Entrepreneurship is no longer limited to big capital or traditional businesses. Whether based on the skills they have created themselves or by learning new skills, some of the new generation of youth are now creating their own businesses and paving the way for self-reliance.

Most of the youth are seen dreaming of going abroad. The number of youth going abroad can also be seen in Nepal. But among that crowd, there are some such youth. Who are moving forward to do business in their own country.

They are working hard and struggling to expand their businesses further in the coming days. Despite being small enterprises, some youth have been looking after their education expenses as well as their families. Some have even provided employment to many. Kantipur has documented the inspiring entrepreneurial journey of some youth who think that ‘it is possible not by looking for opportunities, but by creating them’.

Anjana is obsessed with crafting

There was a lockdown across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People were confined to their homes. Anjana Thapa was on Instagram. While scrolling, she saw a crafting video. After watching the video, she felt like making the same material. She gathered the necessary materials and prepared the craft in her own style. Coincidentally, the material she made turned out to be more attractive than the one shown in the video. That moment made Anjana even more attracted to handicrafts.

Anjana did not only emerge during the lockdown. She was good at handicrafts from a young age. She was always ahead in artistic creation. She was interested in making handicrafts from painting. Therefore, Anjana, with her own ability, art and struggle, is now selling wedding embroidery, painting, as well as various handicrafts. ‘I am happy to be able to grow a business from what I have loved since childhood,’ she said. 

Anjana’s mother is also very good at handicrafts.  During the lockdown, she learned to make handicrafts with her mother’s help and by watching YouTube videos.  After that, Anjana would make and sell children’s skirts, paintings, and small shoes.  The items she made were very popular with customers.  In the initial days, customers around her house liked the items and ordered them,’ she said. ‘As soon as they were made, there was no need to put them on social media.’ Gradually, she started creating new designs herself. 

Anjana says that she struggled a lot in the early days of starting her business.  ‘In the initial days, it was very difficult to find the required materials.  When I searched for the items, they were not available, and even when they were found, they were very expensive.  I used to find items that were more expensive than my budget,' she said, 'I had to search a lot of places to find the items I wanted and it was a time-consuming process.' But Anjana, who believed in her abilities and work, did not give up. Despite facing various challenges in the beginning, Anjana is now loved by everyone because of her art and abilities.

Customers in countries such as America, Australia, Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands order items in different designs online. 'There are many customers who order when their relatives come from abroad. It makes me happy when they repeatedly order the items they make because they are different and very good,' she said. The products she makes are loved not only in Nepal but also abroad.

Many people are praising the ability and art of 27-year-old Anjana, who completed her MBS from Patan College. She said that she plans to continue her work in the coming days. ‘I had taken some time off after starting work during the lockdown. Now I am thinking of continuing my work and moving forward,’ she said. Anjana makes wedding embroidery, anniversary frames, birthday gifts, pasni gifts, paintings, and said that these items sell well. Anjana has an online shop called ‘ABTI Crafting’. She has been continuing it fully since 2025.

She said that it takes one to two days to prepare a craft of a normal design and a week to make some new design items. The price of the item, design, and size ranges from one thousand to ten thousand, she said. Anjana, who was born and raised in Kathmandu, is easily able to support her small family with the income from her own business.

She says that social media also plays a big role. ‘There are many old customers too.’ Orders come from abroad because she makes videos and posts them on TikTok. She posts videos on social media under the name of her business ‘ABTI Crafting’.

She says that there is also a challenge in her work. ‘After creating a design with so much pain, others even copy the same design and sell it at a lower price,’ she said. ‘There is a lot of difference in design, quality and workmanship.’ Just as the pictures she draws and crafting are filled with originality, it also connects her emotionally with people.

‘Embroidery, crochet and painting inspire me to create priceless moments and memories from ordinary clothes and ordinary objects,’ she said. ‘I feel like I have been able to keep someone’s important day alive forever through handicrafts.’ The handicrafts she makes contain emotions, memories and different stories that will last a lifetime. That is why Anjana says that she loves her work so much. ‘I believe that if you continue to do what you love, you will definitely achieve success,’ she said.

Ridima in creation with thread and crochet hooks

Ridima Kulung Rai was good at studies since childhood. Born in Sankhuwasabha, she had been studying in Kathmandu since childhood. Her family members used to live in Morang. A few years ago, she was in her free time after completing her grade 11 exams. At that time, when she saw the colorful materials woven by her friend, Ridima also thought that she could learn such an art in her free time. Her friend also encouraged her to learn. Then Ridima told her mother who lives in the village that she wanted to learn crochet.

Initially, her mother wanted her daughter to learn a new skill, so she bought thread and crochet hooks from the village and sent them. Initially, she learned to spin yarn by watching YouTube. Then Riddhima and her friend came up with the idea of ​​starting an online business together. Both of them started working by investing 1,000 rupees each. ‘We didn’t have much money to invest.’ They both wanted to do the same thing, so they moved forward together,’ she said. In the early days, they would go to various places to promote their products with relatives and friends. And they would say that they would make them as per the order. A few orders were also coming in.

