April 28: The Nepal Entrepreneurs' Hub (NEHUB) organised an Agribusiness Boot Camp- 2017 here on April 27. The agri-business boot camp is one of its kind events in Nepal which has been innovatively designed for agricultural sector.
Three among the 10 businesses which presented themselves during the grand finale night were awarded. A total of 635 applications (383 new ideas/ startups and 252 existing businesses) from all across the country had applied for the BootCamp.
Out of these ten, Shree Kalika BM Agro Production won the first title, second title was won by Kanchanjunga Organic Orthodox Tea Industry and the third position was taken by Quest for Progress.
The top ten finalists - Shree Kalika BM Agro Production, Kanchanjunga Organic Orthodox Tea Industry, Quest for Progress Pvt. Ltd, Aadhunik Krishi Tatha Jadibuti Byabasaik Firm, Himalayan Organic Garden, Ecoplates, Fresh Hygienic Food, Tatopani ko Rosemary, Manakamana Agro Organic Fertilizer Pvt. Ltd and Sagar Bee Keeping Industry- had presented their products, market share, market possibilities, challenges, USPs, production process, price and their future plans during the event.
A pre-event “Spark Talk” was held on 31 March, 2017 to orient the shortlisted 65 new ideas/ startups and 46 existing businesses on the upcoming AgriBusiness BootCamp 2017. The shortlisted 65 startup candidates participated in the AgriBusiness BootCamp-Startup Weekend Event from April 7 to April 9.
"In this 54-hour event, a total of 33 ideas were pitched, out of which 10 ideas were selected and worked on, out of which top 5 ideas were selected. A focused event "Speed Dating" for the 46 established businesses was organised on April 1 from which 20 businesses were selected for the BootCamp.
"In addition, the top 20 teams will receive one-on-one mentoring sessions to help transform them from growth-oriented agribusinesses to growth-ready agribusinesses all set to begin investing in and executing their innovative approaches.
After intensive mentoring, the top 20 teams will be handed over to the upcoming Nepal AgriBusiness Innovation Centre (NABIC)," mentions a press release issued by NEHUB.
The BootCamp provided intensive mentoring programme including specialized talks, meetups, workshops, training to the five startups and 20 existing businesses for one week. "During the week, the participants gained concrete skills on evolving their businesses in agriculture with insight from industry experts addressing supply chain management, supplier development, value-addition, marketing and partnerships.
The Bootcamp will definitely help selected entrepreneurs to grow from existence to sustainability and scale as well as startups to transfer ideas from mind to market," said Karmath Dangol, Director of NEHUB.
"We had applied such Bootcamps for the digital businesses. It is the first time in Nepal we thought of applying this innovative approach for agri-businesses. As Nepal is an agricultural country, the whole startup ecosystem will come together and help to develop the agribusinesses of the country," shared Ellen Olafsen, Programme Co-ordinator of World Bank Group, Trade and Competitiveness. The Bootcamp was supported by the World Bank Group and Info Dev and the official partner for the programme was Business Oxygen (BO2).
