Young Entrepreneurship Showcased at Swostishree Gurukul IB World School

KATHMANDU: Swostishree Gurukul organised “Entrepreneurship at the School Level” for young adults on June 17.

At the event, Swostishree Gurukul IB World School announced that the school is an IB Continuum program, now offering diplomas up to the 12th Grade, becoming Nepal’s second IB Continuum school. 
The chief guest, Antoine Cornudet, Head of School Division at The Power School in Spain, said, “Plant the idea like seeds. Be guided by examples and scientific frameworks” to the audience.
Swostishree Gurukul invited Bal Chandra Luitel, Dean of the School of Education at the Kathmandu University to deliver the keynote speech. On early entrepreneurial teaching, Luitel prioritizes, “experiential learning, ownership mindset, and taking initiatives with calculated risks. Starting early allows these skills to compound over time.”

Student participants pitched business ideas with prototypes to Umesh Kumar Gupta, Executive Director of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute, who is involved in handing out startup loans to entrepreneurs. 
Aarav Parajuli, Suruchee Adhikari, Vaya Sapkota, and Kabir Acharya pitched “Aquapot” – an app controlled flowerpot that allows users to water plants remotely, over wifi. 
Awaneesh Shrestha, Pratigya Sharma, Arhana Saakha, Deepan Joshi, and Aashriti Shrestha presented their eco-consious T-Shirt manufacturing business called “Hariyo Ventures”. 
Jevish Burlakoti, Aayan Bogati, Pranjal Ghimire, and Samyam Thapa plan to turn recycled plastics into phone covers inspired by Nepali signature style called ‘Kathmandu Streets Collection”. 
The special guest, Gupta, reiterated the government’s commitment to support startups and local ideas, and reported 661 projects have already been selected to receive funding at 3% interest. 
Additionally, Pavitra Gautam, the CEO of Karkhana; Neha KC, the Principal of Swostishree Gurukul, and Antoine Cornudet discussed “Young Entrepreneurs: Vision to Ventures”, moderated by Juna Mathema, Chairperson of the Startup and Innovation Forum at the Federation of National Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

Tailored to High School students from grades 8 to 12, the discussion revolved around incubating ideas from the generation that sets trends of the future.