Five Social Ventures Win SNASE Award


ChangeFusion Nepal awarded five Nepali social entrepreneurs with the Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award (SNASEA) amid a function on November 21. Ram Sapkota (Mountain Delights Treks and Expedition and Tukee Nepal, Jyamrung), Sabita Maharjan (Kirtipur Hosiery), Shyam Badan Yadav (Kalash Milk Industry, Parsa), Vijaya Develoment Resource Centre (VDRC, Nawalparasi) and Chhahari Services (Kathmandu) each received the award. "for creating value for people, planet and profit", according to the organisers.

"Five social entrepreneurs were awarded for creating value for people, planet and profit," said the organisers, "the vision of the award was not only to celebrate the hidden heroes for their great initiatives but also to showcase their ventures and the impact they have made."


Ram Sapkota was awarded for the impact he has made on Jyamrung village of Dhading district. His projects range from eco toilets, micro hydro electricity, and health to education. Sabita Maharjan was honoured for her contribution to women empowerment by operating an exclusive cooperative for women. Similarly, Shyam Badan Yadav from Parsa was awarded for establishing a milk collection centre and distributing free livestock to poor people in his neighbourhood villages.

VRDC was awarded for its entrepreneurship that has mainstreamed different dimensions of development under one umbrella encompassing education, media, microfinance and various other thematic areas. Chhahari Services was recognized for catering to unskilled women to generate income by empowering them through capacity building and income generating training.


According to the organisers, the ventures were chosen after an intense process of short listing amongst 66 applicants and field visits to verify all relevant information and documents.


Each of the five winners will get a package that includes a cash prize of Rs 100,000 from Surya Nepal Private Limited (SNPL) along with the opportunity of networking through ChangeFusion Nepal. The winners will get the cash prize after they disclose their plan for utilizing the money.


SNASEA 2011 was sponsored by SNPL, organised by ChangeFusion Nepal and supported by National Business Initiative (NBI).