Startup and innovation summit begins in Sudurpashchim

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Anjan Shrestha has urged the government to extend the repayment period for startup loans from 5 years to 10 years.

He made the demand as a special guest at the inaugural session of the Sudurpashchim Province Innovation Summit 2083, which began in Dhangadhi, Kailali, on Kartik 15. The summit is being jointly organized by the Federation, Sudurpashchim University and Kailali Multiple Campus.

Shrestha also demanded that large and innovative projects be allowed loans ranging from 20 million to 50 million rupees. He said young people and women should be encouraged into entrepreneurship to change the current reliance on foreign countries for everything from consumer goods to employment.

He stressed the need to create an environment that boosts domestic production and employment, saying collaboration between industry and academia should be the main basis for economic transformation.

Nepal Rastra Bank estimates Sudurpashchim Province's gross domestic product at around 463 billion rupees, with the province's economic growth rate projected at about 3.28 percent.