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Program

Social Entrepreneurship

Turning local problems into local businesses.

What we do

From local problem to local payroll

Founders who solve problems their own community pays to fix — with capital and mentors behind them.

  • Incubate ward-level enterprises. Founders solving problems their own community will pay to fix.
  • Seed grants + diaspora mentorship. Small capital paired with an experienced mentor abroad.
  • Link founders to public funds. Connections to MEDPA and municipal enterprise programs.

At a glance

SDG 8 SDG 1
  • Aligned with: MEDPA · 16th Plan
  • Chapter: Impact Nepal
  • Related project: Udyami Didi Cohort
84.6%
of all employment in Nepal is informal

Source: ILO / NLFS 2024

The problem we're solving

A nation of informal work

84.6% of Nepali employment is informal, and youth unemployment stands at 20.8%. Talent is everywhere — structure and seed capital are not. Social enterprise turns local problems into local payrolls, the way MEDEP's 131,000+ entrepreneurs (74% women) already proved possible.

Our approach

Four steps, then it runs itself

Every project follows the same arc — local from day one, handed over by design.

Scout real problems
Wards nominate problems worth solving — and the people ready to try.
Incubate founders
Business basics, social-enterprise models, peer cohorts.
Seed & mentor
A seed grant plus a matched diaspora mentor for 12 months.
Graduate to markets
Handoff to MEDPA, municipal funds and real customers.

On the ground

Related project

Completed Social Entrepreneurship

Udyami Didi Cohort

Mithila, Dhanusha (Madhesh)

30 women, 26 running businesses a year later — average profit NPR 9,200/month.

Full project profile

Project profiles are illustrative examples developed for program design and partnership discussions.

Alignment

Counted toward the goals that matter

Local action, mapped to Nepal's national plans and the world's 2030 agenda.

SDG 8 — Decent Work & Economic Growth

Decent work and sustained, inclusive economic growth.

SDG 1 — No Poverty

End poverty in all its forms, everywhere.

National plan: The 16th Plan (National Planning Commission)

Make this program move faster.

Two hours a month or one funded project — both change what happens on the ground.

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