The growing trend of youths migrating abroad for foreign employment has led to a scarcity of human resources in Nepal. Contemplating the skill shortage, a group of three young entrepreneurs, Sujeet Regmi, Pukar Acharya, and Kawish Bhakta Shrestha established a digital maintenance company named Sajilo Marmat Sewa (SMS) in 2017. Currently, the company has been providing services in eight different sectors, including plumbing, carpentry, painting, electrical appliances, computer, networking, and aluminum construction.
Shrestha and Regmi were MBA batch mates at Kathmandu University of Management (KUSOM). The duo came up with a business module during one of their class projects where they also bagged the first prize for their class project. The victory in the class project exposed them to bigger idea sharing platforms. On the other hand, Acharya is a Renewable Energy graduate from Pulchowk Engineering College who soon joined Shrestha and Regmi.
After extensive research, the trio developed a start-up master plan. They came to the conclusion that many youths choose to go abroad despite the ever-growing demand for technical workers in Kathmandu. They also found that the technical human resources chose to travel abroad citing the lack of stable jobs in Nepal.
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Shrestha said, “We wanted to contribute to our society. Our research suggested that there was a gap between costumers and technicians. So, we decided to take upon the task of bridging the gaps between costumers and technicians.”
Speaking of the challenges that lay in their path, Shrestha mentioned, “The lack of proper policies was our biggest challenge. Our government does not have clear policies on insurance and taxation for startups like ours. Similarly, gathering skilled and reliable technicians was another huge challenge for us.” Shrestha explained how the trio went to various technical schools in search for skilled manpower.
SMS has provided services in more than 1800 households, and 100 organizations so far. The company has employed 80 technicians. Service seekers can easily place their order through social media, or contact via their website.
SMS at the moment is limited to Kathmandu Valley only. However, the founders are looking to expand their business in other major cities of Nepal in the near future. The company is also preparing to launch their mobile app this August.
Informing about their future plans Shrestha said, “We are planning to install one call center in our office to help our clients during off hours as well. We are also preparing to add more services to our menu.”
