Nepalese women entrepreneurs engage in product analysis to improve market edge

Nepal, December 2013 - A two-part training program on product analysis and market development was recently launched by WINNER-Nepal in collaboration with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Women Entrepreneurs Development Council. The purpose of the year-ender activity was to help women producers strategically position their products in the larger market.

By defining product advantages and other factors, women entrepreneurs that cater to large-scale buyers can deepen their hold on the segment of market where their products have competitiveness and edge over others.

The women members of WINNER were joined by twenty-three women from various groups and organizations around Nepal.

The training program had Water Aid-Nepal Country Director Ashutosh Tiwari as sole resource person-trainor. He is the co-founder of Entrepreneurs for Nepal, an online business network that helps producers and exporters take advantage of the Internet to promote their businesses and products to wider audience and public.

The format and conduct of the training program were tapered to the nuances of women producers. Prior to the start of the program, a needs survey was taken by WINNER-Nepal to come up with the profile of preferences, problems and issues, sentiments and expectations of the participants.

The participants are in the production and export of products made from silk, silver, beads, herbs, wool, honey, which are widely available in Nepal.

Representatives of women advocacy groups such as Entire Power in Women, Trade and Export Promotion Center, Fair Trade, among others, also joined the training.

According to WINNER-Nepal Director Nibedita Shrestha, the approach developed for this training resonated well with the participants. In fact, the participants, were very much excited to join the next stage of the program, which involves more in depth product critique and idea sharing on how to develop the best results in product packaging and marketing promotion.