NEPALChangeFusion

http://nepal.changefusion.org/

INVESTMENT BROCHURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION DESIGN & INVESTMENT SERVICE

http://nepal.changefusion.org/

INVESTMENT BROCHURE

AREWho We

Change Fusion Nepal first “Hakuna” night on September 25, 2008.

Change Fusion Nepal supports young Nepalese with the most innovative ideas to solve social and environmental problems through a comprehensive fellowship program that serves to translate innovative ideas into sustainable and scalable business ventures. Change Fusion Nepal was founded in Nepal on September 2008 and is part of Change Fusion Thailand. It was founded in Nepal to help local youth direct their vision, passion and skills towards benefiting marginalized and disadvantaged people and areas in their societies through social entrepreneurship.

What is a social entrepreneur?

Change Fusion Nepal defines a social entrepreneur as:

Someone who recognizes a social or environmental problem and uses

entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture

that creates social and/or environmental change. Social entrepreneurs

are innovative, resourceful, and results oriented individuals who utilize

the best of the business, non-profit and technology worlds to develop

innovative solutions that maximize their social and/or environmental

impacts.

DOWhat We

Change Fusion Nepal promotes youth social entrepreneurship

through a comprehensive social business incubation fellowship

program focusing in four key areas:

FINANCES // MENTORSHIP // NETWORKS // KNOWLEDGE

The fellowship cycle begins with the call for proposals by

announcing an annual entrepreneurs’ competition. Immediately after

the application deadline, we rigorously evaluate the applications and

select our fellows. Once we announce the winners of the fellowship,

we work with a team of innovative partners and supporters to help

co-design, finance and incubate the vision of the young social

entrepreneurs so that we can holistically evolve their passionate

ideas into viable social enterprises.

“Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot see any worthy challenge which excites them. Almost all social and economic problems of the world will be addressed through social businesses. The challenge is to innovate business models and apply them to produce desired results cost effectively and efficiently. “

Dr Muhammad Yunus, Noble Peace Prize Laureate on inspiring young social entrepreneurs

COMPONENTSThe Fellowship

Change Fusion Nepal facilitates the growth of social enterprises by creating a comprehensive and competitive platform that empowers social innovators to develop their social enterprises while keeping the primary focus on maximizing social impact. We do this by focusing on four key areas:

FINANCES+ Connect the fellows with appropriate financing and financial management resources + Help to identify and conduct due diligence of early-stage enterprises

MENTORSHIPFace-to-face and virtual consultations by a diverse group of paid and volunteer local mentors with focus on: + Business planning + Social impact assessment + Start-up operation management + Financial model development+ Investment readiness and fund raising

The contracted mentor will mentor the selected fellows for a year. For the first 3 months, the mentor will meet the fellows once a week and then once a month thereafter and will provide a weekly report on the progress of the fellow.

NETWORKSIn addition to financing, the scalability of innovative enterprises is closely determined by its ability to engage diverse networks in the solution. We engage through our ability to:+ Connect Nepalese young social entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, other social entrepreneurs and other interested stakeholders + Host biannual local events, called Hakuna Nights, to spur innovation, enhance creativity, network and present their stories to supporters, established entrepreneurs, investors, donors and international development experts+ Host monthly meetings, called Udomi Baithak, to connect with other young changemakers in order to build, engage and inspire creative use of the growing like-minded youth network+ Engage with an online portal for social entrepreneurs to help the finalists communicate with the broader community

KNOWLEDGEAppropriating knowledge in the area of social enterprise and development can significantly improve an early-stage enterprise’s development process. We help develop knowledge through the:+ Creation and translation of relevant knowledge tools such as guidebooks, publications, blogs and active point raising discussions within our networks+ Engagement in relevant research focusing on the region+ Run a “Capacity Building Workshop” to provide access to essential knowledge in relevant areas. Business leaders and consultants are invited to the workshop to work with the fellows and pass on their expertise on selected topics such as preparation of the business plan, assessment of general startup problems and discussion on particular needs of the participants.

Nepal has recently emerged from a decade-long civil war and many youth are still feeling frustrated,

disconnected and hopeless due to the still ongoing political instability and lack of opportunities.

