Nepal Graduates Turn Ideas into Businesses and Local Jobs

AG Ventures in Surkhet used programme support to expand from biofertilizer production into floriculture, employing four regular workers and as many as 10 people during busy periods.

Young graduates across Nepal are turning classroom learning into businesses that create jobs, support local industries and open new income opportunities, helped by an entrepreneurship programme designed to narrow the gap between higher education and the realities of the country's labour market.

Bhaktapur entrepreneur Nistha Kayastha is one example. While studying business management, she worked part-time as an accountant at a textile company and became interested in traditional handloom weaving, where she saw skilled women producing fabrics such as Pashmina and Dhaka while often placing little value on abilities they had developed over years.

That experience inspired Handmade Wonders, a handloom enterprise that now exports Nepali textile products to the United States and France while employing 20 local women, including seven full-time workers and others who work part-time or from home.

University Programme Helps Ideas Become Real Businesses

Kayastha formally registered her enterprise in 2024 after receiving training, mentoring and seed financing through the Entrepreneurship Support Program, which is implemented by Nepal's University Grants Commission with support from the World Bank-financed Nurturing Excellence in Higher Education Program.

More than 1,900 students and graduates have received entrepreneurship training through selected institutions, learning practical skills intended to complement their academic education and help them build income-generating ventures.

Across three cohorts, 62 student and alumni businesses received a month of training from private-sector specialists and mentors, followed by collateral-free, interest-free seed financing averaging NPR 2 million per venture. The money is repaid over an agreed period so it can be used again to support future entrepreneurs.

New Ventures Create Jobs Across Different Industries

In Chitwan, Prabina Shah transformed her interest in art into ArtSpace Nepal, which has reached more than 500 students through workshops, training and other services in two years while creating five full-time and four part-time jobs.

AG Ventures in Surkhet used programme support to expand from biofertilizer production into floriculture, employing four regular workers and as many as 10 people during busy periods. Its seasonal internships have also introduced more than 500 high school students to sustainable farming practices over three years.

Food and commodity delivery business Mero Kinmel expanded beyond Bharatpur after receiving support, upgrading its digital platforms and customer service while opening branches in two cities. The company now employs 65 people, including 55 formally contracted delivery riders.

Higher Education Connects More Closely With Employment

Nepal had more than 1,400 higher education institutions and around 633,000 students in 2025, while roughly 500,000 young people enter the workforce each year, creating pressure for universities to equip graduates with skills that translate into employment and business opportunities.

Six major universities have established business incubation centres through the programme, creating spaces where students can connect academic knowledge with mentoring and enterprise development.

The wider NEHEP initiative also supports labour market-focused academic programmes, curriculum changes, faculty development, digital learning and scholarships, building a stronger connection between education and the skills employers and entrepreneurs need.