Impact Hub Kathmandu

Impact Hub Kathmandu is a female-led Nepali not-for-profit organization started after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes under the premise that a disaster can be a catalyst for innovation. It has evolved into an accessible, safe and inclusive innovation-led community Hub. The Hub is designed to give innovators, entrepreneurs, activists, artists and change-makers a creative space to meet, work, network and learn, while harnessing new ideas to help address social and environmental challenges. An amiable open space that welcomes people from all across Kathmandu, and beyond! Impact Hub Kathmandu is a part of a global network of 100+ Impact Hubs in over 60 countries, working across disciplines, acting across sectors, with amazing people putting ideas into action.

‍Experience and Competencies‍

Business Incubator: It provides business, financial and technical support services to impact-driven Nepali entrepreneurs and businesses. Business ideation, incubation and pre-acceleration services are provided to Nepali early-stage startups and MSMEs through customized Business Incubator Programs and link enterprises to finance. Following is a summary of experiences related to the business and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nepal:

• Business support services to 200+ business ideas, startups and MSMEs across Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces.
• Post incubation support:
  
  • NPR 1.8 crores in support provided to 6 recycling and upcycling enterprises in Pokhara Metropolitan City through KOICA and UNDP.
  • NPR 33 lakhs (EUR 25,000) raised through equity funding.
  • NPR 38 lakhs (EUR 29,000) raised through credit and debt financing from banks and private sources.
  • 30 investors engaged over 2 years, out of which 7 (23%) are female investors.
  • Partnered with local banks to provide SME loans.
  • Post-investment coaching provided to 19 enterprises from existing programs (10 startups and 3 SMEs).
• Resilient and sustainable business model development for 65 startups and SMEs to date.
• Over 35 international and local business experts and mentors engaged over the years.
• 3 virtual ideation, incubation and access to finance programs implemented during COVID-19, using platforms such as Miro, Jamboard, Google Drive, and Zoom.

Impact Academy: The programs at the Impact Academy embody four key principles: Disability, Equity, Social Inclusion and Intersectionality. The programs are designed and curated using Human-Centred Design to create safe and accessible spaces for youth, women, gender and sexual minorities, people with disabilities and marginalised communities to enhance their skills and capacity for transformative leadership. The Impact Academy also focuses on program-related research, with key learnings and reflections gained from implementing such programs. Through the Impact Academy programs, Impact Hub Kathmandu has:

• Engaged 60+ youth participants from disability, LGBTQIA+, and marginalized communities in Kathmandu, Janakpur and Dhangadhi (Kailali) through the Generation Unlimited 3.0 program, with a focus on Human-Centred Design and design thinking.
• Provided leadership coaching and capacity-building support to 21 civic actors from disability, LGBTQIA+, and marginalised communities across Lumbini and Madhesh Provinces.

Fab Lab Nepalis a collaborative centre for innovation, invention, education and humanitarian outreach and a fully equipped digital fabrication workshop. It provides access to knowledge, tools, and resources that bring ideas from head to hands and champions ‘making’ as a means of empowering the people of Nepal regardless of their gender, social status, ability or economic means. Access to FabLab will help the participants in this action to prototype, test and iterate their ideas.

The Impact Hub Kathmandu team includes expertise ranging from business innovation, sustainability, leadership, business and financial coaching, human-centred design and research, international development, psychology, finance and engineering. As a result, our team leverages its interdisciplinary academic and professional backgrounds to design high-quality programs through continuous learning and feedback from young innovators, business coaches and diverse stakeholders, including private and public sector partners. Our team consists of 4 Board Members (2 female) and 19 Employees (9 female), with 47.4% female representation across the organization.