| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 13-Sep-02 12:23 PM
Hi all,
A few months ago, I had posted some information about holding a regular Business Forum in Kathmandu -- sort of a like a Martin Chautari-esque forum for business.
The idea behind such a MONTHLY Business Forum, as I had then said, would be to
bring an established Nepali entrepreneur in conversation with about 40 hard-core
young Nepali entrepreneurs and businesspeople (in their late 20s and 30s).
Such a forum would be valuable not only to learn from the ways of Nepal's
successful businesspeople but also to buld up valuable networks in various
areas of Nepal's private-sector for all concerned.
For a variety of reasons, the idea -- though promising and supported by most who heard about it -- did NOT quite get off the ground as quickly as I thougt it would.
Anyway, not to worry about that now. The good news is that I persisted on with the idea, and now after weeks of quiet background work, the idea has now fully been translated into action.
And so,
On Thursday, September 26th,
at 3 pm
at Hotel Radisson, Lazimpat, Kathmandu
Mr. Shyam Kakshapati, Nepal's most famous restauranter (he of Nanglo fame!)
has agreed to talk informally and oin detail about his own life as a businessman
(sharing stories about his business successes, failures, work ethics, values,
priorities and so on)
In attendance will be 40 or so especially invited young and upcoming Nepali entrepeneurs and businespeople from a variety of fields such as advertising,
media, trading, IT, banking, manufacturing, consulting and so on.
This talk will be moderated by: Ashutosh Tiwari
This is an event conceived and promoted by: Business Service Aadhar in association with partners such as Hotel Radisson and The Himalaya Times daily newspaper.
If anyone wants further information, please send me an email.
oohi
"doing his bit to promote private-sector activities in Nepal"
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 13-Sep-02 12:33 PM
Here are the Web addresses of the partners:
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/
and
http://www.visitnepal.com/radisson/Welcome.html
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 13-Sep-02 08:54 PM
Hi all,
Whenever I get depressed about Nepal, I try to meet up -- NOT with politicans or
with policy-makers or even with academics-- but with young Nepali entrepreneurs
and businesspeople in their 20s and 30s working on a variety of fields, from banking
to consulting to trading to media to advertising to telecom to trading and so on.
I have realized that in Nepal, to play on borrowed words, it is the young, driven entrepreneurs in blue jeans and with occasional long hair -- and not some famous officials in daura suruwal or Shrestha-Tailor-made-suit -- who really have some
really interesting things to say. Interesting things that help you re-think policy
issues and much much more.
I looked for Shyam Kakshapati's profile in The Nepali Times (September 2000). All I fond were these letters. Enjoy.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
*************************
SHYAM’S MA’M
I think your article on Shyam Kakshapati (#9) is somewhat male piggyish. I have followed Shyam from the Park to when he hung up his first bear mug in Nanglo, delighted in his first Bakery, made muchee muchee of his Chinese restaurants and on and on…and I noticed that whenever Shyam went, his wife, Rani, was sure to go. It was Shyam and Rani all the way. You give her scant mention. Behind every successful man there is a woman inventing momo cha and generally going bananas. You can make up for this serious lapse with a fulsome article on Rani. Knowing Rani, when Shyam opens his first Nanglos in Zimbabwe and Zaire and…. She’ll be there, cheering him on.
Dubby Bhagat
Kathmandu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read with special interest your piece on Shyam Kakshapati (#6). But you missed his earlier venture: Sam’s Grocery at Ratna Park in the early 1970s which had the first-ever juice fountain in Nepal, a watering hole for students like me who used to walk all the wayfrom Padma Kanya Campus during breaks to take a drink.
You also missed mentioning Nanglo West in Tansen, Palpa, where Shyam has restored and turned an old house into the finest eatery that side of Mugling. What Shyam has managed to do for the hard of hearing has empowered disadvantaged people with skills and courage. It teaches us, the rest of ‘advantaged’ society, to treat them with respect and not the traditional ridicule. Thanks to Shyam, and thanks to Nepali Times for reintroducing us to him. May he continue to inspire others to have golden hearts too.
Poornima Joshi
Kathmandu
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| Biruwa |
Posted
on 14-Sep-02 12:02 PM
Ashu,
You have indeed embarked in a novel endeavour. All the best. I have heard that you went back to Nepal after completing your study in Harvard. Infact I have even met you.
