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Since its inception 30 years ago, Alfa Beta Institute of Kathmandu has given Nepali students a forum for international education. It provides career counseling and admission support to students who want to travel abroad for further studies. 

The institute represents over 300 universities from more than 12 destination countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland, making it the largest university network representative in Nepal. Additionally, Alfa Beta conducts tests like IELTS, TOEFL, PTE and CPA, in which around 70,000 students participate annually. It also organizes short English teaching programs and bridge courses for fresh SEE graduates. 

Dwiraj Sharma, CEO and president of Alfa Beta, says he draws inspiration from Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew, who once equated educating everyone to building a robust country.

“To establish our country as an international brand like Singapore, we need strong business leaders who work with honesty and diligence,” Sharma says. 

Yew transformed his country by recruiting top-skilled professional and educational geniuses and paying them handsomely so that they did not have to accept bribes. Sharma has adopted a similar approach in his institute, which not only invests a lot on staff training but also offers lucrative wages. 

The vision of Alfa Beta is to become Nepal’s leading educational institute and put the clients’ interest first. 

“Carrying out this vision is only possible through collective effort,” Sharma says. “You can deliver quality services only if you have a good and honest team.” 

Thanks to its highly motivated and professional staff, Alfa Beta was recognized as “Nepal’s Number 1 Business Partner” by IDP IELTS for three successive years between 2017 and 2019. The institute has also been recognized by global organizations like Pearson and ETS.

Asked what is unique about Alfa Beta, Sharma says adopting a customer-centric approach to service delivery has been the key to its success. 

“We prioritize quality. While this may increase the cost, we still want to deliver excellent service to our clients,” he says. 

Sharma’s involvement in the education field does not end here, he has his hands deep in diverse ventures. He holds the position of the president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in Nepal (AAERI), a professional education agency that helps students explore higher education opportunities in Australia. He is also the trade representative of Nepal for the Trade Commissioner Services (TCS), a business promotion wing of the Canadian government that helps companies navigate international markets. 

Additionally, Sharma works as a central member of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, assisting Nepal government in its education-policy making. 

Sharma advocates a stable and efficient system to impart quality education in all public schools. 

“Only by bridging the gap between private and public schools can Nepal achieve its goal of quality education for all,” he says. 

While formulating education plans and policies, he adds, it is important to learn from the likes of Norway, Sweden, India, Singapore and Australia and figure out what makes their education institutions so successful.

Sharma is an idealist and a realist at the same time. He has big plans for the country but also acknowledges the challenges that stand on the way to achieving them, most crucially Nepal’s unstable political environment and policy inconsistencies. 

“The government has to create a work and investment-friendly environment for businesspersons and investors alike,” Sharma says. “Our country is in dire need of experts who have brilliant ideas and international ties. Only then can Nepal sustainably grow and develop.”

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 800 in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 93, 800 per tola today.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 93, 300 per tola.

The yellow metal was traded at Rs 94, 600 per tola Thursday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 35 and is being traded at Rs 1,145 per tola today.

The rupee on Thursday hit a fresh low against the dollar, as the latter strengthened against key global currencies, following inflation data released in the US overnight, Economic Times reported.

Hitting a fresh low for the fourth day, the domestic currency touched 79.83 against the US dollar.

Data released overnight showed US CPI inflation came in at 9.1 per cent in June, higher than a consensus estimate of 8.8 per cent.

Sugandha Sachdeva, VP-Commodity & Currency Research at Religare Broking said the unabated red-hot inflation data in the US has raised the case for a full percentage point rate hike at the Fed’s meeting later this month, given the Fed chair’s stance that inflation must be brought down as quickly as possible.

"The aggressive policy course by the US Fed to curb rising price pressures is exacerbating fears of a weakening growth outlook and leading to risk aversion in the markets. Besides, we have seen a relentless rise in the dollar index, while the euro has been hit hard as it tumbled below parity against the dollar for the first time in almost 20 years. This has led to a big moment depicting strength in the greenback as markets are expecting the US Fed to raise rates way more swiftly than its peers," Sachdeva said.

ICICIdirect said the rupee is expected to depreciate amid a strong dollar and risk aversion in global markets. Market sentiments are hurt as red hot inflation in the US stoked bets that the Fed may have to raise interest rates much more than expected, even 100 basis points, it said in a note.

"Additionally, consistent FII outflows and concerns on looming recession may hurt the rupee," ICICIdirect said, adding that dollar-rupee July futures are expected to trade in a range of 79.50-80, according to Economic Times.

Provisional data showed foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 2,839.52 crore on Wednesday.

Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities said rupee traded with weakness after the inflation numbers in US came higher than expectations. "As the higher inflation shall put added pressure on Fed to raise the rates around 0.75 per cent, the Dollar index rallied above 108.30 level weakening other currencies. Rupee may trade in 79.50-80 range," he said.

Rahul Kalantri, VP-Commodities at Mehta Equities said he expects the dollar index to remain volatile and continue to hold its key support level of 106.40 on a daily closing basis.

All eyes would now be on the ECB meeting lined up next week and that will provide further cues about the rupee-dollar exchange rate. Considering the macro-economic backdrop, the Indian rupee has its eyes set on the 80 to the dollar mark in the near term, Economic Times reported.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 14. 71 points to close at 2,001.53 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 1. 78 points to close at 381. 14 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 6,210,908 unit shares of 220 companies were traded for Rs 2. 41 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Micro Finance topped the chart with 55. 52 points.

Meanwhile, NIBL Pragati Fund was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd was the top loser as its price fell by 5. 01 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 85 trillion.