Many disadvantaged youth  turn to alternative methods of survival, such as working abroad as

exploited labor and many who stay feel trapped, not knowing where to turn. There are many bright

Nepali youth with the vision, ideas and passion to make a difference but who have neither the

money nor the knowledge to implement their ideas successfully.

Young social entrepreneurs who are equipped with innovative ideas, commitment and a vision for

social change are often left to run their ventures with little support. As a result, most of them choose

to abandon their venture after a short stint and end up returning to conventional career paths. There

are currently only a handful of programs that support young social entrepreneurs. We believe that

developing support networks through social entrepreneurs will bring a change to this mindset and

give hope to young people who ultimately will determine the future of Nepal.

NEPAL?Why support

DONEWhat We’ve

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Change Fusion Nepal started its journey in September 2008 with our first “Hakuna” event bringing together 20+ young

social entrepreneurs and their potential supporters to meet, showcase and discuss the emerging field. The event was a unique opportunity and a platform for many young social

entrepreneurs to talk about their ideas to the public.

Change Fusion Nepal announced a nation-wide competition

beginning in December 2008. Out of the 50 applicants received, 10

were selected.

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Hosted the second “Hakuna”. The entrepreneurs presented their venture to a crowd of over 100 potential

supporters.

With just 1 month of fundraising, over USD 7,000 was raised and four of the best prepared ventures were funded.

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Change Fusion Nepal Fellows announced.

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Began Udhomi Baithak meetings, which is a very close conversation

between five social entrepreneurs and two experts in their own fields to talk

about solutions to overcoming problems with the fellow’s ventures.

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Featured in leading newspapers, the

Kathmandu Post and the Himalayan Times.

Secured the first round of

financing.

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Established partnerships with Nepal Ko Yuwa, Entrepreneurs

for Nepal and the Unreasonable Institute.

FELLOWSMeet the

“For the past 6 years, through individual donations, I have been sheltering children of inmates. At this moment, I am training

women prisoners to make Nepali handicrafts so I can sell them

and cover the costs of education and feeding the

children.”

focus: empowering female inmates to care for their childrenPushpa Basnet, age 26

When Pushpa was 20, she visited a jail for her social science class and found that children were living in dire conditions with their mothers (inmates) in prison. This was an eye-opener that spurred her to research more on the plight of these children and their mothers. Pushpa felt that children should not be punished for their parent’s crime, but found that by law, if the children had no family or place to live outside the prison, they were required to live with their mothers in prison.

Pushpa took immediate action and opened the “Early Childhood Development Centre” (ECDC) where she provided the children with food, education and love. As her centre grew, increasing 7 fold in just 6 years, so did her expenses.

Through the support of Change Fusion Nepal Fellowship, the idea to engage the incarcerated mothers in money-making activities to pay for the support of their children was born.

In addition to supporting the ECDC’s programs, this also empowers the mothers with access to income generating activities that they can continue even after they are released. Pushpa wants to change the attitude of the society towards these inmates. Above all, Pushpa hopes that people will visit her centre, meet the children, spend some time with them and buy the handicrafts and handmade cards.

PUSHPA’S VISION

Showroom for handicrafts:Pushpa is currently producing handmade cards using former women inmates.  The income generated from the sales is helping her organization become self-sufficient. The children also help in the card creation process for just 15 minutes a day during their play hours. Shewants to open a showroom so that it can display the products that the inmates and the children have made and generate awareness and income from sales.

Volunteers: Pushpa hopes to collaborate with an international designer to blend Nepali textiles with international design. She is also looking for a web designer to design her website.

“There is a remote, poverty-stricken area in Nepal called Bajura where the

local soil cannot sustain any agriculture. I want to start a venture

by extracting oils from olives and training the local community so I can reduce poverty and increase employment

in Bajura.”

Sambhu Poudel, age 25focus: high altitude agriculture for poverty & hunger alleviation

Sambhu, a young Forestry student, never in his wildest dreams thought that a trip to Bajura would change his life forever. One day,  a foreign friend asked him about the possibility of olive production in Nepal. Curious to find out for himself,  he contacted officials and researched the database of the Department of Forestry and found insufficient data about wild olives in Nepal. Digging deeper, he learned about a place called Bajura, where wild olives were known to grow.

