Tag Archives: kathmandu

We need a Park ! Turn our old Royal Palace into one now !

entrepreneurship, environment, governance, human resources, recommend these links, , , ,

We want a park to enjoy, to take a breathe away distraction full Kathmandu. What better use of the old Royal Palace  in Kathmandu to turn it into a park! It is a huge space in the most lucrative business districts of the country and it now houses a stupid museum and a stupid bureaucratic hole. So lets suggest some creative ideas for this space. Here are some of mine:

  • Take the bloody foreign ministry somewhere else first.
  • Get a bid for building a hybrid limited storied business- commercial shopping complex all around the Palace. This way new businesses will have a new address to attract nepalis and foreigners alike. Cap the design to be more architecturally Kathmandu’s Malla period architecture. Let there be a open plan/competition for architects for a design that incorporates tourism complex with a big park in the middle.  Use this to attract responsible tourism related business into the complex. (plan is to extend and upgrade Thamel’s charm there in a more cultural plus natural framework).
  • Let most of the revenue go towards building an impecabbly well maintained park not unlike the “Garden of Dreams” next door in Thamel. This will be our

Continue reading We need a Park ! Turn our old Royal Palace into one now ! →

few ideas for kathmandu’s guerilla entrepreneurs…

entrepreneurship, ideas, thought provoking, , ,

Pain is Opportunity. This is how we entrepreneurs see things. We just look around, see where certain situations are causing discomfort (pain) to people, families, neighborhoods, towns and even the country. We find an opportunity, an idea to change lives, then offer the services people need. In the past five years, there has been an amazing growth in interest among the new generation of Nepalis to become entrepreneurs. Many young Nepalis are starting organizations, businesses and institutions in their 20’s and 30’s.

We all know Nepal is undergoing a lot of pain these days. But this is exactly when entrepreneurs should seize the opportunity. In a country with where one thousand Nepalis are leaving the country daily for jobs, providing dignified jobs here, is the best social service you would be providing.
For those of you who are just starting out, here are a few examples where pain is an opportunity here.

What if you…

  • Provide a open office space that could be prepaid and rented on a per use basis in the heart of Kathmandu and other urban centers. A great place for start up entrepreneurs to meet others. ‘Co-office’ or brainstorming space or ……

Continue reading few ideas for kathmandu’s guerilla entrepreneurs… →

noticing the street entrepreneurs

entrepreneurship, , ,

As I walk on the streets of Kathmandu during the evenings, I have been noticing quite a few street vendors working their magic out on the streets of Kathmandu, Some are selling Momo’s (nepali delicacy – form of dumpling) on a unique makeshift moving kitchen or re-selling world’s cheapest pants (under a dollar) in sacks,  boxes of Chanel labeled fake perfumes to dirt cheap radios on a make-shift shop on the wheels.

When droves of Nepalis are heading out of country (the grass is greener on the other side), these self-employed and street entrepreneurs seemingly are the ones who are risking it all, on these streets daily, hustling it out.

They may not be “entrepreneurs” in traditional defination, but what they are doing and risking stuff on the streets with frugal startup funds and raising families, battling  local thugs, police, the illegal taxers, chaotic traffic, nasty pollution and what nots.

And they may even be unknowingly changing the Kathmandu Valley into a vibrant evening city.

A salute to them!

Uj