“When you empower a woman, you empower a family. When you empower a family, you empower a community. And when you empower a community, you empower a nation.”
These words were spoken by Jean Shafiroff, a philanthropist and volunteer leader of several Southampton and New York charities. This week, women entrepreneurs join us to talk about their businesses and the challenges they faced while starting off and along the way.
Darshana Shrestha
Nature Nepal
The products at Nature Nepal are herbal ones that are handmade and are organically produced, and include different varieties of herbal soaps, creams and lip-balms. Since I’m only behind the manufacturing process, I don’t have an exclusive store yet, even though I have been in the business for nine years. I’m hoping to change that this year and for now, the products are available at handicraft stores in Kupondol.
I first started out with only four soaps: Panchamrit which was aptly named Divine, Yak milk, Rose, and Mint. I wanted to bring products there was a gap in the market for and thought it was best to start with the Panchamrit one since it is considered very auspicious and used for bathing before beginning any holy ritual. Since then the number has climbed to 12 and I introduce one or two new ones every year. It takes a long time because apart from just market demand, I put in a lot of research behind every product. The mint soap was made with summer in mind while the Yak milk soap was to offer a naturally moisturizing product for dry skin.
I used to work in a NGO as a sociologist and was satisfied with my income but when I went for field visits and saw many women struggling hard every day, I knew I wanted to touch at least a few lives. Since all my soaps are handmade and hand cut, I have been able to employ quite a few women. It was a challenge in the initial days to get market recognition, which is one of the reasons I joined the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Associations of Nepal (FWEAN). What I couldn’t achieve alone, we could achieve as a team and now my only challenge is the price of essential oils. In every order I make the price seems to have doubled but I can’t keep increasing the market price of my products, which makes it hard to sustain the business.
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Sharada Risal
Milan Nepal
When I first wanted to start my business, my parents weren’t very supportive. It was an era where it was generally unheard of to have a woman own a business. Due to this, for ten years I taught at Siddhartha Banasthali School. When I got married I was fortunate enough to have a supporting husband who encouraged me to go forth and achieve my dreams. I started my business in 1989 and wanted to run it purely out of my interest in the field. I wanted an identity of my own, which was hard in such a patriarchal society, and wanted to be able to contribute to the society as well.
When I did finally start out, I faced three years of struggle. There was a lot of political instability in Nepal back then and the market kept crashing. I kept going through it all and exported Crazy Hats to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France which led to me winning the best woman entrepreneur award in 2003. Although there were a few other women in the field by that time, I was the first to export from the country.
The first country I exported to was Switzerland, which I still export to, and since then Japan, Korea and many countries in Europe have been added to the list. However, even after all these years, it is hard to work in the Nepalis society, especially in such a male dominated field. Unlike the men, we still lack the freedom to go around marketing at any time of the day and have other responsibilities at home that doesn’t let us work odd hours. Time management and coordination with the workers is yet another challenge we have to face.
Basanti Pradhan
Bodhi Brikchya Nursery
I export flower bulbs to countries like USA, Holland, Japan and Germany on a regular basis. Taiwan and Denmark too are on my export list but they aren’t as regular as the others. The family business came into operation in 1991 on a small scale basis. Since then business had boomed and even generated around USD 10 million per annum.
However, for unfathomable reasons, the business has slumped and we now are only able to generate around USD 3 million per annum. This is a shame, given the potential Nepal has to do well in this sector.
The global floral industry in 2001 was a USD 35 billion industry. Although I haven’t really checked the recent figures, I can only assume that demands have gone up. Therefore it is surprising to find that business has gone down. I feel like even if the government doesn’t give us subsidies, it should at least help us set business to business meetings. Countries like Sri Lanka and Ethiopia heavily rely on floriculture for their economy.
Nepal, with six different climatic regions, has so many opportunities for floral agriculture and the main challenge in front of us is to use our land to its maximum potential. We are competing in an international market and without the help of our government we are falling behind. The government needs to pay attention to this issue.
Recently, however, they have recognized the potential and have prioritized floriculture. Another big challenge we are facing is the lack of manpower in the sector, and we believe that the government should also revise the manpower laws to stop the brain drain in the country.
Sunita Vaidya
Sunita’s Enterprises
I have two businesses that I look after: Candles and crafts, and Sunita’s enterprises.
Candles and crafts was established in 1998. We were the first ones to have clay-pot candles in the market which was not only safe to use but also refillable. Most of our clientele are the spas and hotels around town that send back the candles in huge boxes only to be refilled.
It is named candles and craft because of the different designs we have on the pots, which is more than a hundred at the moment. The candles are available at all the major department stores like Bhat Bhateni, Big Mart, and Saleways. They can also be found in handicraftw stores like Dhukuti and Sana Hastakala, and the factory wholesale showroom is in Bagbazar.
Sunita’s enterprises started a few years after candles and crafts, and it was a result of having to frequently travel to India for the raw materials for the candles. Since I was traveling so much I decided that if I bring in a few clothing items it would not only sell, but sustain the regular trips I had to make.
The fashion sector however is a fickle one and there are constantly new designs and products coming up. There is also a lot of competition and a need to keep up with the latest fashion. The showrooms for my collections are located in Pulchowk and Uttar Dhoka.