Bajura lies in a remote rural area Nepal at an altitude of 2,192 meters. Sambhu found that the land is infertile and the local communities were struggling to make ends meet. Many, particularly the youth, are leaving their communities and migrating, mostly to India, so they can make a better living. Sambhu found that in this area, there was a species of particularly resilient wild olives, called Olea cuspidate, that were successfully growing in marginal wastelands. In Bajura, these trees were only being used for animal fodder or construction, and its potential for olive oil creation had not been utilized.

Seeing the huge potential for both an olive oil venture and a sustainable job market for the the local community, Sambhu and his friend decided to stay in Bajura. Through a research grant they received from National Trust for National Conservation (NTNC), they spent 6 months investigating these wild olives and found that roughly 19 tones of olives are being wasted (rotting and spoiling) every year. Sambhu has been in contact with olive oil experts from Italy who are helping him learn how to build a successful venture through olive production. With the support of Change Fusion Nepal, Sambhu is beginning to take action to help alleviate poverty and hunger in the region.

SAMBHU’S VISION:

Income generation to alleviate poverty: Sambhu hopes to test the potential of olive trees and its oil and plant more trees in the region. (According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), approximately 300 trees per hector can be planted on marginalized wasteland). This will bring more income to communities from sales of oil and help halt migration of the youth. They have already talked to the community and they have shown their full support.

Equipment: An efficient machine is needed to abstract oils from these fruits.

“Rural farmers are being exploited by middlemen and as such have difficulties in

even covering their investments. I aim to give

not just fair price for their production but also new technology for organic

farming.”

Sabina Shrestha, age 29focus: Empower rural farmers through technology and organic farming

Dolakha, a district in central Nepal, is very famous for its potatoes. Many drive five hours from Kathmandu just to have a taste of these potatoes. Sumina, along with her friends, did just that three years ago. She was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, but felt that the farmers were not happy. When she asked the farmers why the gloomy face, the farmers explained how they were stuck in a cycle of poverty because they didn’t have the necessary marketing and networking skills to become independent of the middlemen who took all the profits.

After Subina reached home, the farmers’ plight continued to haunt her. She talked to her team members at Rural Community Development Society (RCDC), an organization that promotes livelihood and employment opportunities for the rural farmers. They went back to the village to find out more and noticed that insufficient income from farming had led to social chaos and disorder due to unemployment and poverty, and farmers were either committing suicide or migrating to escape their suffering.

Sabina and her team set up a cooperative in Dolakha that provides training and networking to the farmers. Through her venture, she hopes the farmers, who form a majority of the population, can get a fair price for their products and discourage the presence of profit-seeking middlemen. The team is also trying to promote organic farming to maintain the nutrient value of the products and healthy farming techniques. The team collects rural food products from the producers’ cooperative and delivers them to hotels, retailers, individual consumers and individual vendors. The results were positive due to the good quality, taste and fair price of the potatoes.

SABINA’S VISION:

Expansion: Currently limited to just two adjoining districts of Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha, the team has generated interest in other parts of the country to expand and involve more farmers and rural people. They hope to serve at least 1,000 farmers in the near future and expand as much as possible. Current customer target is of 25,000 which will be expanded with the product range and the quantity of the products.

Potato shop: If they get financial assistance, they hope to set up a potato shop so they can sell the potatoes.

Transportation: Lots of revenue is been spent on transportation alone, because they don’t own their own vehicle. Sabina is hoping for financial assistance so they can own their own vehicle and thus cut their costs.

“I was saddened by the extreme poverty that is faced by

rickshaw pullers and their families. And on top of that, the rickshaw owners exploited them

in different ways. With my venture, I want to bring more income and encourage self-respect among rickshaw

pullers.”

