Towards Connected Economy

On Monday November 11, the Nepal Economic Forum hosted the third annual meet – NEFmeet and brought together three stellar woman panelists to provide different perspectives on the connected economy. In a country where all male panels, panels with generally older men from certain ethnic group rules, it was refreshing to have three women panelists, representing women’s leadership in ensuring connectivity in different spheres. With emerging globalization, the rarest moments in history have now been highlighted. Never in the history have humans been so connected through technology, consuming goods and services that originate in different countries and have knowledge about what is going on in worlds so far away from one’s own. The proliferation of the social media and internet connects us to be able to find answers to practically anything, help us to learn, engage at the same time consume content that we are not sure about that is really needed for us. E-commerce and digital payments have shrunk the commercial world. We live in times that we could have never imagined even twenty years ago. 

At the event there were three distinct topics discussed that connect with the concept of connected economy. First, Dr Shamika Ravi, member of the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister of India that functions as the secretary to the PMO provided perspectives on India, an economy that Nepal is deeply connected with. With Nepal being land-linked with India, it has tremendous potential to bolster future trade, investment and tourism. She emphasized on something that resonates with my own work on bordernomics and pushing for Border Economic Zones (BEZ). Nepal needs to leverage the vast 400 million population that live within a few hours’ drive from the border. Shamika through her analysis shared on how these areas are becoming the growth center for India. Therefore, what is required is more interactions with the state governments of India and working on a few low hanging fruits. I continuously write about how the people on the Indian side continue to be the big source of workforce to work in farmlands, industries and construction sites in Nepal, the more we understand these connections, the more benefits on both sides. She also brought about the discussions around narrative economics that is little talked about in Nepal. There are stories that go viral especially in the hyper-linked era of internet and social media. People around the world view Nepal and Nepalis in a positive frame and the narrative around this needs to be leveraged in the era of connected economy. 

Second, Preeti Adhikary who is founder of The Great Nepali Diaspora network in 2022 provided perspectives on some of the work that the members of the Nepali diaspora has been doing at the global scale. She has been working tirelessly on connecting people in the diaspora that would help people to network for unleashing the potential of the diaspora. This has been a great place of solace for the Nepalis disillusioned by the politics around Non-Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA) the official diaspora body recognized by the Government of Nepal. Nepalis are in 180 countries; they can be a formidable force if they can connect and leverage those connections. 

Third, Saloni Sethia, an advisory board member at NEF shared her experiences on networks for entrepreneurs and professionals. Connecting with others provides the best learning experience through sharing and exchange of ideas. I was told that I had to write a book on networking, but when I read Porter Gale’s Your Network is Your Net worth, I knew I did not have to write one. Saloni has connected through different networks efficiently and inspired others. This is also a generational issue where perhaps young people are more open to and keen on connecting with others selflessly. 

The key issue that was very clear across speakers and interactions later is that Nepal needs to up its game to be able to think global. Individuals and companies who are doing well are those who are pursuing global benchmarks, competing with global firms and eyeing on global markets. The examples shared by speakers and the work we do through beed management clearly indicate that to succeed you need scale and go beyond Nepal. For that you need to have products and services that meet global benchmarks. This global mindset perhaps will be the most essential lens for Nepal to be moving towards a connected economy be it connecting to other countries, people, institutions or services. 

Nepal and the world are an initiative of NEF that explores different facets of connectivity of Nepal and Nepalis around the world. The key difference we need to appreciate and get inspired with is that twenty years ago this was not even a topic we would think and talk about. We have within a short span of time come a long way and it is for us to now recognize that we are part of a connected economy, and we need to leverage of our physical location and the young population.