Nearly one-third of businesses in Nepal are owned by women: CBS

KATHMANDU, July 3: Nearly one-third of Nepal’s businesses are owned by women, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

According to the final report of the National Economic Census, unveiled Monday by the CBS, 29.8 percent of the enterprises in Nepal are owned by women.

There are 923,356 enterprises related to agriculture, trading and industrial services, and various other sectors as of April 14, 2018, according to the CBS.

The census showed 247,880 enterprises are owned by women. It is the first time that the Nepali government agency conducted an economic census in the country.

“Having ownership of women on 30 percent enterprises is a really good sign … this shows women in Nepal are coming out from household chores,” Suman Raj Aryal, director general at CBS, said.

According to the census, the highest number of enterprises owned by women is related to wholesale and retail and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles category.

Accommodation and food service activities come second and manufacturing enterprises come third in terms of women’s ownership.

“It is really an encouraging figure compared to the past. But, we should not stop here,” said Saraswoti Rai, a member of Women Entrepreneurship Development Committee under the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry said. AGENCY