Ranjit Kaushawa, age 30focus: improving living standards & social status of rickshaw puller communities

Ranjit is a normal man with extraordinary vision. On a regular journey in a rickshaw, a normal conversation with the rickshaw puller changed Ranjit’s focus in life. On inquiring about the rickshaw puller’s way of living, Ranjit was shocked at the appalling state of affairs. Rickshaw pullers suffer from extreme poverty due to exploitation from rickshaw owners. They also suffer from bias on the basis of castes as most of them are Dalits (untouchables in the Nepali caste system). This has serious health impact on the rickshaw pullers and they have an average life expectancy of 45-47 years.(The average life expectancy of people in the region is 60 years).

Upon hearing the same story from many different pullers and consulting with his friends, he decided to do something about it. He says he wants to do something for the community. By giving the “untouchables” a platform to establish themselves by getting rid of the vicious circle, Ranjit says other exploited groups can follow the same example and the society as a whole can gain.

Ranji decided to get his friends involved in coming up with a solution, which was to provide the pullers with their own rickshaws (with colors indicating they own it) and a first aid box. His venture will allow these puller to pay a minimal daily amount of about NRS. 20-25 (instead of the current NRS. 60-70) to his cooperatives with a flexible payback plan ranging from 1.5 years to 2.5 years.  After they pay off the whole amount, the pullers will own their own rickshaws, which will break the vicious cycles of being exploited by rickshaw owners and invest the profit in improving the livelihood of their families.

RANJIT’S VISION:

A Rickshaw cooperative: Ranjit and his team of 17 volunteers have set up a cooperative run by rickshaw pullers for the betterment of their lives. This cooperative provides them with social identity, health checkups and networking for these rickshaw workers.

50 Rickshaws: One rickshaw costs NRS. 25,000 ($300). Ranjit has applied for ChangeFusion Nepal grants to buy 50 rickshaws for one district in Bara.

Education: A school for chidren of rickshaw pullers where they will get the much-needed education and thus, opportunities to turn their life around.

“Having been born as a Newar with its rich culture and heritage, I was

saddened by how the values of the culture were diminishing and

traditional craft makers were losing their jobs. Now, I am not only saving my culture, I am fulfilling my life-

long dream of having  my own business.”

Urmila Malakar Shrestha, age 32focus: cultural preservation, education & artisan empowerment

Newars, the indigenous people of Kathmandu, are the sixth largest ethnic group in Nepal. They are credited with designing the multi-tiered pagoda architectures that have received world-wide attention. Urmila, born and bred as a Newar, noticed that the Newari culture, arts and crafts were diminishing due to crude republication. What really hit home was her recent trip to Pyon Gaun where she met a one time famed craftsman, Purna Bahadur Maharjan, who confided in her that 10 years ago, he was able to provide a comfortable life for his family through his handicrafts but now he had difficulty feeding himself. Due to such hardships, his sons abandoned their father’s legacy to pursue other work. Urmila felt that something had to be done now otherwise the culture would be lost to the new generation who would never understanding their own history and culture.

Urmila left her job in an advertising firm, applied to Change Fusion Nepal and organized a team of equally passionate young Newars to co-lead this venture. With the first installment of seed funding from Change Fusion Nepal in addition to her own personal investment, Urmila opened Newa Decor, a shop in Mangal bazar, Patan which aims to promote Newari culture, tradition and arts while giving craft makers the opportunity to sustain themselves through the employment.

URMILA’S VISION:

Newa Decor:  Urmila and her team have opened a showroom called Newa Decor exhibiting and selling Newari handicrafts made by  traditional crafts makers. The team is also available to consult with you on how to decorate your home in Newari style and decor.

Newa Mini Museum:  Urmila is planning to open a mini museum showcasing Newari crafts. Her team will give a tour on the history of Newari culture, traditions and heritage to visitors.

Newa Homestay: Urmila is planning to open a Newari home stay where guests can stay and enjoy Newari hospitality. The guest will have the opportunity to spend time with Urmila’s team and family and learn about Newari culture and taste Newari food. If they are lucky, they can also celebrate Newari festivals if it happens to be on the time of their stay. Through this home stay, Urmila hopes to promote Newari culture and tradition.

FUNDINGAction through

Pusha used the funds received from Change Fusion Nepal to generate employment opportunities for women released from prison through the production of the handicrafts. With the income from these sales, Pushpa has been able to support some of the basic food and education costs associated with caring for the children of incarcerated mothers.

