Commercial Code of Conduct in the Offing

With an aim to make Nepali industries and corporate houses responsible and ethical, an extensive code of conduct is in the pipeline. National Business Initiative (NBI), a Nepali private sector NGO, has been working on a project about ethical practices in business. “This project was initiated to develop responsible and conducive business environment,” said Saroj Raj Pandey, Coordinator of the project. 

Although few business asociations have already developed a code of conduct of their own, it has not been implemented yet. Similarly, ethics developed some years ago have become outdated with the changing business styles and technology. Pandey stated that a project like this was initiated with the purpose of addressing such issues and also to encourage implementation of ethics throughout the country. 

Some institutions like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAN)the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) and the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) each have a separate code of conduct for their respective sectors already but it is said to be ineffective. 

The project has four phases. The first one is expected to be completed within two years. This first phase will be a baseline survey. Later phases will be developing the code of conduct based on survey results, announcing the ethical codes and also working for its implementation. NBI representatives said that the project not only will be implementing ethics but also rewarding companies with best corporate practices.

SMSI: Employing Women

Around 454,000 women are finding jobs in small and medium scale industries (SMSI). According to Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (WEAN), female employees occupy almost half one million jobs created in this sector. “The increasing number of women getting employment in these industries is encouraging,” said Chhaya Sharma, President of the WEAN, in a summit organized by Young Women’s Entrepreneurs (YWEs). 

According to Sharma, there are 14,251 small and medium cottage industries run by women, out of 111,442 the total SMSIs across the country. 

Ajay Pradhananga, President of Nepalese Young Entrepreneur’s Forum (NYEF), said that women’s participation is increasing because of the ability of SMSIs to generate long term employment. He said, “Though the number of women entering this sector is increasing, the lack of access to banks and financial institutions and expertise in information and communication technology (ICT) have made them less competitive.”