Unfortunately, we did not get along very well. But I would like to take this opportunity to praise you on this concrete step that you have taken for the advancement of the nepali entrepreneur community.
However, I was a little unsettled by my following concern.
Why was the audience - "especially invited young and upcoming Nepali entrepeneurs and businespeople". This kind of selection and segregation always leads to nepotism and other such bad vices. I would have much appreciated if such kinds of seminars could be open for all those young budding entrepreneurs who don't yet have established connections.
I wish you well...I wish well for all those who wish good for Nepal and humankind.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 14-Sep-02 01:25 PM
Biruwa-ji,
I appreciate your compliments.
Thank you.
That said, your concerns re: exclusivity are quite valid. I too share them to some extent, and this is why I remain somewhat ambivalent about this whole by-invitation-only stuff.
Then again, in moments of doubt, I consult Marx (not Karl but Groucho), and as
the man himself famously put it, "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people
like me as members."
Have a great week-end.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 14-Sep-02 02:05 PM
Ashu, I hope you will post an account of what might transpire at the event. And, to let you know, I admire your effort(s).
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| ashu |
Posted
on 15-Sep-02 08:57 AM
Paramendra,
Thank you for the support.
The Himalayan Times, one of the four English daily broadsheet newspapers that Kathmandu has, is one of the partners of the event.
Once the news about the event gets published the following day, I will post the Web
link for all to check out here.
PS: When you run for that office in Oregon, I'd be happy to serve as one of your campaign managers. :-)
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 15-Sep-02 01:18 PM
Office or no office --- let's stay in touch! Interesting things might/will happen.
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 15-Sep-02 10:05 PM
Ashu ji:
Very commendable, indeed.
When I was in KTM, I was doing some research for an article and I got to interview another entreprenuer... K. Allen Tuladhar of Unlimit (ISP provider). Got to meet a few others too... one of the more positive of my experiences, in KTM.
Let us know how this one goes. Thanks!
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 16-Sep-02 03:34 PM
Ashu, on second thought, the newspaper article might not be enough. Might it be possible to web-publish a detailed account of the symposium? That might launch a web-posium on the topic right here at this thread. All those who you did not invite will get a second chance!
Just a thought.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 16-Sep-02 09:29 PM
Paramendra,
Your point is well taken.
Let's see what one can do -- slowly but surely.
That said, please do allow us to start small, to make our mistakes and to learn from them, to start delivering small, small results quickly and reliably before moving on
to greater/bigger/wider projects (such as Web-posium and so on).
I say that because I have noticed that in Nepal and among Nepali communities,
often, in our zeal to do good things, we tend to fall short of our goals and ambitions precisely because we get so seduced/entranced by grand Nepal-changing ideas that
we do NOT bother going after the boring and the unglamorous and the obscure small, small victories that will, in the long run, actually lead us to stronger and more durable implementation of those grand ideas.
And so, let us do the the boring and the unglamorous and the obscure work first, meet and network with a lot of interesting nepalis doing interesting work, make some mistakes and learn from them, enhance credibility and, after that?
Well, sky's the limit to do the kind of work one wants to do.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 18-Sep-02 07:57 AM
For September, the confirmed speaker is: Mr. Shyam Kakshapati, the person behind
the success of Nango Restaurants. There is now even a Nanglo Bakery Cafe in Lhasa,
Tibet=, and Shyam-ji is planning to open more Nanglos in and out of Nepal.
For October, our confirmed speaker is: Mr. Sanjib Rajbhandari of Mercantile.
And for November, the confirmed speaker is: Mr. Raghu Shah, CEO of Himalaya Telecommerce, a company that provides telemarketing and data-management
services to businesses in and out of Nepal.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 26-Sep-02 09:13 PM
Hi all,
Just a short note to let you know that the informal guff-suff with Shyam Kakshapati went really well yesterday -- with 35 young hard-core (non-FNCCI-types) private-sector Nepali entrepeneurs/businesspeople in their 20s and 30s (representing fields as diverse as IT, hospitality, banking, insurance, travel and trade, fashion designs and so on) listening to him and asking sharp questions -- making the interaction a lively, educational and network-rich one.
