Finnish delegation commits support to women entrepreneurs

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and a visiting delegation from Finland on Thursday discussed enhancing the capacity of Nepali women in order to empower them and foster entrepreneurship.
FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya and Helena Arlander, investment director of Finnfund, led their respective institutions during the meeting attended by FNCCI members and parliamentarians and bankers from Finland.
The Finnish team is in Nepal to assess the situation of Nepali women entrepreneurs and to identify the areas wherein they need assistance, reads a FNCCI statement.
“The FNCCI officials and visiting Finnish delegation discussed challenges faced by Nepali women entrepreneurs, like poor access to loan, higher interest rates, weak access to market and low level of skills,” reads the statement. Women entrepreneurs, who were present at the meeting, also shared the challenges they are facing at present.
In his welcome remarks, Vaidya highlighted initiatives taken by the FNCCI in order to develop entrepreneurship among women and promote women entrepreneurs, such as the ´one district, one product´ program and different trainings and capacity-building workshops at different levels.
He also requested the Finnish delegation to support Nepali women entrepreneurs by transferring new technologies in the remote areas and running programs that enhance the quality of their productions.
In response, Arlander expressed commitment to provide all possible support to Nepali women entrepreneurs in areas they deemed important.