KATHMANDU, July 10: The India-Nepal Startup Partnership Network (IN-SPAN) Center of Excellence has formally established its governance structure by constituting a nine-member Executive Board and unveiling a three-year roadmap aimed at strengthening Nepal's startup ecosystem through cross-border collaboration with India.
According to a press release issued by the organization, the Center held its inaugural Executive Board meeting in Kathmandu on Wednesday, marking its transition from an ad hoc committee to a formally constituted governing body. The initiative is jointly supported by the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI), the Embassy of India in Kathmandu and IITM Pravartak, Madras.
The meeting was attended by Suman Shekhar, First Secretary (Commerce) at the Embassy of India in Nepal, NICCI President Sunil K.C. and NICCI Director Marshal Rathour, among others.
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The newly constituted Executive Board will serve a three-year term. It is headed by Asim Shrestha as president, with Prabin Bhattarai as vice president, Shreeyanch Shrestha as general secretary, Hrithik Babu Shrestha as joint secretary and Pradeep Giri as treasurer. Mohan Tamang, Vishnu Kumar Agrawal, Nikesh Singh and Sunil K.C. have been appointed executive members.
During the meeting, the board endorsed five priority initiatives for its first term. These include establishing an incubation facility in the Kathmandu Valley with the capacity to support 25 startups annually, training 500 startup founders each year through nationwide programmes, hosting monthly town hall sessions connecting entrepreneurs from Nepal and India, launching a startup helpline to provide advisory support to founders, and organizing a biannual startup conclave, Startup Sambad.
Implementation of the roadmap will begin with the first town hall programme, scheduled for the last week of July, the organization said.
According to the organizers, the IN-SPAN Center of Excellence was established to institutionalize the momentum generated by the India-Nepal Startup Partnership Network programme, which enabled 24 Nepali startups to participate in a two-month capacity-building and ecosystem exposure programme in India.
The IN-SPAN Center of Excellence is expected to serve as a permanent platform for bilateral collaboration in entrepreneurship, innovation and venture development between Nepal and India.
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