April 15: The government has made arrangements to provide loans for exports to women entrepreneurs who have not been able to get loans from banks and financial institutions for their business. 

By amending the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, a provision has been made for women entrepreneurs to get a minimum of Rs 500,000 to maximum of Rs 5 million loan depending on the type of industry. 

The government published the revised Industrial Enterprise Act in the Nepal Gazette on April 4, 2022 by including the new provision. This has opened the door for women entrepreneurs to get loans for export. Although the previous arrangement also had provision for such loans, the limit of loan amount was not fixed depending on the nature of the industry. 

According to the amended regulations published in the Nepal Gazette, women entrepreneurs will get export credit on the basis of the financial condition of the business. The amended act states that in order to get a loan for export, at least 30 percent of the total production of the last fiscal year has to be exported. 

The amended regulations have set a credit limit for women entrepreneurs for additional facilities. According to the new regulations, small entrepreneurs will get export loans of Rs 500,000, cottage industry Rs 1.5 million, small entrepreneurs Rs 2 million, medium entrepreneurs Rs 3 million and large entrepreneurs Rs 5 million. The loan will be provided through the banking system. 

Sarada Rijal, a woman entrepreneur, said that the revised system would encourage women entrepreneurs to venture out, especially in export-oriented industries. 

Stating that the government has also invested in the industrial villages targeting women she said that this policy would further encourage women entrepreneurs. According to her, a women’s industrial village is also being made in Panchkhal of Kavre. The process of setting up the village started after the government announced the plan to open an industrial village in all seven provinces.

Entrepreneurs say that the industrial village to develop women entrepreneurship and the current export credit policy will help women entrepreneurs. They stressed on the need to make the process of getting loans simple and easy for women entrepreneurs, who are still finding it difficult to get access to business loans.