Kathmandu, February 19, 2019: Enterprise- Business Acceleration Program took place at Soaltee Crowne Plaza yesterday. Accelerator program of One to Watch (OTW), aims to help growth stage businesses move to the next level of their business growth. The program opened applications for its 2018/19 cohort on June 2018. This year, the ten companies were selected from a pool of more than 250 applicants.
Aero Roots, Burger Shack, Green Road Waste Management, Hajuri Khadya Udhyog, Helmets Nepal, Leaf Plus, No Chini, Onion Films, Seedland Nepal and The Mint Studio were the companies selected for the event.
After 12 weeks of this intensive mentor-ship based program- Enterprise, the selected ten companies are investment ready and have the necessary tools to help them scale their businesses. In these 12 weeks the ten highly ambitious companies have worked with experienced mentors and industry experts to fine-tuned their business models, and build a strong financial plan. As a culmination to the program the participating companies will pitch their businesses to a selected group of banks, angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity funds, in Nepal and London.
The Demo Day in Kathmandu took place on 18 February, Monday at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. The Demo Day London will be a part of a larger conference, Nepal Development Conference: Investment Opportunities in Nepal, which is jointly organized by one to watch and the Embassy of Nepal, London. The conference will be held at the Embassy of Nepal in London on 22 February. The Key Note Address of the conference will be delivered by Hon. Dr, Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Minister of Finance, and Government of Nepal.
Enterprise is managed by one to Watch, a fund management company based in Nepal specializing in investing in the missing middle and Accelerator Nepal, a not-for- Profit Company with the primary objective to support the development of entrepreneurship friendly environment in Nepal.
The managing director of one to watch William Grimmink said, “We need to finance the companies, there is no money in the market for them. There is a missing middle, there is money for small companies and there is money for big companies but there is no money for medium size company. So they need us.”
