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In the recent times, #madeinnepal has become a movement. More people these days seem to favor locally made goods—clothes, bags, jewelry, etc.—compared to imported, factory-manufactured products. While earlier you would have to choose from a handful of companies and businesses, there is now a plethora of options. Even better, you don’t have to scour the market anymore. Thanks to mostly Instagram, it’s all available online.

Behind That Veil, run by 29-year-old Erica Sithling, joined the mushrooming community of online businesses in late 2018. The idea was to create a platform for handmade jewelry crafted by those affected with leprosy and people living with disabilities.

Sithling holds a fulltime job at Nepal Leprosy Fellowship (NLF), a non-profit that operates in the eastern region of Nepal—namely Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari. One of its programs is giving handicraft training to people and they are also taught to make jewelry. But Sithling says there isn’t much of a market for handmade jewelry in eastern Nepal. So, trained people aren’t able to find work or generate an income from their skills.

“I thought of starting a venture to promote handmade jewelry in Dharan, which is where I live, and the surrounding areas,” she says. She started with a modest investment of her own and gave employment to three girls with leprosy. She came up with a few designs and taught the girls how to make them and took it one step at a time from there.

The initial response was good and people, mostly friends and family, loved the pieces they had come up with. In two years, her company has gathered a loyal clientele. Sithling is happy she is able to provide some source of constant income to those who need it.

“Business was a little slow during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But once it was lifted, whatever we had in stock got sold pretty quickly,” she says.

Sithling believes in quality craftsmanship, which is why production only happens twice or thrice a year at most. Limited pieces of each design, 10 to 15, are made and sold locally in Dharan and Kathmandu. In Kathmandu, Behind That Veil jewelry can be found at K Beauty Nepal in Kapan. You can, however, also place orders through their Instagram page (@behindthatveil) and the products will be couriered to you. (This will cost you an extra Rs 100 per order.)

The shipping cost is worth it because the designs are simple, classy and reasonably priced. The maximum price is Rs 700 for good quality pearl earrings. Simple stone or crystal earrings cost Rs 250 while slightly more elaborate ones are priced at Rs 350. Bracelets range from Rs 350 to Rs 550. Behind That Veil also makes necklaces depending on what’s in demand in the market as well as takes customized orders as long as the required materials can be sourced locally.

“The market is competitive and it’s hard to sustain a business unless you are able to cater to customers’ changing needs and wants. But I want to focus on making jewelry that’s exclusive so I intend to stick to stones, crystals and pearls,” says Sithling.

The aim of Behind That Veil, she adds, is to support leprosy patients and as long as that goal is being met, she’s in no hurry to expand. However, Sithling wanted to open a retail store before the pandemic but she has, for now, put those plans on hold.

“I want to focus on the local market and create a buzz about Behind That Veil by producing pieces that feel like an investment,” she says. The products support a cause and that already seems to be a reason enough for some people to continually support the company. But Sithling believes that shouldn’t be the only reason customers place repeated orders.

That’s why she spends every spare minute researching new design ideas on Pinterest, styling the jewelry for good pictures to post on Instagram, and curating her Instagram feed for an aesthetic feel. She wants buying jewelry online to be a pleasant and rewarding experience for her customers and her Instagram account stands testimony to that effort.

“I never intended to run Behind That Veil as a profitable business. I was just doing whatever I could to help. I intend to continue in that vein while ensuring people get their money’s worth,” she concludes.

Nepal Finance Limited (NFS) this opened a new branch at Bhurjungkhola in Machhapuchre Rural Municipality-2, Kaski. The branch became operational from April 4.

NFS, which is the first finance in Nepal to open through private sectors, was established in 1992. With its head office at Kamaladi, Kathmandu, NFS currently has branch offices in Pulchowk, Lalitpur; Banepa, Kavrepalanchowk; Murgiya, Rupandehi and Nawalpur, Gaindakot.

After the opening of the new branch in Kaski, NFS plans to expand its services with new branch offices at Dahnushadham, Janakpur and Hetuada, Makwanpur within this fiscal year. The finance company also plans to open services counter at Kantipath and Kalimati in Kathmandu within the same period.

Presiding over the eveng was NFS Chairman Prof. Hirendra Man Pradhan, along with Promoter/director Diprash Shakya, Chandra Kumar Rai, Rajan Prajapati, Laxmi Maharjan,  CEO Uddhab Raj Thapalia and Assistant CEO Bishnu Prasad Gautam. 

Radisson Hotel Kathmandu organizes “Jyoti Ko Paila”

Radisson Hotel Kathmandu recently organized “Jyoti Ko Paila”, an initiative to educate students of Shree Jyoti Secondary School, Jalapa, Khotang as a part of its corporate social responsibility with themes “Think Planet”, “Think Community” and “Think People.”  

In the initiative organized in this week, 40 students of grade IX and X of Shree Jyoti Secondary School were hosted for an educational day tour at the hotel. The event started off with welcome greetings, brief introduction about hotel industry, career opportunities and hiring procedures which provided an insight to the students regarding the career possibilities in one of the largest industries of Nepal. The students, 95% of whom had never left their district before, were oriented with the operations of the 5-star hotel and were delighted by the experience, press release issued by the hotel reads. 

Radisson Hotel Group is known globally for their responsible business practices. Likewise, Radisson Hotel Kathmandu has put up continuous effort by showing that they care about the lives of people outside the walls of their businesses by conducting numerous CSR activities every year. The company encourages and advocates on sharing resources with need-based entities to unite for common causes, the press release read. 

