating a business, becoming a founder, and connecting with the right people and resources becomes possible. The startup included specialized talk where the ideas were polished, pivoted with the help of our mentors and team members. At the end of the three days, there was a final pitching session where top teams were selected.
The event was facilitated by Mr. Suman Shakya, Co-founder of NEHUB, and co-organizer of Global Startup Weekend Kathmandu: Women, Girls & SDGs. Friday’s session began with basic warm up and accommodation for the participants.
Following Mr. Shakya’s suit, Mr. Raj Gyawali, Founder of Social Tours and the inspirational speaker for the day, spoke how following one’s passion is a step taken in the ladder of being an entrepreneur. ‘Whatever idea you have, you got to have fun’ in order to turn your ideas into reality. After the inspirational speech of Mr. Raj Gywali, the session continued with an arrival of guest speakers, Ms. Divya Rajput and Mr. Cliff Zintgraff Jr. from Delhi. Ms. Rajput briefed about the ‘South Asia Connect Program’ funded by U.S. Department and encouraged the 50 young women entrepreneurs who have already thought of an idea to take part in a study at Nexus Startup Hub, New Delhi. Later, Mr. Cliff highlighted the program of four days they were openly invited to by Ms.Rajput.
Out of 50 Participants, 47 pitched their ideas and after the popular voting 10 of them were selected, and the participant’s name is:
- Biopad by Vibhustutui Thapa
- Krishi ma Mahila by Uma Subedi
- Help Desk by Nisha Shrestha
- Nanny for your Nani by Aishwarya Pradhan
- Spark by Sadikshya Aryal
- Avacago by Shreeya Sharma
- Bishwasilo Saath by Sheela Bogati
- Rachana by Rakshya Chand
- Saksham by Sneha Shakya
- Flower Power by Priyanka Bhandari
After the selection of top 10 ideas mentoring session was thoroughly conducted where the mentors of the program were: Ben Britton, Abhisekh Dhakal, Alpa Badani Shakya, Sharda Rijal, Pravin Raj Joshi, Rabindra Gautam, Claire Naylor, Shriya Pant, Merina Ranjit, Lorina Sthapit, Abdullah Tuncer Kececi
The finale of the event was held in Alliance Francaise Kathmandu where the Chief Guest of the event was Mr.BirajBahadurBista (Former Honorary State Minister of Science and Technology).
Ten teams with varying business ideas presented their startup idea to the list of judges which included:
- Ms. Raveena Desraj Shrestha, Assistant Deputy CEO, Mega Bank Nepal Ltd
- Mr. Renaud Meyer, Country Director, UNDP Nepal
- Ms. Elizabeth Satow, National Director, World Vision International Nepal
All those unique ideas were appreciated by judges. The ideas were judged on the basis of the business model, customer validation, return on investment and sustainability. After rigorous discussion among the panel of judges, three teams were nominated as winners starting from, Nanny for your Nani holding the first place, Biopad holding the 2nd place and lastly Saksham holding the 3rd position.
The top three ideas selected in the finale are:
- Nanny for your Nani by Ms. Aishwarya Pradhan: The idea is to connect the working parents with the babysitters.
- Biopad by Ms. Vibhustuti Thapa: The idea is to develop environment-friendly sanitary napkins as sustainable choices for women.
- Saksham by Ms. Sneha Shakya: The idea is to provide platforms for students to gain job experience in their gap year before entering the market.
Nanny for your Nani – Team Leader – Aishwarya Pradhan
Bio Pad – Team Leader – Vibhustuti Thapa
Saksham: Team Leader – Sneha Shakya
The winning team Nanny for your Nani qualified to participate in the global competition to be held in Paris, France in March 2018 on the occasion of Women’s Day.
Startup Weekend provided the participants with a platform with access to ground-breaking methodologies to turn their ideas into reality. Apart from the main event itself, there were pre and post event activities to facilitate and support the main event.
- Partners: UNDP Nepal, OXFAM in Nepal, World Visions Nepal Innovation Lab, UNFPA, UN Women Nepal
- Media Partners: Glocal Khabar , WOW
- Airlines:Turkish Airlines
- Global Partners: Appear.in, Accor Hotels, .CO, Air France, Google for Entrepreneurs Partners Network, Wavestone, LA TRIBUNE, RCI Bank & Services, Air Liquide
- Internet Partner: Vianet
- Venue Partner: Alliance Francaise Kathmandu
- Endorsed By: Government of Nepal – Ministry of Science & Technology
- Supported By: Karkhana