Innovative Start-Up Capital Grant Guidelines, 2020

With the release of Innovative Start-Up Capital Grant Guidelines, 2020, the government has finally set up this strategy that will help the innovators, including entrepreneurs, business personals or institutions to start new ventures. To encourage new innovators in innovative works, such grants will be allocated every year and provided in installments.

This could really be a milestone to prevent “Brain Drain”; a problem that is proving to be much dreadful to Nepal in the present days. To tackle such a problem the government of Nepal has already started to set up a Brain Gain Center to encourage and utilize their intellectual labor in their home country. According to the Nepal Labor department data, currently, more than 5.5 million Nepali youth seek authorization letters for working abroad. One of the reasons could be the limited scope.

Nepal lags far behind in the field of new technology which gives the students enough of the incentive to pursue their study abroad in the technical field. This Start-Up Grant not only aims to promote entrepreneurship but will also encourage students to return with ideas and knowledge that could potentially benefit the country.

So, the question is who are Innovators as per the Guidelines?

One who intends to invent unique goods or services for the public welfare using their skill, knowledge, research that could be an individual, firm, organization or entrepreneur. Every innovator is eligible to apply for this grant.

How does it work?

1. At first, a committee shall be established to regulate all the affairs related to granting of Innovative Start-Up Capital
2. The committee will publish an invitation notice for submitting proposals in the national daily newspaper twice for all the innovators– seeking to invest in information technology, agriculture, energy, health services, tourism, technological development, etc.
3. Interested innovators are then required to submit their proposal stating following details within the time stated in the published invitation notice:
   – Details of innovative ideas.
   – Details of innovative ideas.
   – Expected returns.
   – The amount required to be invested.
   – An expected grant from the government.
   – The positive impact is likely to prosper the economy.
   – Other particulars as stated.
4. After receiving the proposal, the committee will evaluate the proposal within 30 days and forward it to the sub-committee for selecting the useful proposal.
5. The selected proposal gets the grant of a maximum of NPR 50 lakh.
6. Necessary and regular examination is carried out by the committee to ensure that the proposed work is being carried out in time or not and as per the approved proposal. If found to have been carrying out other activities other than the proposed one then, the appropriate directives will be issued for its improvement. If no improvement is done in time, then the committee will direct the concerned party to pay the grant amount with interest. The progress report of the proposal needs to be submitted annually by inventors at the ministry.