Nepa Pasa Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA)
and
Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA)
PRESS RELEASE
July 10, 2010
On Saturday, July 3, 2010, Nepa Pasa Pucha Amerikaya (NPPA) and Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA) jointly organized a business forum at the 28th ANA Convention in Boston. The theme of the business forum was “Business Entrepreneurship and Networking.” The primary purpose of this forum was to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship in fostering business opportunity and community development.
This business forum has brought together many participants from different parts of the country and from different walks of life – business leaders from diverse sectors, professionals, students and community organizers. The moderator Mr. Raju Joshee, General Secretary of NPPA, welcomed participants to the forum and requested the participants to introduce themselves.
Mr. Laxman Pradhan, President of NPPA, welcomed the participants and highlighted the objective and overview of the business forum. He touched on future action plans of NPPA and ANA Business Team to help support and create successful entrepreneurial environments. He also presented the aggregate business data collection survey of Nepalese entrepreneurs doing business in the US market. He urged every business entrepreneur to complete the business questionnaire. He thanked all NPPA-ANA Business Team members, panelists, entrepreneurs and professionals for their participation and continued support.
Charge-de- Affaires at the Nepalese Embassy, Mr. Kali Prasad Pokhrel spoke on foreign direct investment (FDI) policy of Nepal. He asserted that Nepalese Government has opened doors for foreign investors in different industries after 1990. He highlighted the investment provisions for NRNs. He gave details on challenges and opportunities on FDI. He also indicated that Nepal Government is working with the US Government on bilateral business agreements.
Business entrepreneur from California Dr. Shambhu Dhungana highlighted about the differences and ways of doing business in the US and Nepal. He presented a detailed analysis on the comparisons of doing business in Nepal and in US. He expressed that it is very difficult to get job done in Nepal coupled with a corruption and bureaucratic system. He stressed that the practice of doing business in Nepal should be improved to attract more investments. He also urged business entrepreneurs implement the lessons that they have learned from the US system.
A very successful business entrepreneur from DC area Dr. Deepak Shrestha gave insights and advantages of doing franchise businesses. He stated that each and every business entrepreneur should try to understand the nature of business and its accounting and tax implications to avoid undesirable financial and regulatory problems. He also exhibited a brief video about his world craft and café business in Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. He highlighted his personal business experiences to the participants.
Moderator Mr. Raju Joshee opened the floor for questions. Participants were found very interactive with different business questions. Mr. Raju Joshee concluded the forum expressing his special thanks to Mr. Dipesh Shrestha, Mr. Maneet Dhungel, Mr. Jangu Sherpa, Mr. Medini Adhikari, and NPPA and ANA Executive Committee Members and gratitude to all panelists and participants. A social and business networking cocktail reception was followed by this forum.
With an object to better serve Nepalese business community in North America, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NPPA and ANA was signed on Friday, May 28, 2010. NPPA and ANA have established a dynamic venture with missions to:
- work closely with NPPA-ANA Business Committee and help promote trade or business objectives among Nepalese Business Community Members in North America;
- serve as a resource center for Nepalese Entrepreneurs on trade or business related activities in North America;
- develop and design a strong business database of Nepalese entrepreneurs doing business in North America;
- provide a common platform for NPPA and ANA Members to come together and share their innovative and business ideas and experiences to help address the concerns of Nepalese Entrepreneurs.
To materialize these missions, NPPA and ANA Business Team will work with the local businesses and Nepalese organizations to help create successful entrepreneurial environments. We will help sponsor and organize programs to identify and support promising business and entrepreneurial ideas. We will design and develop a business idea blog that allows Nepalese community members to explore and share their business interests with others and vice versa. We will continue working on collecting business data of Nepalese entrepreneurs doing business in North America. In sum, these collective efforts will help improve business entrepreneurship and networking among Nepalese entrepreneurs in the mainstream of the US market.
Over 50 business entrepreneurs, students and professionals participated in this business forum. They were very interested and receptive to this kind of business forum.
For more detail on Nepal Pasa Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA) please visit:
www.nppa-usa.org
For more detail on Association of Nepalis in Americas (ANA) please visit:
www.anaonline.org
