Nepal Leadership Academy believes in the power of entrepreneurship for unlocking the economic potential of Nepal. To achieve that end, we provide entrepreneurship & organisational innovation courses to rural and urban entrepreneurs, business executives, and managers. Along with this we have also curated experiential programs for undergraduate and graduate business school students placing them with rural enterprises to understand the realities of a business cycle and what it means to be a leader or an entrepreneur. The courses we have designed are based on experimental learning and address the challenges in innovation, management and growth of an enterprise. The current portfolio of courses we offer on entrepreneurship are:
1. Rural Enterprise Acceleration Program (REAP)
With the mission of nurturing a movement of community-based entrepreneurs who are growing their enterprises and nurturing innovative communities, Daayitwa’s Rural Enterprise Acceleration Program was initiated. As entrepreneurs go through different stages of the program, they are assessed on their business plans, ability to create social impact in their communities, and their capacity to be a leader- lead their teams, be a leader in the sector, lead the community. NLA’s “Business Innovation” course helps rural entrepreneurs build their soft skills, engage with the entrepreneurship ecosystem by building better relationships with stakeholders, and plan the growth of their enterprises in a strategic manner. The course also looks to build on their risk-taking abilities, communications and enables them to look at their enterprises with a “growth mindset”.
Programs of REAP
• Gulmi
• Palpa
• Makwanpur
• Ramechapp
• Tansen 2019
• Tilotama 2019
2. Private sector/corporate
A key factor that regulates any enterprise’s growth are its people. The value of foreshadowing, understanding and navigating the challenging dynamics created by people’s behavioural differences is indispensable for entrepreneurial growth. This significance is heightened in fast paced urban settings. To nurture this ecosystem, we support a range of private and urban centric enterprises in strengthening their team enabling environments. Our target group ranges from enterprises in their start-up phases and entrepreneurial networks supporting such start-ups to businesses that have established a strong foothold in their sectors. Our service expertise lies in supporting enterprises in innovating, strengthening and accelerating employer and employee led engagement practices within such institutions.
i. Workshop on Building Intentional Relationship
Entrepreneurial success is based on relationships and creating mutual commitments.This short workshop coaches you to approach relationship building and networking with such purposeful intentionality. Participants learn a simple but effective framework to build relationships rooted in commitments to each other, rather than commitments to just an idea, task, or issue; as a result of one-on-one meetings.
Youth Co:Lab, 40 participants, November 2018
In November 2018, NLA provided this 2 hour workshop on “Building Intentional Relationships for Entrepreneurship” to 40 young entrepreneurs at the regional initiative – Youth Co:Lab Nepal. During the workshop, entrepreneurs shared personal experiences around transactional and transformational relationships built during their entrepreneurial journeys, and learnt the art of one-one meetings to convert the transactional relationships to transformational.
ii. Leading With Your Story
Stories are critical to successful leadership, whether in the public, business, or social spheres. They provide you with simple yet powerful ways to connect with each other and tackle the most challenging issues together. Crafting a narrative founded on shared values and emotions is a leadership skill that enables you to listen to your inner calling, empathize with key stakeholders, and act collectively on an adaptive challenge. Leading with Your Story enables participants like you to craft your Story of Self to connect yourself with your team; your Story of Us to connect your team members with each other; and your Story of Now to mobilize your team to a call to action.
FuseMachines, 15 participants, January 2019
In January 2019, NLA held a two day Leading with Your Story workshop with Fusemachines Nepal, a leading artificial intelligence company, with offices in Nepal, U.S.,Canada and the Dominican Republic. The workshop enabled the Heads and Deputy Heads of various departments to accelerate their collaborative actions through diagnosis of their organizational challenges, practice of the fundamentals of adaptive leadership, and mobilization of their teams through the art of public narrative.
iii. Leading Collaborative Action with Your Story
Adaptive leadership depends on understanding yourself and others: your and your team and stakeholder’s values, motivation, and stories. The foundation of this kind of leadership lies on the relationships built with others, with whom we can share the leadership journey. In addition, the art of organizing the power collected through such relationships becomes crucial. This course combines the leadership learnings of “Leading With Your Story” and “Leading Collaborative Action” into one seamlessly integrated experience.
RMT, 17 participants, June 2019
In June 2019, NLA provided this course to the sales and operations department staff of Royal Mountain Travels and Community Homestay. Therein, participants tackled communication and relational challenges in B2B and B2C transactions by developing strong public narratives, dissecting adaptive challenges and devising SMART strategies.
iv. Workshop on Building Emotional Intelligence in Entrepreneurship
In today’s complex and competitive world, prioritizing emotional wellbeing can be daunting for many. This challenge is alarmingly aruduos for entrepreneurs buckling under the pressure to have it all – constant hustle, relentless positivity, fail proof strategy, and accelerating profits for their enterprise, and people. Behind the glamour of entrepreneurship, these change agents often struggle with insecurity, shame and self-doubt. This workshop encourages entrepreneurs to let go of such veils, acknowledge and voice the psychological challenges experienced when running enterprises, for the purpose of de-stigmatizing and nurturing emotional wellbeing for all.
Global Shapers, 25 participants, May 2019
In May 2019, NLA collaborated with Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub (an initiative of World Economic Forum) in hosting a session on “Building Emotional Intelligence in Entrepreneurship ” . Through this session, 25 young entrepreneurs learnt to approach emotional regulation as a positive adaptive challenge and build emotional resilience through distinction between their core self, and their performance in various roles embodied.