They had started posting videos of the products they made on social media through their page. This had helped a lot in getting orders for the products they made. ‘Let everyone know. We would make videos and photos and post them on TikTok and Instagram so that our business would grow.’ Riddhima was working hard in every way. She loved to dance since she was a child.

She used to upload videos of herself dancing on her TikTok account from time to time. Gradually, she started posting different styles of tops and cardigans made from yarn on her TikTok ID. ‘I had also started uploading videos on my TikTok ID so that the products we made could reach more and more customers. I used to dance wearing cardigans and tops. Many people liked it,’ she said, ‘Many messages of orders started coming to my personal account. I let my friend handle the account we created so that there would never be any bad relationship between my friend and me.’

After some time, they started working alone. Riddhima struggled. She did not limit herself to making cardigans and tops. She also started making sweaters, dolls, bouquets. Customers started liking every product she made. Ridima has made videos on the clothes she made and posted them on her TikTok ID 'Crochet with Ridima', which has garnered millions of views. While living in Kathmandu, Ridima, who used to send money from home to study, pay rent, and spend on rations, gradually started doing everything with the money she earned.

'Before I started my business, I had to send money from home for everything.' Later, I earned it myself and didn't have to send it from home,' she said. Ridima's confidence also grew. She decided to bring her mother and sister who lived in the village with her. 'I have been away from my parents since before. Now, I earn it myself and send my sister to a good school. I brought her to Kathmandu thinking that I would make my family happy,' she said. 'In the beginning, I brought my mothers to Kathmandu.' But I used to worry about whether my earnings would be enough or not. But it has been good. I have never looked back.'

Ridima was living alone in a small room in the early days. After starting to earn money on her own and bringing her family to Kathmandu, she has settled in a good place with her own hard work. Ridima's father is abroad. But he has been encouraging Ridima in every way. 'The support and cooperation of the family is the biggest thing. That I have received. I feel very happy,' she said. Ridima's source of income is not only business. She has also been earning through social media. 'When I am busy making and editing videos, I have no free time.' But when I post videos, I also get good money from Facebook and YouTube,' she said.

Ridima works hard all the time. It takes her two days to make a cardigan. Ridima has worked many nights without sleep. ‘Customers have to deliver on time. That’s why there are times when I work until 4 am,’ she said.

Her passion, struggle, and confidence in her work have now led to the products she weaves reaching various countries. She is currently employing three people. She said that she has many happy moments. ‘It makes me very happy to see everyone recognize me by my name and the work I do,’ she said. ‘It makes me happy when Nepalis not only in my hometown but also abroad see and appreciate my work.’

Ridima, who has worked hard since a young age, has become a source of inspiration for the new generation. The 21-year-old said that she plans to make her business bigger in the future. ‘I am thinking of continuing my work. I want to open my own big shop,’ she said.

Saraswati's dream of creating in the world market

Some young people have achieved professional success by embracing family work. One of them is Saraswati Rai.

Saraswati is running her business in Gokarneshwor, Kathmandu. Her room is decorated with threads of different colors, feathers, and many hand-woven figures. With her skills and abilities, Saraswati is shaping her dreams from that room every day. The dream catchers she makes are the choice of many customers. That is why the dream catchers she makes have reached not only Nepal but also various countries such as Canada, Greece, Romania, Hong Kong, America, etc.

Saraswati's father was an expert in handicrafts. He used to play various instruments in Kathmandu itself using natural fibers extracted from hemp, i.e., marijuana stalks. He used to prepare goods for a wholesale shop in Thamel. These goods were exported abroad through Thamel. Saraswati used to observe her father's work from a young age. Saraswati's childhood was spent in a normal way. Saraswati learned all the skills of weaving, dyeing, and arranging designs by watching her father's work. 'When I tried to learn the work, he would teach me without hesitation.' So, with the work my father did and the encouragement he gave, it became easy to learn the work,' she said.

In 2003, Saraswati's father gave a new look to the dream catcher by mixing it with Nepali handicrafts and hemp. 'In the early days, foreigners liked the dream catcher. They would also take it abroad.' But Nepalis were not very connected before,' she said, 'At some point, the trend of buying and decorating dream catchers increased in Nepal too.' At that time, she had been studying and helping her father.

Her father passed away in 2070. Then she thought of going abroad. 'Some friends had gone abroad. Some were working in Nepal. It has been so easy for you to have skills with me. They would say you have done well,' she said, 'That made me think that it is difficult abroad too. Then I decided to continue my father's work in Nepal.'

Then she started running the business in her own way. Although she initially worked through wholesale, from 2023 she became active on social media and started posting videos of the materials she made. Customers were very attracted to her products. She started receiving many orders. Even now, her videos on TikTok and other social media get a lot of views. Her TikTok ID, ‘Dream Catcher by Saraswati’, is being liked by many. Where she can be seen making dream catchers of different colors and decorating them after they are made. The dream catchers she has made and other items have attracted the attention of thousands of people.

When she started selling online, she said that customers used to ask if she was just showing off such a good dream catcher. ‘Customers were initially afraid that it was a scam. But once they bought it, they started ordering again for birthdays, gifts and home decoration,’ she said. She said that now it is easier to sell goods than before.