Sambhu used the funds received from Change Fusion Nepal to do extensive research on the viability of the production of olive oil in Bajura. In April 2010, Sambhu will pick the fruits and extract the olive oil by employing the rural people.

Urmila used the funds received from Change Fusion Nepal to open a small show room in Mangal Bazar, called Newa Décor, where she is showcasing and selling different Newari products made by traditional Newari artisans who are in poor economic conditions.

Sabina used the funds received from Change Fusion Nepal to rented a small shop in Boudha, to store the potatoes from Dolakha, She also started marketing and selling the potatoes to a variety of buyers, including hotels, restaurants, vendors and more.

“By helping to create successful entrepreneurial stories that impact the

daily lives of the underprivileged in Nepal, we support role models who prove that positive change is indeed possible.”

Luna Shrestha Thakur, Change Fusion Nepal Director

As much as it is important to raise funds to support the ventures, it is equally as important to manage and grow the ventures that we are currently supporting. In order to do this, Change Fusion Nepal is looking for different ways to support these four ventures in terms of networks, markets and capacity building. Change Fusion Nepal will organize separate events in collaboration with Youth Asia and Entrepreneurs for Nepal for these purposes. With the support of Youth Asia, Change Fusion Nepal will organize additional monthly events, called, ”Udhyomi Baithak”, where the entrepreneurs will interact with handpicked experts and discuss ways to develop the ventures. ChangeFusion will continue to look for supporters and help the ventures with their marketing, networking and finances.

Change Fusion Nepal will be hosting another Capacity Building Workshop for March 2010. We have already been in touch with a variety of professionals who have expressed interest in participating in the workshop to support the emerging entrepreneurs.

:Change Fusion Nepal will be raising more funds in order to support an additional batch of ventures in 2010. Our team is currently working on a comprehensive investor brochure in order to clearly specify how interested financial supporters can contribute and what their contribution will mean. Once completed, the investor brochure will be send both locally and internationally.

In order to gain international recognition, support and expertise, we are in the process of establishing a branch office that will operate as a non-profit 501(c)3 , which will allow us to accept tax deductible donations from people living in the United States.

Along with the next Capacity Building Workshop, Change Fusion Nepal will announce a new nation-wide competition for young social entrepreneurs beginning in May 2010 to select the fellows for 2010. In order to attract the most qualified and passionate young people, we will be embarking on a nation wide awareness program this April so that we can spread information about this opportunity all across Nepal. This on the road program is being supported by local communities and clubs of the targeted districts.

These plans culminate in September 2010 with the 3rd “Hakuna” where the ventures associated with Change Fusion Nepal will talk about their activities. In addition, the fellows of 2009 describing their activities of the previous year and the selected ventures of 2010 showcasing their ideas.

What isNEXT

NEPAL SUPPORT

CAPACITY BUILDING

FUNDRAISING

UNITED STATES

FELLOWSHIP 2010

Your uniqueCONTRIBUTION

FUNDINGWithout supportive funding from philanthropic investors, none of this would be possible. Your financial support will act as seed money to help start these ventures as well as help fund the capacity building and mentorship needed to help our ventures be financial sustainable while having a tremendous social impact in the communities they operate in. Any contribution, from USD$ 100 to USD$ 100,000 will make an impact.

We hope that you will be able to support one or more of the following:

With just $3000, Pushpa can open a small show room for her products and train more inmates from outside Kathmandu. Pushpa has started producing handicrafts, so please visit her Early Childhood Office in Budhanilkantha to buy her products.

With just $3000,, Urmila can open her Newari Home Stay. Urmila has already opened her show room, Newa Décor. You can buy any one of the three beautiful Newari corners there. Please visit her show room in Patan Darbae Square.

With just $3000, Sabina can open a mini market where she can sell the fresh products from different farmers. If you like potatoes, please order her potatoes from Sindhupalchok.

With just $3000, Sambu can start picking the fruits of olives and start processing to make oil of it.

With just $3000, Ranjit can buy 10 rickshaws which will bring him to a total of 30 purchased rickshaws - enough to have a critical mass of independent rickshaw pullers. You can also sponsor to buy one rickshaw for just USD 300.

