Awardee / AchievementWomen Entrepreneurship
On Friday, New Business Age Pvt. Ltd. organized the fourth edition of ewBiz Business Women Summit and Awards 2024 in Kathmandu. This event aims to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women entrepreneurs.
With the slogan “Empowering Business Leadership of Nepali Women,” this year’s summit focused on “Strengthening Women’s Business Leadership.”
The event honored 12 outstanding women for their entrepreneurial contributions and societal impact. From which Sonika Manandhar, Co-founder of Aloi won the “Women in Tech” title. The following are the major titles and their respective winners.
Photo Credit: Madan Lamsal
Category Winners:
- Best Woman Entrepreneur: Mausumii Shrestha, Director of Shreenagar Agro Group
- Lifetime Achievement Award in Women Entrepreneurship: Shyam Badan Shrestha, Founder of Nepal Knotcraft Centre Pvt Ltd
- Professional Woman of Excellence: Rita Pokharel, Director of InDrive
- Pioneer Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Vedika Murarka, Co-founder of Educase
- Women in Tech: Sonika Manandhar, Co-founder of Aloi
Awards were presented in 12 categories, including ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in Women Entrepreneurship,’ ‘Professional Woman of Excellence,’ ‘Pioneer Social Entrepreneur of the Year,’ ‘Women in Tech,’ and ‘Best Woman Entrepreneur.’ Additionally, one woman entrepreneur from each of the seven provinces in Nepal were awarded in the ‘Emerging Enterprising Woman of the Year’ category, with a prize money of NRs. 51000 each.
Emerging Enterprising Woman of the Year:
- Koshi Province: Maya Gurung of the sandalwood industry in Taplejung
- Madhesh Province: Sunaina Thakur of Sunaina Artski in Dhanusha
- Bagmati Province: Sapna Sapkota of Bella Kasa
- Gandaki Province: Geeta Nath of Karnali Garment Industry in Kaski
- Lumbini Province: Geeta Kumari Koiri Maurya of Banke Poultry Farm in Banke
- Karnali Province: Bhumisara Tomta of Shramjivi Masala Udyog in Surkhet
- Sudurpaschim Province: Savitri Ojha of Green Mountain Agricultural Development Firm in Dadeldhura
The program included a panel discussion on ‘Strengthening Women’s Business Leadership,’ featuring speakers such as Mahesh Bhattarai, Joint Secretary and Chief of Economic Management Division of the National Planning Commission; Swastika Shrestha, CEO of Teach for Nepal; Padmakshi Rana, Executive Director of Impact Hub Kathmandu; and Samanata Thapa, Co-founder and Program Head of Startup Discovery Asia.
Since 2021, New Business Age has organized this annual event to encourage and recognize the contributions of women entrepreneurs in Nepal. The winners in various categories were selected by an independent jury.
Distinguished guests, including Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, attended the awards ceremony, serving as chief guests for the first and second halves of the event, respectively.
The NewBiz Business Women Summit and Awards 2024 not only showcased the achievements of these exceptional women but also inspired future entrepreneurs. Their stories of innovation, resilience, and dedication aims to shape a promising entrepreneurial landscape in Nepal.
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