June 12: Stakeholders say that the government has introduced various programmes for women entrepreneurship but they are not implemented effectively. Speaking at interaction programme organized by Daayitwa, an organization working on economic policy reform on Friday, experts stated that women entrepreneurship is an important basis for the development of the overall economic sector and pointed towards the need to focus on women entrepreneurship.

Agriculture, Food Security and Gender Expert Dr Yamuna Ghale complained that even though the Nepal Rastra Bank introduced provisions to provide loan of Rs 1.5 million for women entrepreneurship, it is not easy for women to get such a loan. She remarked that entrepreneurship using local resources, tools and skills is needed to improve the economy in the current situation.

Speaking at the programme, Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri, president of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Associations of Nepal (FWEAN) stated that even though good policies and rules are formulated in Nepal, the implementation is very weak and women are the ones who suffer the backlash. “Some of the programmes targeted at women are not reported at all and some of them are not completed in time. Under these circumstances, what is the use of introducing programmes even if they are good?” she said.

The participants of the programme complained that the information relayed to the women in rural areas are not useful as they are generally based in Nepali and English languages rather than the local language.

Meanwhile, Radhika Aryal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies said that the ministry is doing various works for women entrepreneurship and stakeholders should be able to benefit from such programmes. Participants of the program suggested that the government should work accordingly as there are problems in marketing and branding women entrepreneurship.

Former Minister Kamala Roka said that the development of women entrepreneurship has not been possible due to the non-changing mentality of people despite the change in the political system. She said that the lack of coordination among the ministries is also a responsible factor for confusion and obstacles in developing entrepreneurship.

Chairman of Daayitwa, Dr. Pukar Malla informed that five more of such interaction programmes emphasizing entrepreneurship will be organized this year. He also hoped that such interactions will help in improving the existing policies.