We firmly believe that everyone has something they contribute. In order to engage as many people as possible in helping empower and support these ventures, we have developed a number of ways for you to help turn these ideas into a reality.

Your uniqueCONTRIBUTION

MENTORSHIPChange Fusion Nepal provides crucial capacity building support through

our mentorship component of the fellowship. THe mentorship provided

ensures that the most innovative ventures stay afloat and can overcome

the challenged that come their way. If you have any interest in helping to

mentor a young social entrepreneur to make an important impact through

their venture, we strongly encourage you to reach out to us so we can

discuss your involvement. We encourage you to provide either on or off-

site time and expertise towards mentoring young social entrepreneurs and

assist them in their business development. Our mentorship program is

very flexible and we are looking forward to working with you to determine

what time commitment is appropriate for your schedule and expertise. If

you are unable to commit your time, we would be honored to have you

financial support which would cover the fellow’s mentor costs ($3000

annually per mentor). For more information, please contact

luna@changefusion.org.

KNOWLEDGEChange Fusion Nepal collects and develops knowledge content that are

available both online and offline that helps educate the young social

entrepreneurs about how to successfully run their social ventures. If you

have resources that you think would be valuable, please send us an email

or give us a call to let us know. We are continually updating and evolving

our knowledge resources, so please do help us expand. If you are abroad

and if you know any organizations that are supporting social

entrepreneur’s products through online shops or direct market, please let

us know. This sort of information can make all the difference in the world

to us. Additionally, you can Provide financial support to ChangeFusion

Nepal to host capacity building workshop. For a three day workshop, the

total cost is just USD$ 3000. Give your valuable time as a trainer to share

your financial and business expertise.

Your uniqueCONTRIBUTION

NETWORKS

The age old saying, “it’s all about who you know” has not lost any of it’s

truth along the way. In order to succeed in business, it’s important to

have an extensive network of diverse contacts to help you along the

way. The same is true for these young social entrepreneurs. You can

provide tremendous help by inviting Change Fusion and/or our fellows

to events, conferences, parties, workshops or any other gathering so

that we can enter into valuable networks that are essential for future

success.

Additionally, you can provide financial support for events such as

Hakuna and our monthly change makers events that help young social

entrepreneurs network and find partners for their social ventures. One

Hakuna event will cost around USD$ 1000.

We also need people to help provide logistical support such as use of

space and refreshments for the networking events.

PROVIDE US WITH YOUR INVALUABLE ADVICE

Any form of support you provide will contribute towards providing young

social entrepreneurs with much needed opportunities to improve their

business development and add to the community. We look forward to

working with you. For more detail information on how to be involved,

please write to luna@changefusion.org

If you are ready to send funds, please send to the following account.Account name: Change Fusion NepalAccount number: 3101017500088

Bank details: Nabil Bank Limited, Baneswor Branch, Kathmandu, NepalSwift Code: NARBNPKA

For more detailed information, please contact luna@changefusion.org

Showing ourGRATITUDE

If you are able to support Change Fusion through financing,

mentorship, knowledge and/or networking, we would be

honored to show our appreciation through the following:

WEBSITE

With you permission, we would post your name and/or

business or organization as a Change Fusion Nepal supporter

on our website.

STAY UP TO DATE

You will get information every month about the progress of the

fellows whom you have supported.

MEET THE ENTREPRENEURS

If you are in Nepal, we will make an opportunity for you to meet

our fellows and to see their ventures in action.

If you are ready to send funds, please send to the following account.Account name: Change Fusion NepalAccount number: 3101017500088

Bank details: Nabil Bank Limited, Baneswor Branch, Kathmandu, NepalSwift Code: NARBNPKA

For more detailed information, please contact luna@changefusion.org

“If we can spend the early decades of the 21st century finding approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce poverty in the world."

- Bill Gates, Microsoft

Special thanksTO

Mark Arnoldy

photographyFounder, NepalNUTrition

Brooke Estin

brochure design, content editing & copySenior Coordinator, Change Fusion

Shreyans Tamang photography

Freelance photographer

Yuko Maskay

copyV.E.N.T! Magazine Founder/Editor

http://nepal.changefusion.org/