IN‑SPAN Center of Excellence formalises executive board, outlines three-year strategy

KATHMANDU: The India Nepal Startup Partnership Network (IN‑SPAN) Center of Excellence held its inaugural board meeting on Thursday and formalised a nine‑member Executive Board to oversee its bilateral startup programme.

The Center aims to encourage Nepali youth into entrepreneurship by giving them a platform to experience international startup and incubation practices. The new board will serve a three‑year term under President Asim Shrestha.

At the meeting, the board agreed on five primary initiatives for its first term. It will establish an incubation facility in the Kathmandu Valley capable of supporting 25 startups annually and roll out nationwide training programmes for 500 startup founders each year in collaboration with the Nepal‑India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI) and the Embassy of India in Kathmandu. The Center will also host monthly town hall meetings, pilot a dedicated startup helpline to provide guidance to founders, and organise Startup Sambad, a biannual conclave uniting founders, investors and ecosystem partners from both nations.

The Executive Board is led by Asim Shrestha, 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 KC will serve as Executive Members.

The Center is a joint initiative of NICCI, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu and IITM Pravartak in Madras. It evolved from an initial programme that gave 24 high‑potential Nepali startups a two‑month capacity‑building experience in India, and the founders established the permanent institution to sustain long‑term bilateral collaboration. The Center also announced an institutional partnership with IITM Pravartak to strengthen technical and academic support.

The meeting was attended by Suman Shekhar, First Secretary (Commerce) at the Embassy of India, alongside NICCI officials including President Sunil KC and Director Marshal Rathour. Shekhar said he was satisfied the Center had been established within the planned timeframe and that the Embassy would continue to support the youth of Nepal through the initiative.

Sunil KC said the project had been conceived jointly more than a year ago and reflected on the challenges ahead, saying: "Merely forming a group or entity is not the real challenge — the real challenge lies in finding the right person to lead the institution with the passion, dedication and time to execute the set priorities and expected outcomes."

The first public town hall is scheduled for the final week of July 2026, and the board will begin implementing the agreed initiatives immediately.