International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship on the cards

Published On: June 21, 2016 10:00 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, June 20: The first International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship is going to be organized in Kathmandu.

King’s College is all set to organize the first International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship in Kathmandu between June 30 and July 1, according to the organizer.
Holding a press conference on Monday, the organizer said the two-day conference will highlight the stories of entrepreneurs behind more than 30 social ventures, feature seven acclaimed speakers from around the world, and serve as a platform for anyone looking for networking opportunities to develop and grow in the field of social entrepreneurship.

With the theme ‘Rebuilding Nepal through Social Entrepreneurship’, the conference will focus on how entrepreneurship in general and social entrepreneurship in particular can contribute to the much-needed rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the devastating April 2015 earthquake, said Narottam Aryal, Executive Director at King’s College. “To this end, academic papers presented at the conference will talk about scalable, viable and replicable relief, rebuilding and reconstruction models.

“Our aim is to bring together organizations and individuals who have been instrumental in helping develop social entrepreneurship in Nepal and the South Asia region.”
Aryal said he hoped the conference would bring together social entrepreneurs, investors, academics and community members who will learn from one another by sharing experiences to deepen our collective impact.

In addition to Nepali social entrepreneurs, the conference will host Professor Satyajit Majumdar, the chairperson of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the School of Management and Labor Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Professor Jay Mitra, the director of International Development Department at Essex Business School in the UK, and Lena Ramfelt, co-founder of Gear UP Venture.

Moreover, Boond CEO Rustam Sengupta, Ennovent Global Director Vipul Kumar and Siddharta Rajhans from Apple Inc have agreed to attend the conference and share their perspective, the organizer said.

Findings from a research on social entrepreneurship in Nepal will also be released at the conference, the organizer said. “The research, commissioned by the Social Enterprise Activation Center and conducted by King’s College, will provide insight into the state of social entrepreneurship in the country, and help unpack how social entrepreneurship is viewed and defined by those working in the sector.”