

2019 A YEAR IN REVIEW
Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) is a not for profit organizaBon iniBated by beed which aims to be Nepal’s premier private sector led economic policy and research insBtuBon. Established in 2009, NEF seeks to re-define the economic development discourse in Nepal and posiBvely transform its economic and development policies. NEF’s mission is to engage in research, analysis and informaBon disseminaBon to ulBmately shape naBonal agendas through partnerships. NEF stands out in being able to make significant strides in terms of bringing the private sector perspecBve as well as engaging with both, public and private sectors in the development discourse. NEF has been featured in the list of Top Think Tanks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific in the Global Go To Think Tank Index Reports 2016, 2017 and 2018.
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2019 Himalayan Consensus Summit The Himalayan Consensus Summit is an annual summit that brings together environmentalists, pioneers, business and financial leaders, and government representaBves across the Himalayan region to forge soluBons that address contemporary challenges concerning idenBty marginalizaBon, economic disempowerment and environmental disrupBon. Himalayan Consensus InsBtute and Nepal Economic Forum have successfully partnered to organize the Summit in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Parallel dialogues have also been conducted in Bhutan, China, and India. In 2019, the summit focused its discourse on the significance of sustainable economic development and socially responsible businesses.
Business Policy Research Center (BPRC)
Business Policy Research Center consolidates NEF’s acBviBes into a hub that takes a holisBc approach to naBonal economic issues, generates dialogue between the public and private sectors on economic development concerns, and acts as a plaYorm for informaBon disseminaBon. NEF generated the following products under BPRC in the year 2019.
Nefport
Nefport is a quarterly economic analysis publicaBon under BPRC. The four issues of nefport published in 2019 are as follows:  
NeEalk
Nefport 36 Labour Special
Nefport 37 Alterna1ve Investment Special
Nefport 38 Renewable Energy Special
Nefport 39 Trade Special
Ne\alk is a discussion forum and a plaYorm for policy discourse under BPRC. NEF has conducted over 40 ne\alks Bll date with a total of 10 ne\alks in 2019:
CUTS BBIN- NaRonal Advocacy MeeRng The Ne\alk on CUTS BBIN- Na+onal Advocacy Mee+ng was a joint event between Nepal Economic Forum and CUTS InternaBonal. The discussion focused on the BBIN iniBaBve on Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) and shared the findings carried out in Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Dialogue Series on Renewable Energy The Dialogue Series on Renewable Energy was a collaboraBon between Nepal Economic Forum and The Asia FoundaBon. Four panel discussions were organized between April and June to cover - demand and supply of renewable energy, challenges and enablers in the sector and the legal mechanisms around it. This dialogue series aimed to iniBate a discourse on transboundary renewable energy trade between Nepal and India by engaging strategic stakeholders in Nepal towards thinking and acBng in this direcBon.
Export and Beyond: Plugging the trade gap in South Asia The ne\alk on Export and Beyond was an event supported by NMB Bank. It focused on finding ways to plug the widening trade gap in the South Asian region with exclusive recommendaBons for Nepal.
Is Nepal Start-Up Ready? The ne\alk on Is Nepal Start-Up Ready? delved into discussions regarding the startup ecosystem in Nepal from a lens of various stakeholders involved in this ecosystem and deliberated if Nepal is Startup-ready.
Preparing Young people with 21st century skills for a 21st century economy The ne\alk on Preparing Young people with 21st century skills for a 21st century economy was a joint event between Nepal Economic Forum and UNICEF. It highlighted upon the state of the young people today, the skills they need for the 21st century and also deliberated on innovaBve soluBons, new investments and partnerships.
ILO Dialogue Series The ILO-NEF Dialogue Series on Transforming the Workforce for the Future was a collaboraBon between Nepal Economic Forum and InternaBonal Labour OrganizaBon. This dialogue series aims to iniBate a discourse on changing workforce dynamics of Nepal and present key findings to help improve the workforce ecosystem. Two panel discussions were organized in September and November to cover the aspects of producBvity and skills. The first session focused on the factors that impact a worker’s efficiency, and the exisBng challenges and opportuniBes in Nepal to create a friendly professional environment to foster producBvity. The second session explored the world of skills as understood in Nepal with a special focus on the challenges of skill development and mentoring.
Along with our existing programs, 2019 has been a remarkable year for NEF with the development of new initiatives which is reflected through major projects identified below.
Startup Policy IncubaRon Center (Start-PIC) Start-PIC emerged because the regulatory environment in which the startup ecosystem operates has not evolved in the country. The stakeholders in the ecosystem face business uncertainty due to redundant policies. Start-PIC aims to review the prevailing laws in Nepal, recommend necessary amendments, and incubate startup policies that will foster entrepreneurship spirit and startup ecosystem in the country.
Himalayan Circular Economy Forum (HiCEF) With an aim to explore the concept of circular economy and contribute in paving a path towards sustainable businesses and socieBes, NEF commenced a new iniBaBve called Himalayan Circular Economy Forum (HiCEF) in 2019. This year, HiCEF organized three successful events.
 
On 29 August, HiCEF hosted a round table discussion with pracBBoners, experts and concerned stakeholders to highlight the potenBal and challenges of transiBoning to circular economy. Following that, there was a dialogue held on 20 September, to explore the best pracBces and opportuniBes of mainstreaming circular economy with a focus on waste management and uBlizaBon in Nepal. Further, a half-day program was held on 2 December, 2019 to unravel the business and policy context of circular economy with the parBcipaBon of naBonal and internaBonal speakers, government oďŹƒcials, diplomats, representaBves of civil socieBes, naBonal and internaBonal organizaBons, academicians, private sector enterprises, young entrepreneurs and students. A total of 200 and above people afended these events.
Renewable Energy Center Renewable Energy Center aims to be the premier plaYorm for mainstreaming renewable energy issues by engaging mulBple stakeholders to arBculate discourse that will shape naBonal level energy policies. The RE Center is an outcome of the dialogue series conducted on renewable energy. series conducted on renewable energy.
NEF Fellowship
The NEF Fellowship is a one year program which allows talented young graduates to contribute towards research and analysis for the various products and assignments being conducted in NEF. With the NEF Fellows commifed to the organizaBon for a full year, they have been instrumental in boosBng NEF’s content creaBon for its digital as well as physical informaBon disseminaBon plaYorms such as research papers, blogs, publicaBons, events, etc.
2019 NEF Fellows
Aashna Sharma Ishan Bista Nasala Maharjan Priyanka Chaudhary Sambridhi Khanal Shraddha Ghimire
For more informaBon visit: hfps://nepaleconomicforum.org/