Kathmandu: Numan Özcan, Country Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Nepal, and Shobha Gyawali, President of Startup Summit Nepal–2026, held a meeting at the ILO Nepal Country Office. The discussion focused on promoting startups in Nepal, the changing global labour market, the future of Nepali workers, and ways to connect labour with entrepreneurship.
During the meeting, Özcan highlighted the importance of the campaign being led by Startup Summit Nepal to promote entrepreneurship and connect young people with opportunities. He described such initiatives as important and inspiring and expressed his willingness to share his experience and knowledge with the campaign. He also expressed his commitment to facilitating connections between the Summit and other relevant organizations and stakeholders working in the areas of startups and entrepreneurship.
Gyawali said that although Nepal has a large pool of educated and skilled young people with considerable potential, there is still a lack of adequate information, guidance, and an enabling environment to encourage them to create opportunities and pursue entrepreneurship within the country. To address this gap, she explained that Startup Summit Nepal–2026 has initiated a nationwide campaign to reach all seven provinces as well as universities and colleges, providing young people with practical information about what startups are, how to establish them, what kinds of support and opportunities are available from the government and other institutions, and how opportunities can be created within Nepal. She further noted that the campaign has already begun with the program at Tribhuvan University.
Gyawali emphasized that Nepal needs skilled human resources in areas ranging from agricultural production to technology and stressed the importance of informing young people about the opportunities and potential available within the country. “We need to build confidence among young people that opportunities also exist in Nepal,” she said, adding that knowledge about startups and entrepreneurship should not remain limited to urban areas but must reach the grassroots level.
Against the backdrop of the large number of Nepali youths leaving the country in search of employment, Gyawali stressed that initiatives aimed at creating entrepreneurship, employment, and opportunities within Nepal are becoming increasingly important. She said startups should not be viewed merely as a means of starting a business, but as a platform for connecting the skills, labour, creativity, and potential of young people with nation-building.
The meeting was also attended by Engineer Umesh Kumar Gupta, Former Executive Director of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute and Keynote Speaker of Startup Summit Nepal–2026, as well as Basudev Neupane and Narayan Prasad Oli, Directors of Startup Summit Nepal–2026.
