Kathmandu, March 2, 2018: Samriddhi Foundation has accoladed the winners of the photo story competition ‘Entrepreneurs’ Story- A Photo Contest’ (Udyami ko katha, ek tasveer pratiyogita) on February 28, 2018.
The photo competition had taken place from 5 January to 20 January 2018. This competition was an attempt from the organization’s end to bring out the stories of hardships that entrepreneurs have to deal with every day owing to restrictive policies, complicated procedures, and excessive bureaucracy through a single photograph and a short story of about 100 words.
Based on the theme ‘Entrepreneurs’ Story’ (Udyami ko Katha), Onion Films, judged the photographs on the parameters of creativity, storytelling, and quality. The photos which reflected the stories of small and micro-entrepreneurs in the most appealing manner were declared winners. Bikram Rauniyar (winner) was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, whilst Avash Karmacharya (1st runner-up) and Sagar Poudel (2nd runner-up) bagged a cash prize of Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively. Amit Banmala grabbed a special category prize, a smartphone, decided by public vote via Facebook likes.
The aim of the competition was to conduct a series of short advocacy campaigns centered on three priority sectors, namely, trade, service, and manufacturing that look into entry barriers, tax, and standard compliance.On account of the proliferation of small and micro enterprises in Nepal, Samriddhi Foundation intended to document these entrepreneurs’ plight and the barriers faced by them in the formal economy.
Govinda Siwakoti, Co-Founder and Director of Onion Films who also acted as a trainer at the photography workshop indicated that photography as the emerging medium of communication in the 21st century. He emphasized the role and power of the visual medium in messaging and spreading awareness about the pressing issues in society today.
Akash Shrestha, Research Coordinator at Samriddhi Foundation talked about the potential of the small and micro enterprises in Nepal. He touched upon the policy inconsistency and procedural hassles faced by these entrepreneurs and elaborated on the need for policy reforms to create a safe and a conducive environment for them.
The event concluded with the goal of educating the young generation of Nepal towards the benefits of formalization in the informal sector and spreading the message of prosperity.
Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, is an independent policy institute based in Kathmandu that focuses on economic policy reform. Established in 2007, Samriddhi aims at facilitating a discourse on pragmatic market-based solutions for a free and prosperous Nepal. Samriddhi is a member of the Economic Freedom Network and is the co-publisher of the Economic Freedom of the World Report with the Fraser Institute, Canada. This year again, Samriddhi has joined hands with FNCCI to release the Economic Freedom of the World Report, 2015.
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