This document discusses entrepreneurship and appropriate technology in Nepal. It provides an overview of entrepreneurship concepts like minimum viable products and pivoting. It also analyzes Nepal's economy, imports, exports, and opportunities for appropriate technology interventions in sectors like agriculture, handicrafts, and tourism. Some challenges of serving base of the pyramid customers in Nepal are discussed, such as sourcing materials, social acceptance, and technology know-how. The document concludes by considering business models for appropriate technology products and services in Nepal, such as direct sales, distributors, pay-as-you-go models, and finding end-users who are not direct clients.

1. Kushal Gurung
Founder, WindPower Nepal Pvt Ltd
Appropriate Technology
Entrepreneurship
in Nepal

2. Outline
 Entrepreneurship
 Nepal
 Appropriate Technology

3. What is Entrepreneurship?
“Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond
resources controlled.”
- Prof Howard Stevenson, Harvard

4. Do you want to be an
Entrepreneur?

5. Recipe for Entrepreneurship?

6. Product or Service?

8. Starting point : BIG IDEA
 Where to start from?
 Problem?
 Passion?
 Strengths?

9. Minimum Viable Product
MVP is not necessarily
the
smallest product
imaginable
though; it is simply the
fastest
way to get through the
BML
feedback loop with
minimum

10. Case Study: Power for
expedition
Problem:
 Large team (10-15)
 Gadgets (radios, mobile phone, camera, laptop,
etc)
 Temporary camps in off-grid area
 Open area: Volatile weather
Solution: Portable power source
 Lightweight
 Durable

11. MVP : Portable solar kit
 All input locally sourced
 Rechargeable power source
 Solar panels (20W size)
 Foldable stand
 Weatherproof Housing
 Portable, bit bulky (15 kg)
 3 times cheaper than imported
 Happy Customer

12. Iteration: Everest 100
 Lighter (<10kg)
 More powerful
(portable)
 Plug and Play (easy to

13. Uncertainties overcomed
 Go through Analogs and
Antilogs
 Find out questions whose
answers you don’t get from the
A&As
 Set your assumptions: Leap of
Faith
 Build an organisation to test
assumptions
Every business plan begins with a set of
assumptions, how
to make sure your assumptions are right?

14. Pivot: Fail fast, Learn quickly
3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
Company)
started as a Mining company in
1902, but now does many things
except mining!
Adhesives, electronic materials,
medical products, car-care
products (sun films, polish, wax, car
shampoo), etc.

15. Idea vs Execution
First mover advantage is good, but not necessary
Idea is important, but execution is key

16. Innovate (or die)

17. How to be Innovative?
The Innovator’s DNA (Prof Jeff Dyer)
 Questioning
 Observing
 Experimenting
 Networking

18. Entrepreneurship in Nepal

19. Macro analysis of Nepal (2015)
 Total population: 28.51 million
 Rural population: 81.75%
 GDP: $21.19 billion
 GDP growth: 2.7%
 GNI per capita: $730
 Inflation: 7.9%
 44.74% land covered by Forests
 Import oriented economy

20. Import and Export of Nepal
 Export:
 Rs 75,523,173,649 (2015)
 India 61.3%, US 11.1%, Germany 4.1%, UK 3.5%
China 2.5%
 Rs 64,695,533,342 (2009)
 Import:
 678,470,405,300 (2015)
 India 60.9%, China 13.8%, UAE 4.6%, Indonesia
2%, Switzerland 1.5%
 Rs 339,615,096,869 (2009)
Source: http://www.tepc.gov.np/

21. Export data 2009
S.N. Product Name Value (%)
1 Lentils 7.6
2 Carpet 7
3 Woven fabric obtained from strip 5.3
4 Non alloy steel~ coated with zinc 4.6
5 Non-alloy steel~ coated with corrugated zinc 4.2
6 Woolen shawls/ scarves/mufflers/mantillas/veils 2.8
7 Jute bags and sacks 2.7
8 Tubes/pipes and hollow profiles of iron and steel 2.4
9 Cardamom 2.4
10 Single yarn polyester staple fibres 2.2
11 Black tea fermented 2
12 Wire of iron or non-alloy steel 1.9
13 Vegetable Products 1.8
14 Pebbles/gravel/broken or crushed stone 1.6
15 Multiple or cabled yarn polyester staple fibres 1.5

22. Export data 2015
S.N. Product Name Value (%)
1 Carpet 9.7
2 Big Cardamon (Alaichi) 6.2
3 Woven fabric obtained from strip or the like 5.2
4 Woolen shawls/scarves/mufflers/mantillas/veils 3.7
5 Mixture of juices 3.3
6 Yarn of polyester staple fibres 3.2
7 Jute bags and sacks 2.7
8 Black tea fermented 2.6
9 Footwear with outer sole of rubber or plastics 2.4
10 Wire of iron or non-alloy steel plated or coated with zinc 2.3
11 Rosin and resin acid 2.1
12 Areca nuts 2.1
13 Woven fabric of jute or bast fibres 2.1
14 Tubes, pipes of iron or non alloy steel 1.8
15 Single yarn~ 85% or moreby weight of polyester staple fibres 1.8

23. Import data 2009
S.N. Product Name Value (%)
1 Gold semi-manufactured forms 12.2
2 High speed diesel oils and vapouring oils 6.3
3 M.S Billet 3.4
4 Motorcycle 2.2
5 Liquefied petroleum gases 2
6 Medicaments 1.9
7 Crude soyabean oil 1.8
8 Cement clinkers 1.5
9 Sprits including Petrol 1.5
10 Bar and rods of iron or non alloy steel 1.5
11 Portland cement 1.4
12 Chasis fitted with engine of bus and trucks 1.4
13 Betelnuts 1.3
14 Tractors 1.2
15 Telephone used for cellular or cordless networking 1.2

24. Import data 2015
S.N. Product Name Value (%)
1 High Speed Diesel 5.9
2 M.S Billet 3.2
3 Gold semi-manufactured forms 2.4
4 Liquefied petroleum gases 2.2
5 Telephone used for cellular or cordless networking 2.2
6 Milled rice 2.1
7 Medicaments 1.9
8 Motor Spirit (Petrol) 1.8
9 Silver unwrought 1.7
10 Crude soyabean oil 1.6
11 Aeroplane 1.5
12 Motorcycle 1.4
13 Flat rolled product of iron of a thickness less than 3mm 1.3
14 Coal 1.3
15 Urea Fertiliser 1.3

25. Appropriate Technology
 Intermediate Technology-Dr. Ernst
Friedrich Schumacher in “Small is
Beautiful” (1973)
 Jequier and Gerard (1993)
 low investment cost per work
place;
 low capital investment per unit of
output;
 organisational simplicity;
 high adaptability to a particular
social cultural environment;
 sparing use of natural resources;
 low cost of final product or high
potential for employment
Small-scale, decentralized, labor-

26. Appropriate Technology for
Nepal

27. Scope for Appropriate
Technology
Key sectors for intervention
 Agriculture
 Livestock
 Handicraft
 NTFP
 Tourism
 FMCGs
 Others

29. Challenges
 Serving the Base of Pyramid
 Finding right market channel
 Sourcing input materials
 Social Acceptance
 Cost
 Technology know-how

30. How to sell: Business Model?
 B2B or B2C
 Sell as Product
 Direct sales
 Distributor/Dealer
 On-demand production
 Sell as Service
 Rental
 Pay-as-you-go
 Financing options: EMI/EQI
 Disruptive model: End-users don’t have to be
your clients 

31. kushal@windpowernepal.co
Thank
You