Two weeks ago, my colleagues and I had sent Shyam Dai a bunch of "First Person" articles from old issues of Harvard Business Review. For yesterday's presentation, Shyam Dai had prepared a 7-page well-written "First Person"-type of biography of
his own life -- detailing, in a frank and open manner, his successes and failures, and summing up his business philosophies. It was a pleasure to listen to him.
I will post more relevant information as it becomes available.
Meantime, our speaker for the month of October is: Sanjeev Rajbhandari, CEO of Mercantile.
Since -- because of space-related constraints and others -- our partners, Radisson Hotel and The Himalaya Timeds, want to keep this sort of forum a somewhat exclusive one . . . those of you who sent me emails earlier, we will try to accommodate you as
a guest in coming months. We'll stay in touch.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 27-Oct-02 07:57 PM
This Month's Business Forum will take place this Thursday, October 31st. Once again, the Himalayan Times and Radisson Hotel are the partners in this venture, while Channel Nepal - Nepal's only Satellite TV Channel -- will be covering the event as a news-event.
Speaker: Mr. Sanjiv RajBhandari . . . the man who brought Internet to Nepal . . . and the CEO of Mercantile.
The tone of the discussion will be informal, will have some sort of a "Sanjiv Raj Bhandari unplugged" sort of feel.
In the audience will be about 40 or so young Nepali entrepreneurs and businesspeople ALREADY running their own businesses in Nepal in a variety of sectors.
I will be moderating the discussion once again.
Some of you who sent me emails earlier via sajha, you will be getting your invitations shortly. Others, please await till November for another discussion . . . due to space constraints this time.
Thanks for understanding.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 27-Oct-02 08:26 PM
I still don't understand why the forum can not be brought online. As in, let it happen on the ground, write a transcript/report, and post it here at Sajha. For another round of ongoing freewheeling discussion. I bet that will make this one of the longest threads.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 27-Oct-02 09:02 PM
All in due time, Parmendra.
All in due time.
To give a deadline to this "due time": By the end of this December, 2002. Of course, if things happen earlier than that, then, so much the better.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 27-Oct-02 11:39 PM
:-)
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| protean |
Posted
on 29-Oct-02 06:15 PM
Ashu, This is interesting. I just noticed this yesterday (for I've not been a Sajha frequenter for long). The seven page biography similar to the "First Person" seems to have worked well. Thanks for putting this up.
I've some observations that I would like to share and if possible to be raised at this function :
1. Would these succesful business people want to work with younger people with bright ideas? Would they be a like a mentor?
2. Another Key factor that shapes the success of any business is the market. What are the market that are going to be exploited? Some have in the past have turned to a possible marketing team in the West. What are they doing about it and how do they want to go about it?
3. Quality: How is this guaranteed?
4. Investment: What are the means of this in today's environment? Are the non residents investing in projects?
5. Given the current instability in the country, how're the businesses coping? What are they doing to still push their businesses?
6. Has Leverage buy out (LBO) of existing manufacturing units been thought about? Then ,someone could manage this, and turn it into a profitable venture. Just was thinking of this the other day-- the brick industries, the cement factories and all?
7. What are the impediments to starting a business?
8. How can the Nepalis living abroad be invlolved, directly and indirectly?
9. How much are we lacking in business schools, technical institutes, and vocational schools--the skills gained from which could be utilized for these businesses projects?
Now, that I've noted my observations, I would also want to to see if it would be possbile for you to get some 30 or under business person in your discussion series. That would definitely bring a different perspective to the program.
Is it possible to have the summary of the program in a newspaper, and also the talk program to be saved in audio and then put in the web in the future? Also the outcome (if any) of the program could be mentioned.
Hope the program goes well!
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| ashu |
Posted
on 30-Oct-02 03:42 AM
Protean,
Great questions.
Will be asking some of them to Sanjib Rajbhandari tomorrow.
Our approach is deliberately informal in that there will be
no big speeches,
no fancy press conferences,
none of those boringly bureaucratic ribbon-cutting ceremonies,
no desh-bikas garnay big and hopelessly vague guff-suff
just an intense, exciting and content-rich discussion -- led by, in this case, Sanjiv Rajbhandari, sharing his own 20-years ko positive and negative experiences -- on
how you run a profitable business in/for and from Nepal . . . and how you cope with uncertainties, failures and the obstacles.
