Kathmandu, December 2
Nepal’s first ever seed investment fund, Safal Seeds, which is geared toward early-stage Nepali startups was launched at Nepal Communitere’s I-Cube Business Incubation Demo Day held on November 30, at Shankar Hotel. The event showcased five companies that were incubated and supported for a full year at Nepal Communitere.
Safal Seeds aims to bridge the gap between businesses and investors, in addition to providing administrative, communications, and legal support to SMEs, which often lacks institutional support. Safal Seeds is a partnership between Nepal Communitere, Antarprerana and Safal Partners.
British Ambassador, Richard Morris, who was the event’s keynote speaker, emphasised the importance of creating a healthy ecosystem for entrepreneurs willing to “innovate, take risks, and collaborate”, and underscored the importance of providing business development guidance and support for SMEs.
“I believe Safal Seeds is a groundbreaking initiative, which will nurture budding start-ups to create a pipeline for them to be ready for large-scale investments—both domestic and foreign,” added Niraj Khanal of Antarprerna.
Three registered companies pitched for seed investments were 8byte Creative Studio, Around the Corner Restaurant and Orange Ball Pvt. Ltd. Two student startups NovaTech and Light Up also showcased.
I-Cube, which is a two-year DFID/UKAID sponsored program, represents three key pillars for the success of start-ups; to innovate, iterate and incubate their business.
The incubation journey for the second cohort of I-Cube is already underway for up to eight companies.
Potential investors who attended the event showed their support by pledging an investment of Rs. 100,000 – 200,000 each.
