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We all know how it is to visit the doctor. Dragging your sickly self or your loved ones to the hospital, filling out the forms and waiting for a turn to enter the doctor’s clinic is not a pleasant experience.

Apparently, these three doctors felt the same way and decided to start a house call and online consultancy service.

Meet Dr. Suyeh Karki, Dr. Suman Neupane and Dr. Mohan Bhandari, the co-founders of Doctors on Call Nepal, which offers home-based and digital healthcare services to the public.

The idea germinated when the trio were working at Himal Hospital. They would be contacted by patients who required treatment but were unable to visit the hospital for many reasons. 

“The patients wanted us to visit them at their homes but we could not do that at the time,” says Dr. Karki, who is also the CEO of Doctors on Call. “We wanted to provide affordable health care service to the people in the comfort of their home.” 

The three friends and colleagues started Doctors on Call in 2018. It offers facilities like doctor consultation, physiotherapy, nursing care and lab tests. Currently, the house call service is only available in Kathmandu.

Patients outside Kathmandu can, however, have doctor consultation service online and through phone.  

Doctors on Call also offers generative and palliative care to terminally ill patients in their homes. 

“We currently provide 24-hour nursing service to more than 30 patients,” says Dr Karki. “Over the years we have built a large medical  team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics.”

In 2021, Nepaliese Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum recognised the contribution of Doctors on Call to the healthcare sector with the NYEF Startup Award.  

Dr Karki says every doctor and medical professional has a responsibility towards their community.

“Medical profession is all about service. Doctors on Call was conceived to improve healthcare access and in the  process it has also created jobs for many health workers,” he adds. 

The services of Doctors on Call can be availed through phone, the company’s website and its official Facebook page.
Dr Karki says they are planning to improve their service as well as digital presence.     

“We are presently working on an app where patients can enter their medical details so that health professionals can track their condition,” he says. “Besides, we are also planning to start house call service in other parts of the country.”

Doctors on Call

Establishment: 2018
Founder: Dr. Suman Neupane, Dr. Mohan Bhandari, and Dr. Suyesh Karki
Service location: Online doctor consultation all over Nepal; house call service available only in Kathmandu
Price: Doctor visit- Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 (depending on location); Online consultancy- Rs 300 to Rs 400 (depending on the doctor)
Contact: 014102547, 9801345345
Website link: https://doctorsoncall.com.np/

The problem of waste pollution in cities like Kathmandu is inescapable. 

According to the Waste Management Baseline Survey of Nepal 2020, 33.3 percent of the total waste produced in cities and municipalities are inorganic–plastic, glass, rubber, metals, etc. 

Strikingly, only half of this waste is recycled. 

Deego Nepal was born of the idea of putting everyday non-recycled waste materials to a sustainable use. The company makes and sells affordable eco-friendly daily lifestyle products out of discarded waste products.

“We offer our clients the option of living sustainably and contributing to the solution of the plastic waste problem,” says Anjana Malla, who co-founded Deego along with Rajani Gurung and Mahalaxmi Shrestha. 

The company started in early 2020 with the intent of creating an environment-friendly and socially-impactful brand. 

The three women started with a modest investment of Rs 31,000. In early days, they experimented with different products and studied what the consumers wanted.

“We wanted to create something unique that the mainstream market hadn’t seen before,” says Malla. 

As Deego started selling its products, its co-founders got a better understanding of  customer needs and investment venues. 

For instance, their dishwashing sponge and body scrub made from the loofah plant were an instant hit.  

Deego also started collaborating with women from the indigenous Tharu community in Bardiya district.  With locally available resources, these women have incorporated their indigenous craftsmanship and modern designs to create various products like bread- and fruit-baskets. 

Within a short time, Deego’s product range has expanded – and so has the company’s team. Today, Deego has its own team of artists, embroiderers and sewing experts: 13 full-time employees in all.  

By providing sustainable eco-friendly lifestyle products, Deego is teaching people the importance of being environmentally conscious. “Our aim is to promote a green lifestyle not through big lifestyle changes but through small steps,” says Malla. 

Deego mostly sells products through social media platforms, and on Saturdays, sets up kiosks at farmers’ markets, malls and cafes in different parts of Kathmandu Valley. 

The team has plans of upscaling production as its consumer base is expanding.

“We want to multiply our resources and production based on the demand,” says Malla. “But sustainable, environment-friendly living will always be the focus  of our products.” 

The company is proud of having played a part in the creation of environmentally-aware and socially-responsible customers.

