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12th Social Business Day, Country Forum of Nepal Concluded with the theme to build a New Civilization

The Centre for Self-help Development (CSD) convened 12th Social Business Day 2022, Country Forum of Nepal on June 29, 2022 based on the theme, “Building a New Civilization-Before the Current Civilization Destroys Us”. Social Business Day is an annual event organized by the Yunus Centre, Bangladesh as a global family gathering that platforms the accumulated experiences of social business leaders and entrepreneurs to give shape t the action to be taken for the future the future. Social Business Day took place as an online events in various countries and in-person hybrid event in East Africa from June 27-30, 2022.

In the Country Forum of Nepal Prof. Mohammed Yunus, in his keynote address said, “The Country Forum of Nepal is largest Forum with regards to number of participants. The Forum is family gathering for sharing experience, exploring potential and analyzing the practice of social business within each country. There are various Social Business Centers in various universities/colleges in Nepal. We have 101 Yunus Social Business Centre around the world. We should design education which enable and enrich our potential. The planet is like a spaceship. The problem is that our education trains us to be good passengers and not be navigators. The purpose of good education should be to teach young people to be good navigators so that they can themselves develop a flight plan. Navigator should know the destination.    Young people are leaders of transformation and conventional education is concerned with job creation and not education. The purpose and priority of education should be to make young people develop vision and navigate to fight the current issues prevalent in our world.” Our destination should be the world of 3 ZEROs- Zero unemployment through self-employment, Zero poverty through enterprise development and promotion of social business and Zero net carbon emission through promotion of clean energy. If we cannot address these issues, our ship will turn into wreckage.”

On the occasion of the Country Forum of Nepal, the Chairperson of the Forum Organizing Committee, Mr. Shankar Man Shrestha, said, “We are celebrating 12th Social Business Day 2022 worldwide through online and on person in East Africa which will focus on climate change, wealth concentration and unemployment. We are currently confronting problems such as global warming, increasing wealth gap between the rich and the poor and unemployment. Microfinance should create new civilization with priority on entrepreneurship development among the poor and the youth and promote 3 ZERO Clubs to walk on climate change, appropriate technology, leadership, education and health. We had prepared 14 point action plan in the 11th Social Business Day to be completed within a timeframe of two years. This time we discuss on the progress made as well as focus on the process of building new civilization and discuss on 3 ZERO clubs and contribution made by the club members who have enrolled in the club. We also will discuss on ways to achieve Zero unemployment through entrepreneurship development, Zero poverty through discouraging wealth concentration and Zero net carbon emission through developing concentrations among the people.” He emphasized that MFIs and other stakeholders should focus on human values and human beings as the critical element of new civilization and these should be zero poor, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emission.

Special Guest, of the Forum Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal, Former Governor, NRB said, “MFIs should contribute in poverty reduction, access to finance, women empowerment and to reduce carbon emission.” Regarding carbon emission, he said, “Carbon emission can be reduced through promotion of renewable energy, hydropower and micro hydropower in off-grid areas. Similarly, inequality, wealth concentration and unemployment should be controlled by unleashing entrepreneurship.”

In the Business Session Mr. Jyoti Chandra Ojha, CEO of RMDC Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, spoke on the overall target and progress made in implementing Two Year Action Plan set by the 11th Social Business Day, Country Forum of Nepal.

The moderator for the topic “Role of Microfinance Organizations in Building New Civilization” Dr. Bhesha Prasad Dhamala, Chairman of Nerude Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd remarked, “MFIs have issues like process drift and mission drift.  Process drift includes moving away from client centric approach and being more profit centric and having excessive commercial motives. Mission drift include moving away from core objective of microfinance like poverty alleviation, serving for the welfare of people that are mostly  deprived and the hardcore poor of the society. There must be paradigm shift in our way of doing to build the new civilization.”

Initiating the presentation on the topic, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Mandal, CEO of the Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd said, “The gap between rich and poor is widening and the hard core poor is still excluded from financial access. We need to focus on entrepreneurship development among microfinance members and engage them in productive activities that help export promotion and import substitution.”

The second speaker on the topic, Ms. Bimala Yogi, CEO of the Jalpa Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd said,” To bring women in the mainstream of development, MFIs have to indulge them in group formation and center meetings of microfinance, provide them with collateral free loan and involved them in social interactions.”

Another speaker, Mr. Dambar Bahadur Shah, General Manager of the Kisan Bahuudeshiya Sahakari Sanstha Ltd, focused on prevalent problems which MFIs should be able to tackle issues such as climate change, deforestation, deterioration in ethics, norms and values and accountability of the staff to the members.”

Speaking in the session, Dr. Gopal Dahit, CEO of the Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, focused on issues such as import substitution, production, entrepreneurship development among the youth and development of civilized society and technical digitalization. He said, “Many things we have been importing could be produced in Nepal.”

On the topic Experience Sharing on 3 ZERO Clubs in Nepal moderator Mr. Damodar Regmi, Deputy CEO of the Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. said, “1% of the richest people around the world have 50% of world’s wealth and 70% of the poorest people around the world have 2% of world’s wealth. To address the problems, we should encourage youths for taking control of the leadership through network development, advocacy and also change decision making role. For this, we need to promote 3 ZERO Clubs.”  Some of the members who have enrolled in 3 ZERO clubs also spoken on their interest in joining the club as well as their experience after joining the club.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar Mandal, CEO of the Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. presented the summary of the Forum sessions including some of the key remarks made by the speakers. He also presented Way Forward of the forum which was adopted unanimously by the participants.

There were delegates and participants from financial institutions, business houses, non-governmental organizations as well as experts from various fields in the Country Forum of Nepal.

12th Social Business Day 2022, Country Forum of Nepal
June 29, 2022

Way Forward

1. Each participant and participating organization will work for raising awareness among the fellow members of the communities and microfinance groups on the concept and the importance of New Civilization, and motivate them to dedicate their efforts for attaining the mission of the New Civilization.
2. The action plan approved by the 11th Social Business Day will be implemented whole heartedly on full scale.
3. Each microfinance institution (MFI) and microfinance cooperative (MFC) shall inspire its staff and members to demonstrate their full commitment towards the implementation of the theme of the Third National Microfinance Members’ Summit: GharGhar ma Udhyam Failau, Garibilai Shunya Banau (Expand Enterprise into Each Household and Reduce Poverty to Zero).
4. Each MFI and MFC will conduct a survey in one of its branches to determine the number of clients who have made progress out of poverty. CSD will conduct training to the concerned staff on the process of the survey.
5. Local educational institutes, MFIs and MFCs will provide orientation trainings to students, members’ children, and local youths on the concept of New Civilization and 3 ZERO Clubs.
6. Formation of 3ZERO Clubs will be geared up as a campaign and motivate youths to start their own micro-enterprises and be self-employed.
7. MFIs and MFCs will inspire and create conducive environment for the youth to start their own enterprises for self-employment by providing them with easy access to credit, and refrain them from going abroad for employment.
8. Each MFI and MFC will build one Self-reliant and Sustainable Eco-village in coordination and partnership with local municipalities, CSD and CRT/N.
9. MFIs and MFCs will work for cultivating good conduct, ethics and moral values among microfinance members and other rural community members through awareness program.

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