Sort of like, well, "business unplugged with Sanjib Rajbhandari.".
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| ashu |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 09:52 AM
Hi all,
Just a short note to let you know that the program went quite well this afternoon.
With a powerpoint presentation that touched upon his personal and professional life, Sanjib dai spoke well -- openly and frankly, detailing his successes, his failures, his business philosophies and his missed business opportunities. He also spoke about the challenges of running an IT business in Nepal.
His main message: "To make money, move your ass."
He even spoke about areas in which he personally would like to improve as a businessman. The questions from the floor -- asked by people most of whom
are owners of businesses themselves -- were excellent too.
After Tihar, that is, in about two weeks or so, Sanjib dai's presentation, together with that First Person sort "Personal statement" of Shaym Kakshapati (September) will be
up on a Web site for all of you to view and download.
Buoyed by the small successes of these two programs, in coming months (except for December when we won't have a program because I'll be away hiking and camping in Australia), we will be inviting other Nepal-based businessmen/entrepreneurs such as
Siddharth Rana (Chairman Soaltee Group)
Meen Bdr. Gurung (CEO: Bhat Bhateni Super Market)
Raghu Shah (CEO: Himalayan Telecommerce)
Roop Jyoti (Harvard B-School graduate, Upper House MP and of Jyoti Group)
Padma Jyoti (MIT Sloan School graduate and of Jyoti Group)
Ashok Raj Pandey (Harvard B-School graduate and a bijuli-vehicle entrepreneur)
Rajendra Khetan (of Khetan group)
Prithvi Bahadur Panday (of Himalayan Bank and also of Nepal Investment Bank), and
Bijaya Krishna Shrestha (of Beltronix)
and many others to be our monthly featured speaker . . . one speaker at a time.
There is MUCH we of the younger generation in Nepal have to learn from the
failures and successes of and by making contacts with Nepal's established business people through intense yet informal discussions that add to our collective learning.
oohi
"trying to understand Nepali private sector for what it's worth"
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| dirk |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 01:37 PM
Ashu, How about Mr. Gyawali of Kantipur conglomerate?
I think you should also tryto get Ujjwal Rana, who has been growing coffee in Nuwakot. He'd be an interesting person to talk to ? I think his company's name is Unicorn Traders, not to sure. But, I'm sure you'll be able to get hold of him.
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| najar |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 01:51 PM
And may be Ameer Rana of Kumari Bank, Universal footwear (hatti chhap chappal, goldstar jutta) and other factories --a young business enterpreneur educated in the US (colorado) and later in singapore. I hear his father (noor pratap rana still oversees most of the business, but ameer certainly is very active in helping his father.
just a suggestion.
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| dirk |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 01:56 PM
Najar, Is he Bidushi's hubby, this Ameer guy?
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| sks |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 04:34 PM
Dirk, I used to tutor Bidushi and a friend of hers (Pooja Thapa, I think) back when they were preparing for their SLC exams. Wonder how they're doing........do you know them personally?
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| najar |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 04:42 PM
Dirk,
Yes, the person i was referring to is Bidushi's husband.
And SKS, she is doing well--works at the kumari bank. She together with her hubby and a lovely daughter was in the US in July.
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| sks |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 04:50 PM
Najar, thanks for the update!
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| ashu |
Posted
on 31-Oct-02 08:54 PM
Dirk and Najar,
Thank you for your suggestions.
Will certainly include their names as potential future speakers.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| protean |
Posted
on 01-Nov-02 12:52 PM
This sounds promising , Ashu!
Please inform us when the links are avialable. Just Big guff suff as such can't really fuel
the economy. I agree with you entirely.
Hopefully, we would be able to get some insights into the workings of our businesses in Nepal.
The idea of getting few younger entreprenuers is a great one.
How about also getting some in the travel, hotel, and music industry?
Couldn't you also have a panel for management experts and consultants? Could be combined or a continuation of this intense discusion series.
Keep us posted!
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| lonely |
Posted
on 01-Nov-02 01:01 PM
ashu,
You are doing a great job. Keep it up.
Let us know when you post these info in the website.
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