“It is impossible to suddenly switch to a 100 percent sustainable life,” Malla says. “But we can contribute a lot to our environment just by making small changes. A small step is all it takes.”

Deego Nepal

Establish year: 2020
Co-founders: Anjana Malla, Rajani Gurung, Mahalaxmi Shrestha
Service location: All over Nepal
Price of product: Loofah Round scrubber: Rs 290, Dishwashing sponge: Rs 60, Rotibasket: Rs 970, Fruit basket ranges: from Rs 675 to Rs 1650, Mask: Rs 180/200, Tote bag: Rs 760/1250, 
Contact: 9849835559
Social media link: https://www.instagram.com/deego_nepal/ 

For many of us, pearl farming is a practice unheard of in Nepal. But it happens to be one of the thriving aquaculture businesses in neighboring India.  

Kamala Rai of Sundar Haraicha, Morang, also had zero knowledge of it until she came across a YouTube video on freshwater pearl farming in India. Her interest was instantly piqued. She then went on to watch several instructional videos on pearl farming and realized that she could start her own business. 

“For most of us, the term pearl farming conjures up images of big bodies of water like seas and oceans. I thought the same until a few years ago,” says Rai. “But, in reality, it can be done in a small pond with a small investment and a bit of knowledge.”

She founded Shree Mahakali Pearl Farm and Training Center in 2018, in what is still Nepal’s first and only commercial pearl farm. 

“At our farm, we use freshwater mussels to grow cultured pearls,” says Rai. “Once the pearls are extracted, the mussel shells can be used to make jewelry, handicraft items and fish feed.” 

Mussel pearl farming is a unique business with a lot of potential. As one of the most popular gems, pearls have a high demand in the country. Nepal imported pearls and other precious stones and metals worth $376.24 million in 2019, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. 

Rai says most folks doubted her when she started the business. 

“I was doing what had never been done before. So, naturally, people were doubtful. But these days, they are more curious,” she says. 

Rai also wants others to enter the business. To this end, her farm offers a three-month training that promises knowledge on all aspects of freshwater pearl farming, including surgery, preoperative and postoperative mussel care. 

As a self-taught pearl farmer, Rai had to undertake many trials. She says she opened the training center so that aspiring pearl farmers have a basic foundation before starting their own farms.      

Currently, the Shree Mahakali Pearl Farm only sells individual pearls, whose price range from Rs 300 to Rs 600 apiece depending on their size, quality, and shine. 

“We will soon start selling our pearls in jewelry form as well,” says Rai. 

Shree Mahakali Pearl Farm and Training Center

Establishment year: 2018

Founder: Kamala Rai

Service location: Sundar Haraicha, Morang

Price of the product: Rs 300 to Rs 600 (depending on the size, quality, and shine of the pearls)

Contact: 9842234064

Social media link: https://www.facebook.com/273093550209357/posts/shree-mahakali-new-business-pearl-farming-in-nepal/591747631677279/

Midas Touch Nepal, an at-home beauty service platform, was established in 2020, at a time salons and parlors were shut over the coronavirus threats.

It was the idea of Pooja Agrawal, a self-care enthusiast, who wanted to cater to young women like herself whose beauty and hair-care routines had been badly disrupted by the pandemic.

“I thought why not start a business that offers beauty salon services at home, allowing women the opportunity to pamper themselves even when salons and parlors were closed,” says Agrawal. 

So Agrawal started the business with fellow co-founder Sushmita Gautam. 

In the initial days, Midas Touch only offered hair-care service to its clients. It started nail, makeup and skincare services when the business started gaining in popularity. 

“As we started during the pandemic, many people were hesitant to try our at-home beauty services. For the first two months, we didn’t have much success getting clients,” says Agrawal. “But over time, after getting to know our process, more people started scheduling appointments with us.”

Midas Touch is an all-female business, from its two co-founders to its team of beauticians or the ‘Touch Gurus’.  

The services offered by Midas Touch have come as a great relief for the women who are still uncertain about visiting beauty salons.

Agrawal says their rates are comparable to the charges of most other beauty establishments in the city. 

As Midas Touch is gaining traction among women seeking affordable and convenient beauty solutions from the comfort of their homes, the company is planning to expand.

“We plan to go to other parts of Nepal and also launch our own organic beauty product line,” says Agrawal.    

Name: Midas Touch Nepal

Establishment year: 2020 

Co-founders: Pooja Agrawal & Sushmita Gautam

Service location: Kathmandu valley

Price: varies depending on the service

Contact: 9801822854

Website: https://www.midastouchnepal.com/