Nepal’s ever dwindling exports, now lowered to simply about half a billion {dollars}, converse volumes about our incapacity to foray into the worldwide markets to promote our merchandise, whether or not agricultural, industrial or handicrafts. Though Nepali merchandise, produced principally by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), maintain large potential for export, but within the absence of correct branding and packaging, they’re unable to discover a market. This was reiterated by specialists taking part within the SME Summit organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Trade in Kathmandu the opposite day. For many years, each the federal government and personal entrepreneurs have been speaking about how our merchandise, starting from ready-made clothes, handwoven woolen carpets and pashmina to tea, espresso, ginger and cardamom, in addition to semi-precious stones, maintain nice potential for export, but nothing has occurred to make a splash within the international market.

It needs to be plain to all that advertising items is a mixture of product identification, pricing, focusing on the precise viewers and, not the least, promotion. All this requires funding, which is sorely missing in Nepal.

High quality management is one other facet of profitable the belief and loyalty of shoppers, particularly within the worldwide market. One could recall that the export of pashmina shawls, whose exports have been doing so effectively within the Nineties after the collapse of handwoven woolen carpets, slumped very quickly because of compromises of their high quality.

And it has by no means been the identical since then, costing each the entrepreneurs and the nation dearly. Lately, younger entrepreneurs have made a reputation for themselves within the clothes enterprise, creating manufacturers that enchantment to each Nepali and worldwide clients. Nonetheless, the companies are too small to change into main exportable gadgets within the close to future.

Mass manufacturing and sustainability are thus simply as necessary in how a lot we are able to export globally.

Since Nepali entrepreneurs are unable to put money into giant industries, SMEs will dominate the Nepali financial system. And it’s only by way of their promotion that each our financial system and exports can develop sooner or later.

It surprises many who export-oriented Japan has near 4 million SMEs, accounting for nearly 98 per cent of all corporations, which make use of about 32 million individuals. Nevertheless, SMEs in Nepal face quite a few hurdles of their growth associated to entry to finance, expert manpower, market promotion, procedural difficulties and excessive rates of interest on loans.

Given Nepal’s dwindling exports and income, the brand new authorities undoubtedly has the onerous activity of propping up an ailing financial system it has inherited. But the entrepreneurs have nobody however the authorities to look as much as shore up the SMEs that make use of 1.7 million individuals. The federal government should thus set its priorities proper – does it need Nepal to stay an import-dependent financial system or does it choose to see a proliferation of SMEs for reaching nice financial progress? The summit concluded with a 10-point manifesto geared toward supporting the event, growth and promotion of SMEs in Nepal. The stakeholders should see to it that they’re carried out and never forgotten till the subsequent summit.

Erring pilots

Nepal’s civil aviation sector at all times comes within the information for the unsuitable motive. No sooner had an ATR plane of Yeti Airways crashed within the vacationer metropolis of Pokhara, killing all 72 individuals on board on January 15, than three pilots of Nepal Airways (NAC) have been barred from flying after they disobeyed the instruction from the air site visitors management specialists (ATCS) of Hong Kong. The NAC, as per the route of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), has determined to floor the three pilots on prices of breaching the instruction of the ATCS of Hong Kong. It’s learnt that the three pilots had flown the NAC plane at a decrease altitude than permitted by the ATCS. CAAN officers have stated they needed to take motion in opposition to the erring NAC pilots primarily based on the grievance from the ATCS of Hong Kong.

They are going to be grounded till the investigation is accomplished. Nevertheless, this motion has tarnished the repute of the state-owned airline, which by no means improved its institutional capability to function at a revenue. Such acts – both plane accident or breaching directions of overseas airports – are among the the reason why the European Union has blacklisted Nepali airways and barred them from flying in its skies since 2013. How lengthy will it take for the individuals engaged within the civil aviation sector to be taught from such unhealthy information?

A model of this text seems within the print on January 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Occasions.