Nepalese SummerFest Entrepreneurship Forum

Date: May 26, 2012; Time: 11 am - 1 pm; Address: 8661 Leesberg Pike, Vienna, VA, 22182

Title: Entrepreneurship Forum & Networking: Building Ventures Across Borders

Why Attend:

We repeatedly express a desire to do something relevant to Nepal but too often find ourselves not sure where or how to start. In the absence of compelling stories of success, and the gravity of pessimistic news and poor state of affairs in Nepal, we quickly lose confidence in our ability to translate our ideas into a viable business. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. 

Come and participate in the "Entrepreneurship Forum & Networking: Building Ventures Across Borders" to hear experiences and advice from US Professionals and Nepali Entrepreneurs who view the geographic distance as an opportunity. Learn how they have overcome the challenges and be inspired by what they have been able to accomplish. More importantly, come, meet and network with peers who have ideas, skill-sets, resources and a strong passion for entrepreneurship. 

Join our Facebook group to start discussing and sharing ideas amongst peers. Meet your fellow co-founder and investors. We want to encourage continuity to your ideas throughout the year, and provide the support and guidance needed to build new ventures in Nepal because we believe integral to entrepreneurship is its ability to Build Ventures Across Borders.

Facebook Group Link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/449565468406754/

+ Lorraine Hariton, Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, US Department of State:

Lorraine, "works with the business community worldwide to ensure that commercial diplomacy efforts support U.S. foreign policy objectives. In her first year with CBA, Ms. Harinton oversaw the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), a State Department led effort to promote and spur entrepreneurship around the world." For more, see http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/bio/129134.htm

+ Dolly Oberoi, President of DC TiE Chapter; CEO C2 Technologies:

TiE's mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education to generate and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs. TiE has more than 11,000 members and over 2,500 charter members in 53 chapters across 12 countries. As President of the DC Chapter, Ms. Oberoi expands TiE efforts to provide greater support for women entrepreneurs and launch initiatives such as matching Indian and American businesses - For more on TiE, see
https://dc.tie.org/page/about-tie-washington-dc

+ Gagan Pradhan, Founder, Himalayan Java:

Mr. Pradhan nurtured and ushered in the coffee culture in Nepal. He started Himalayan Java in 2000. Mr. Pradhan spent seven years in Australia studying hospitality, and upon his return to Nepal he joined a five star hotel only to quit in 8 days. His coffee entrepreneurship has helped introduce Nepali coffee in the international arena. His entrepreneurship has brought him to Washington DC's Dalchini restaurant, where you can taste terrific and aromatic Himalayan Java coffee. For more, seehttp://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2010/02/26/Business/16753

Coffee exports in 2000 stood at 4 tons, and increased 7,000% to about 280 tons in 2011; while imports have dropped. Coffee shops and culture that use fresh Nepali beans are becoming common throughout the city.

+ Sameer Maskey, Founder, Parakhi.com

Mr. Maskey founded Parakhi.com, a review based site that helps makes informed decisions on choices such as restaurants. Parakhi's operations span Nepal, US and London.

Mr. Maskey holds a Phd in Computer Science. His research focuses on statistical methods/machine learning for natural language and speech processing. For more, see:
http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~smaskey/

+ Kiran Joshi, Founder Incessant Rain Animation Studios:

Mr. Joshi spent 18 years at Walt Disney Studios during which his team developed the animation system for "Beauty and the Beast." As head of production, and a team with 250 artists and technologist Mr. Joshi left Disney to start his studio in Nepal. He shuttles between the US and Nepal, but his goal is not to just outsource work from USA, but also take Nepali folk stories to the world. For more, see http://www.whynepal.com/foreign-investment/kiran-joshi-disney-animator-animation-studio-founder-entrepreneurs-for-nepal/

+ Sandeep Giri, Founder and President Gham Power

Load-shedding is often seen as a hurdle to start business in Nepal. Mr. Giri has taken this challenge as an opportunity and started Gham Power - a solar energy company in Nepal that has been growing rapidly. Besides, Clean Tech, Mr. Giri has successfully founded a software business in Nepal the has been growing rapidly over the last 2 years in Nepal.

Prior to Gham Power, Mr. Giri was the CEO of San Francisco based Loyalty Matrix, an on demand marketing analytics software company, which was acquired by Responsys, a major email marketing company in 2007. For more, seehttp://ghampower.com/about-2/executive-team/

Platforms for Entrepreneurship in Nepal:

Abhinab Basnyat and Vidhan Rana, Biruwa Ventures, www.biruwa.net
Ujwal Thapa, Entrepreneurs for Nepal, www.e4nepal.com
Manish Jha, Samriddhi Foundation, www.samriddhi.org