PM Oli calls for establishment of many industries with minimum capital

KATHMANDU, AUGUST 21: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli spoke about the need to establish and expand many industries with minimal capital to enhance domestic production. Addressing the Start-Up Nation 2030 conference today, PM Oli emphasized that youth and women, with innovative and creative thinking, could find employment opportunities at home instead of seeking greener pastures abroad.

Oli encouraged the expansion of entrepreneurship among the youth to reduce imports, alleviate poverty, bolster national confidence, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He argued that banks and financial institutions should provide loans to such enterprises based on the project's merits rather than requiring the enterprises to be mortgaged.

Stating that some "fraudulent elements" were trying to defame cooperatives, he assured that the government would advance cooperatives in a healthy manner. Furthermore, the Head of Government insisted that entrepreneurship based on technology, skills, and capital should be enhanced to achieve desired results in domestic production.

"Any startup invested in by the government should not fail. It should be taken forward as a campaign," the PM remarked, pledging the utmost facilitation of the private sector on the government's part.

"We have not come to power and formed the government for its own sake. I have not assumed the role of Prime Minister at this age for nothing. I am entrusted with this responsibility to deliver something substantial," said the 73-year-old PM.

The two-day event is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), and other organizations.

Present at today's conference were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Damodar Bhandari, Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari, and FNCCI President Chandra Prasad Dhakal, among others.

The conference is part of a campaign to make Nepal a startup-friendly nation in South Asia by 2030, paving the way for the establishment of 10,000 startups and 100,000 jobs by the end of this period.