Entrepreneurship is the main driving force of economic development, innovation, and society revolution. Governments all around the world play an important role in developing entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing essential infrastructure, implementing supportive regulations, and ensuring access to the resources necessary for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into successful businesses. By establishing a balance between regulation and encouragement, the state acts as both a facilitator and protector of entrepreneurial potential, ensuring that enterprises prosper in a competitive yet equitable environment. To ensure the positive role of government and to make aware the people regarding it, the YPE Fellows of Bikalpa in collaboration with the Biratnagar Metropolitan Office, organized an Inter School Secondary Level (11&12) Speech Competition on the topic “Role of State in Entrepreneurship Development.” The event took place on December 13, 2024, at Metropolitan Auditorium Hall. The program aimed to raise awareness among students about the significant influence of state policies on entrepreneurial success.
During the program, YPE fellow Pawan Kafle played a crucial role as a program coordinator in organizing this program. The competition brought together students from 19 private and public schools of Biratnagar, providing a vibrant platform to share ideas, showcase public speaking skills, and encourage critical discussions on entrepreneurship and state policies.
The event was graced by the presence of the chief guest, Nagesh Koirala, the esteemed Mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City and the program was presided over by Prof. Dr. Bhesh Prasad Dhamala, Chairman of Bikalpa an Alternative. In addition to the distinguished guests, the judging panel included Shruti Sharma, the Director of Kinderpillar Academy, Proprietor of Malla Enterprises & Wakecup Coffee Abhinayak Malla and Prabin Agrawal, Director of KK Charvi Suplliers Pvt. Ltd. The event was held at the auditorium hall of Biratnagar Metropolitan City with an audience of 200.
Ms Kripa Karuna Pokharel, YPE fellow moderated the entire event. The program began with lighting the panas by the chairperson and chief guest of the program which was followed by the short objective sharing by Basanta Adhikari, Director of Bikalpa an Alternative.
The event commenced with opening remarks from Nagesh Koirala, the Chief Guest and Mayor of Biratnagar. In his speech, Mayor Koirala emphasized the vital role of children as the future pillars of the nation, asserting that their actions will play a crucial role in the country’s prosperity. He also addressed the current economic challenges faced by Nepal, urging the government to implement effective economic policies for improvement. Furthermore, he stated that programs like this are essential in fostering entrepreneurial spirit among young people, which can encourage them to hold the government accountable for its actions.
In the competition, every contestant had 5 minutes to present their speech. Ishal Bhattarai, student of grade 11 from Everest College, secured the first position in the competition beating 18 competitors. Similarly, Shireen Bhattarai, 11th grade student of Shikshadeep College and Samiksha Dahal, student of class 12 from Greenland College secured 1st and 2nd Runner-up prizes respectively. The consolation prize was received by two participants, Diptee Pokharel from Satyanarayan High School and Khushi Mundra from Delhi Public School.
Following is an excerpt of the opinions expressed in their speech by the title holders:
Ishal Bhattarai – Winner
A nation needs foundation for entrepreneurship. Roads, Buildings, Electricity, Internet are not luxuries, but they are necessities. Can you imagine trying to start a tech business without good Wi-Fi? This is exactly why countries like Singapore with top notch infrastructure have dominated the startup scene. Countries like Finland teach entrepreneurship in schools where students don’t just memorize, they innovate. Nothing can happen without a nation’s foundation. The farmer in Ilam growing the world’s best organic tea cannot reach global success without good trade agreements. Government backed export policies. If other nations can uplift their entrepreneurs, why can’t Nepal? The unity between a nation and its entrepreneurs is what creates success. Let’s imagine a Nepal where dreams are celebrated, and every dreamer is nurtured. If the nation invests in their entrepreneur, they invest in their future.
Shireen Bhattarai – First Runner Up
Entrepreneurship is not just about making profit, it’s also about innovation and creativity, which enhances economic growth. The state can implement different steps to encourage entrepreneurship in our own country. The first way is providing access to finance. Many entrepreneurs in Nepal have great ideas, but they lack the financial resources to turn these ideas into reality. So the government and the state can provide funding through grants, loans, tax and other types of financial support. The second thing is providing easy rules and regulations. In the recent years, the countries like Singapore and Dubai have launched a business-friendly strategy like the online business registration system, which allows the entrepreneurs to register a new business in just a few hours. The third thing is investing in education and training. Entrepreneurs need a wide variety of skills to succeed, from business management to product development. The government should first break the political barrier of corruption and political instability. And they should develop the basic infrastructure of development, which can further aid in promoting entrepreneurship in our country from the root level.
Samiksha Dahal – Second Runner up
Entrepreneurship means to develop the creative mindset, to uplift the economy of the people from lower level to high level economic class. Nepal has the high possibility in agriculture, hydropower and tourism sector. Nepal stands in 108th position among 180 countries in corruption index and 94th position in ease of doing business. This is all because of the low policy formation and different hurdles that the government has raised. However, the campaign like Prime Minister Self Employment Campaign has increased the number of entrepreneurship but not in sufficient number. Nepal government should empower the Women and Youth entrepreneurs just like the government of Bangladesh has done. Government should play the influencer role to develop the entrepreneurship and foster the relationship between the private and government sector.
Diptee Pokharel – Third Runner Up
Entrepreneurship has changed the mindset of people and seed the opportunity of employment. It makes the strong global market competition. Singapore has adopted the different policies like low tax, venture capital funding and have the strong startup ecosystem that has eased the entrepreneurship. Similarly, Israel has invested huge amount in Research and Development and has made a strong network with international union to make the easy business deal for the entrepreneurs. In the context of Nepal, the campaign like “Made in Nepal” is trying to promote the local goods in the international market. The nation isn’t only of government, but it is of the citizens. Citizens need to raise their voice and be aware of the government to promote and foster right policy for the promotion of entrepreneurship in nation.
Khusi Mundhra – Third Runner Up
Entrepreneurship is the art of turning dreams into blueprints and blueprints into reality. It’s a daring dance between creativity and risk where you challenge the status quo. Build built something from nothing and constantly adapt to the world. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank that is central Bank of Nepal, remittance contributes about 25% of country’s GDP and according to the Department of Immigration of an international airport, 1500 plus Nepali youth travels abroad daily for the foreign job market. These two facts show the pathetic situation of Nepal. Young people should take it in different way. They should be job givers, not job seekers. The people are just not the leaders for tomorrow. They are the game changers for today.
The winner, first runner up, second runner up was awarded trophy, medals, certificates and gift hampers along with cash prize of Rs. 20,000, Rs.15000 and Rs.10, 000 respectively. Prof. Dr. Bhesha Prasad Dhamala, the Chairman of Bikalpa, Basanta Adhikari, Director of the Bikalpa an alternative presented the award and certificates. The representative of sponsor provided the cash prize to the winners.
The first cash prize was sponsored by WhiteMoon Sanitary Pads with gift hampers. Similarly, the second cash prize was sponsored by Nepal Business College and third cash prize was sponsored by VG College. Likewise, Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bed Narayan Gachhadar , Mayor of Duhabi Municipality, Goodlife Beverage , M.K Tech Solutions, KIC Education & Visa Services and Aims College are the sponsors of the program . The program concluded with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Bhesha Prasad Dhamala.
