As its name suggests, Rural entrepreneurship is the development of a new enterprise, which innovates new products and services, creates a new market for its offerings or uses advanced technology, or uses the existing services or product and present them in a better way within the market, in the rural area. In simple terms, entrepreneurship, which mechanisms up, in non-urban areas is termed rural entrepreneurship. This leads to the establishment of industrial units in rural areas. Rural entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in the betterment of society economically. Perhaps, that is the reason; Rural Entrepreneurship is highly required to develop the small villages and their people too. Rural entrepreneurship is not just about making an individual financially sound, but also about creating leadership about it. Rural Entrepreneurship can help any nation grow. Rural areas have the capacity for small and medium-sized businesses, and these sectors serve as economic builders by providing employment and income to the impoverished and unemployed. Furthermore, there is a chance of a substantial increase in the small and medium industry sectors. As a result, repair shops, service centers, PCOs, cafés, agricultural implements and tractor rental, computers, and other skill training facilities have a bright future in the cluster of villages. Entertainment, cable television, rural tourism, and amusement parks (near urban areas) are all possible sectors for rural entrepreneurs in the commercial sector. Changes in consumption patterns have created new opportunities for trading activity in rural areas. A huge number of agricultural items, such as fertilizers, seeds, herbicides, and insecticides, are also used in rural areas. These factors work as a medium for the increment of Rural Entrepreneurship in any nation. Semi-skilled and unskilled labor is readily available, and low wage rates make rural areas more vulnerable to industrialization. So, that is what makes Rural Entrepreneurship a necessity for Nepal or any other nation.
WHY NEPAL NEEDS RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
Approximately 79.42% of the total population of Nepal resides in rural areas as per the data 2020. And it was 82.89% in the year 2011. The duration of a decade is longer period of time and it shows our speed of development, be it through the infrastructurally or economically within that period of time. The very question “If Nepal need rural entrepreneurship?” is answered just with the fact that almost 80% of Nepalese dwell in Rural areas. In a country like Nepal whose economy is completely reliant on Remittance, it is very crucial to promote entrepreneurship. And since the maximum population lives within rural areas, it is indeed an important aspect to think about promoting rural entrepreneurship. As it holds immense potential to employ the population to any scale possible.
Within the fiscal year 2019/2020, Nepal imported food worth NRS. 243 billion, which is approximately 80% of the grains we consume yearly. And this data, as huge as it may seem, is just for the food Nepal consumes yearly. And still, Nepal has the potential to feed or export food for that matter. And just not limiting it to foods or grains, rural entrepreneurship should focus on other potentials which are possible to expand through a rural community or locality. But still, agriculture is the major source of the economy in rural areas, so it should be promoted as much as possible.
The unemployment rate of Nepal is 4.44% as per the data of the Nepal Labor Force in the year 2020. It is the highest in history. And almost 2.2 million, which makes 10% of the Nepalese population are residing abroad. This statistic shows that rural employment can play a major role in providing employment to people within and outside of Nepal. And most importantly it can play a major role in slowing down the process of brain drain and at the same time working force drain.
The creative heritage of Nepal is very ancient and very culturally motivated. And especially within Rural areas, there exists diversity in culture and religion itself. The social structure of Nepal is not particularly dominated by one single community. So, even the cultural aspect of Nepal can be optimized in a way that can promote rural entrepreneurship. Be it with restaurants with traditional dishes or be it wearables with cultural significance, be it with attracting tourism or be it with exporting artifacts or handicrafts, these all things are possible to create rural entrepreneurship. And at the same time, it promotes the cultural aspect and generates an appreciation for other aspects of society. Entrepreneurship in rural areas when it comes to cultural or creative heritage has immense potential to help people grow financially and help to solve the issues of unemployment in the nation.
The other reason why Nepal as a nation should be more oriented toward rural entrepreneurship has also to deal with the fact, that it can reduce the income disparities or differences. World Bank states that an average income of a Nepali is Rs. 517 and with the inflation, it seems quite unmatchable and unsustainable. The increment in the economic gap within the rural and urban areas is surprisingly differentiable. And that unjust is because of the opportunities that mostly prevails in the urban areas and also due to the unrecognized opportunities that exist within rural areas. That is perhaps another reason why rural entrepreneurship is needed, especially, in the context of Nepal.
Another reason why Nepal needs to have emphasized rural entrepreneurship is to reduce the migration toward urban. Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and also the epitome of urban areas in Nepal. Kathmandu offers better infrastructure, better income, education, health, and many more. And Kathmandu also happens to be the most populated city with 1,442,271 people living in it as per the data 2021. This is more than what Kathmandu’s environment can sustain and it is one of the most polluted cities. So, having rural entrepreneurship increase can surely help to control people migrating towards urban areas in search of opportunities. And surely it can also help in equal distribution of population without severely affecting the biodiversity of one particular geographical area.
The other reason why we need rural entrepreneurship is that it can help in the utilization of the potential that rural areas have. As we mentioned before, that rural areas in Nepal are better at Agriculture based & culture-based products or services. There are many other potentials that rural areas hold due to diversity in Natural resources as well. So Rural Entrepreneurship can also help to utilize the existing resource in better if regulated properly. And without a doubt, it can help to improve the quality of life of people living in rural areas. This does not just limit financial soundness but also awareness and literacy. And that way the services and infrastructure can be decentralized and people from any region be it rural or urban can have access to it without disturbing the ecosystem or nature.
Conclusion
Hence, it seems quite obvious why Nepal as a nation with a maximum percentage of rural area, should be more concerned about promoting and supporting rural entrepreneurship. And it is more than just an opinion to have; as a matter of fact, it is the necessity of Nepal. And not just from the entrepreneurial point of view but rather from the economic and social point of view.