Nepal Finance Limited opens new branch

Nepal Finance Limited (NFS) this opened a new branch at Bhurjungkhola in Machhapuchre Rural Municipality-2, Kaski. The branch became operational from April 4.

NFS, which is the first finance in Nepal to open through private sectors, was established in 1992. With its head office at Kamaladi, Kathmandu, NFS currently has branch offices in Pulchowk, Lalitpur; Banepa, Kavrepalanchowk; Murgiya, Rupandehi and Nawalpur, Gaindakot.

After the opening of the new branch in Kaski, NFS plans to expand its services with new branch offices at Dahnushadham, Janakpur and Hetuada, Makwanpur within this fiscal year. The finance company also plans to open services counter at Kantipath and Kalimati in Kathmandu within the same period.

The branch opening event was chaired by NFS’s Assistant CEO Bishnu Prasad Gautam, promoter/director Diprash Shakya and Chairman Prof. Hirendra Man Pradhan.

NIBL Ace Capital appointed registrar for NCC

NIBL Ace Capital Ltd has been appointed debenture registrar of Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd (NCC Bank). NCC Bank, formally registered as Nepal-Bank of Ceylon Ltd (NBOC), commenced its operation on October 14, 1996 as a joint venture with Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka.

 The name of the bank was changed to NCC Bank on September 10, 2002, after transfer of shares and management of the bank from Bank of Ceylon to Nepali promoters.

The Debenture Registrar Service Agreement was signed recently between Rajesh Raj Dhungel, senior manager of NCC Bank, and Sachindra Dhungana, assistant general manager of NIBL Ace Capital Ltd.

Since Covid-19 took the world by storm, virtual learning has evolved from a vague concept to a hard reality for the global education enterprises. Schools in Nepal have banked on international platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom to conduct daily lessons. At the same time, the year 2020 also shed light on some Nepali eLearning apps—one of being Neema Academy.

It’s an online portal with user-friendly interface that gives students and teachers access to countless study materials including course plans, syllabuses, chapter explanations in text and video formats, tests, quizzes, live classes and pre-made worksheets. The goal is to establish trust in eLearning by bringing quality and affordable education to all.

It all started when Neema Publication, a popular publishing house in Kathmandu, sought to digitize its products. Nischal Pradhan, the son of the publication’s owner, reached out to Neha Joshi who had experience in the digital field. The initial idea was to publish ebooks. But they soon realized digital learning provided an even bigger market, and the Neema Academy was born.

Officially launched in February 2020, courses are available from Grade I to X for now on the Play Store app. Upon its installation, users need to create an account and specify whether they’re a learner or a student.

If you’re a student, you must pick a grade and the eLearning app offers you guides on different subjects based on your year. You’ll also have access to chapter revisions, practice questions, quizzes and tests on the completion of each chapter.

If you sign up as an instructor, the app will first need to approve you. That done, aside from the same access as students, you will also be allowed to create your own syllabus and work schedules. You can invite your students into a live classroom, share your screen with them and add presentations, videos and worksheets of your own to the lessons that are already available in the app. If you don’t want to add on any pre-made lessons, a separate space will be made available to start your lessons from scratch. While this is targeted mostly at schoolteachers, it’s as useful for tutors who haven’t been able to continue their jobs during the pandemic.

Neha Joshi (co-founder, Neema Academy)

In fact, it was during the 2020 lockdown that Neema Academy achieved its biggest success, with schools signing up for the courses and independent students looking for free revision classes.

As the company plans its expansion the app will no longer be free. Starting Nepali New Year, Neema Academy will charge fees from all users across the board.

“Every content uploaded on the app is cross-checked,” says Neha Joshi, the company co-founder. “Study materials are true to the original books. And the quizzes, worksheets and video lessons that come with the purchase are made by teachers and experts in our office.” The offerings don’t end there. On the app, independent students can leave queries on subjects they’re confused about and available teachers at head office will answer them.

The courses aren’t limited to quizzes or theoretical videos. Many lessons and revision sections include image sequences, 3D and 2D cartoon videos, educational games and practice modes. “It isn’t just about establishing a good eLearning place,” Joshi shares. “We also want to make learning fun for children. Our education system relies mostly on theory memorization rather than its practice. By contrast, students of all age groups enjoy our practical methods of teaching.”

If you’re an instructor teaching many children at the same time, you can allow them to play these games or complete a worksheet and check their scores at the end to see how each is faring in the online class. The analytics section allows instructors to tailor their class according to student performances.

Joshi says most of their resources are dedicated to building a thorough guide for students appearing for SEE . “But we’re also brainstorming kindergarten courses,” she says. For +2 students, courses have been made only for Accounts and Mass Communication. As other subjects are comparatively more technical and require greater resources, Neema Academy is waiting for the right time to launch them.

In terms of prices, there are three packages on offer: a three-month package, a six-month package, and a one-year package. The prices are cheapest for students of Grade I, and increase higher up the grade level . Even though the app is no longer free, Joshi assures that it will be affordable for all.

“The content you subscribe to once will be available to you even offline,” she says. “So even if you take that phone to a rural place, you will carry our lessons with you.”

As our education will rely more and more on eLearning, our educators and publishers can be expected to create more and more learning products catered to local needs.