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| Ecom in Nepal |
Amrit Tuladhar was born in 1971 in Kathmandu.
Generations of his family are renowned businessmen of
New Road, Kathmandu (Muncha House) Lucky for us he started
something new, as if he would have continued what his
forefathers were doing he wouldn't have fallen into
our category of "Successful stories in Nepal"
Now let's have a look at his story..
Until 16 he was a lucky guy growing up at home in a
well to do family with loving parents, one brother and
one sister. He finished his SLC from St Xavier where
he learned some independent thinking in 1st division
and completed his plus one from Modern Indian School
and thereafter he went to US According to him he was
very lucky to have in St Xaviers educated teachers,
which made it possible to utilize and train the brain
of their students in the way of thinking at least to
some extend positively critical and independent. This
at a time when in other schools good teachers were scarce
and probably still are.
After that he decided to go to USA for further studies
and had the luck to be invited by a cousin. After finishing
his MBA in USA he felt he had learned enough and returned
to Nepal
After returning to Nepal in 1995 he joined Himalayan
Bank branch office in New Road, Kathmandu. As a credit
marketing officer he learned how to handle customers.
But that was his official position only. In reality
he got the chance in that branch to work in all branch
related banking activities during his nearly 4 years
there as the number of staff was limited. Following
that period he worked 10 more month in the head office
in Thamel. This experience within a renowned bank proved
to be very valuable later on after he left the bank
beginning 2000.
Following his over 4 years within Himalayan bank he
started to develop his own business. While interested
in the business of his father he wanted to develop something
new and that he did in the sector of e commerce. He
started his activities with little money in Teku Despite
technical limitations and at that time a very expensive
Internet he started a small shop combined with e-commerce.
E commerce actually meant people living outside Nepal
wanting to send gifts the easy way to Nepalese in Nepal
mainly in Kathmandu. But Teku proved to be a bit out
of the world if you needed suppliers for goods as these
suppliers were mainly located in or near New Road. So
he shifted in 2003 to New Road, where he soon expanded
his online shopping activities and also introduced money
transfer activities in his business game strategy,
While he has already reached a decent turnover and some
valuable brand recognition he is on the trip to develop
more.
Due to Nepal's retardedness in credit card systems,
he is up to now more or less restricted to incoming
orders from US citizens, which have no problem on the
credit card side. But he is very interested to develop
the local and outgoing business as well, means business,
where the orders are coming from Nepal for goods and
services to be delivered within Nepal or to Nepalese
citizens living outside Nepal This will need some time,
in his opinion may be 3 month to one year. That means
until credit cards or other payment methods can be utilized
here as well. Once that is through business might easily
double. According to him Nepal’s infrastrucutre
regarding the internet and payment systems is highly
inadequate.
What is he doing now?
His online shopping and money transfer line is open
24 hours a day, which means that his staff must be available
during this time any time. Why? Its due to the time
differences between US (mainly) and Nepal and the need
to keep telephone lines open.
Mostly Nepali visitors to US or Non resident Nepalis
are the customers to order gift items through muncha.com
and to get the business they have to work with a US
counterpart.
When asked about the ethics of business he stressed
the importance of delivering good quality at good prices
and reliability and thus winning credibility. .
How does he see the future of e commerce? According
to him it is not exactly easy with the present infrastructure
in Nepal, for example no availability of the cheap Voice
over Internet Protocol, but still it can be done. He
doesn't rely on government support, as he believes that
a man is only a man if he can do it himself (or herself
if it's a lady)
While the online market is for the time being in Nepal
comparable to the mid 90's in America or Europe, you
know the time when E bay started, the chances of growth
are high. Why? In Kathmandu it hasn't yet fully started
and in the rural areas even computerization is not fully
through. But signs are promising and if electricity
gets more reliable allover Nepal the potential growth
might be high once online shopping starts really. He
doesn't accept the argument that people will always
prefer shopping in small shops or departmental shops.
While it's true that up to now many even educated persons
prefer shopping from small shops and departmental stores,
one should look back a few years. At that time only
small shops were available and maximal one or two departmental
stores. Nowadays Kathmandu is full of departmental stores
and the small shops are either getting bigger or die.
Any way the trend is likely to be comparable to other
countries. So based on the development there, online
is the business coming, especially if costs are lower
there than in a reality based shop. .
What does he think about so many Nepali leaving this
country? According to him to work abroad may be a need.
Study abroad may be helpful if you have a vision. But
that means just imitating friends going abroad and to
follow without vision doesn't make sense at all. If
people have a vision of what to learn there and then
come back to Nepal then the know how transfer can be
extremely helpful, not only for the person going out,
but for the country itself. According to him Nepal is
a land of opportunity and there is no reason to run
away. In addition it is difficult nowadays to get scholarship
and jobs too.
What can be learned out of
it?
Independent and often courageous thinking is needed
to advance in business life.
Sometimes it is necessary to go outside to learn,
but if so then come back.
Learn how much and wherever you can
Be ready for new activities, if you feel they can
become interesting.
Try to get connections outside the country
Working hard is important for success, if you don't
work hard it is sure you will not succeed. If you
work hard it's not always sure..
Try to see the coming trends in time.
Nepal is a country of opportunities , use them.
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