March 21: UK’s development finance institution CDC Group, Dutch development bank FMO and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC have launched Nepal Invests, a platform that will drive increased investment into the country.  

According to the investors, this group comprising of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and a Development Partner , will complement existing efforts to attract more investments and advance the development of the country b y channelling efforts to unlock the possibilities of investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation .

Issuing a joint statement on March 19, the investors said Nepal Invests will support the economic recovery of Nepal from COVID-19 in multiple ways. Those include partnering to address business environment challenges, exploring innovative ways to finance SMEs and increasing the skills and capacity of local investment professionals. These measures are designed to better prepare Nepal’s market for increased investment from development finance institutions, frontier players, and intermediate vehicles in order to support the medium-term economic recovery, the statement added.

“Nepal Invests represents a ground-breaking collaboration between DFIs and development partners in the country, reflecting shared objectives to support business growth, strengthen investment and accelerate Nepal’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The platform intends to mobilise additional supporting projects and contributions from other DFIs and development partners, whilst engaging closely with the needs of the Nepalese private sector,” reads the statement

Srini Nagarajan, managing director and Head of Asia, CDC Group said that they want to encourage more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the prospering nation.

“We are delighted to partner with FMO and the Swiss Government in this unique collaboration between DFIs and Development Partners in Nepal that aims to attract foreign capital into the country,” the statement quoted Nagarajan as saying.

Andrew Shaw, capacity developmet mangaer of FMO said that FMO is committed to support the Nepali private sector to raise its environmental and social standards together  with local stakeholders, and to facilitate the adoption of international ESG practices to create a level playing field between companies and improve access to DFI funding in the country

Likewise, Swiss Ambassador to Nepal Elisabeth von Capeller reiterated that  Switzerland is a long-standing development partner of Nepal and is committed to supporting Nepali small and medium enterprises to grow and contribute to Nepal’s economic development.