She said that the price of dream catchers is determined by looking at the size and design. ‘Dream catchers start at one hundred rupees. For a large and different design, it costs up to three thousand eight hundred rupees,' she said. She says that she prepares the design according to the customer's wishes. She says that it is very difficult to make a dream catcher. 'It is very difficult to prepare the feathers used in it. You have to clean, dry, dye and make the feathers durable yourself,' she said. 'If something goes wrong, the goods made with a lot of pain will be ruined.' She says that she has family support in her business.

Saraswati feels that the main basis of work is 'quality' and 'honesty'. She says that it is her duty to provide satisfaction according to the price paid by the customer. For this reason, she said that customers who buy goods once buy goods repeatedly. 'There are customers who have been around for a long time.' She said that the happiest moment for a person in business is when they gain the trust of the customers.

Her business, which started from a small room, now employs 12 people. ‘I want to take my business to a better level in the coming days,’ she said. ‘I feel like my work is not just a business, but also my father’s dream, memories, love for handicrafts and the recognition of Nepali skills.’

Saraswati dreams of giving Nepali materials a new look and taking them to the international market. ‘Now my idea is to take Nepali goods to the Nepali customers and the world market in a new way,’ she said.

Dilasha’s creation in ribbon

There are many young people who are moving forward in the business sector by learning new skills in their free time during their studies. Dilasha Basukala is one of them. She was studying in 11th standard. She thought of doing something new in her free time. She bought ribbons from a shop and made a bouquet. She gave it to her friend on her birthday. Her friends were surprised when she said she made it herself. ‘When I told them I made it, everyone praised me. All the friends I met asked me to make them too,’ she said, ‘I had seen a video on TikTok. I made it thinking I could make it different and better. That’s exactly what happened.’

Then her friends encouraged her. Her family also encouraged her to do what she knows. ‘Parents, sisters and friends, you have done well. Make it in your free time. When they said it was good, I decided to start doing the same thing,’ she said. Then Dilasha created a page for an online business with the name ‘Fuzzy Bloom’.

In the early days, friends, relatives and neighbors started ordering ribbon bouquets. ‘After my circle told others, everyone gradually started knowing about the work I do,’ she said. Even though she only made flowers in her free time after completing her studies, it was a good benefit to her. ‘After completing my college assignments, I would study for some time and make flowers in my free time,’ she said. ‘Many orders kept coming in. I would make them as soon as I had time.’

Dilasha’s work was also being appreciated in college. ‘All my friends and ma’ams in college also came to know about it and praised me. That made me think that I should do my job better,’ she said. Dilasha has been making bouquets of various flowers using ribbons and wires and selling them. She makes bouquets of sunflowers, lilies, roses, strawberries, cherries and other flowers and sells them as per the order.

She said that the happiest moment for her is when the same customer orders her products repeatedly. ‘After ordering once, they like the product and order it again and again. That makes me the happiest to see,’ she said. She said that she used to make bouquets because she had free time. ‘I did it during the Plus Two exams so that my studies would not be disrupted.’ After the exams, I started making bouquets again. Now I make them at home and sell them as ordered,’ she said.

Her family owns a department store. She keeps the bouquets she has made in one place in the store. She says that there is a very good business there too. ‘A lot of online orders also come in. My parents have kept the goods in their home shop so that many people know. How quickly they sell,’ she said.

Dilasha feels that everything should have a price that everyone can afford. ‘I make bouquets of over 100,’ she said, ‘Why does everyone say it’s so cheap? I think it’s bad to charge a lot of money for the same item and make it impossible for the customer to buy it again.’

Dilasha feels that she has to earn the trust and love of the customer forever. That’s why she says that she sells at a low price without making a lot of profit.

Dilasha, who initially made bouquets from ribbons to gift to her friend on her birthday, is now selling her items through an online platform at the young age of 16. Dilasha said that she plans to do business in Nepal in the future and continue her studies. She says that she is not only a bouquet maker but also plans to learn a new job and start a business in Nepal.

Diksha weaves a different story behind the colors of the flower

Many people are often sad when the flowers given to them by the person they love wither. But some young people have started their own businesses so that they can keep those flowers. In a room in Kathmandu, amidst the light scent of resin, colorful flowers, and small tools, Diksha Khati is weaving different stories from each color of the flower.

‘Flowers fade quickly, but the feelings associated with them are immortal.’ This is the idea that gave birth to the dream of perpetuating moments through art in resin,’ said the founder of Ziara, ‘I started making earrings, studs, and custom jewelry. I didn’t like flowers fading and falling. I used to keep them in whatever condition they were. Now I am happy to make and sell jewelry made from flowers.’

Diksha was talented in the artistic field from a young age. Before making flower jewelry, she used to make various materials. She was in fourth grade when she had a problem with load shedding. She tried making candles in the meantime. She says she was very interested in artistic work.

Diksha was looking at the flowers she had collected. The thought came to her mind, ‘If I could make flower tops, I would be able to do it forever.’ In her free time, she bought supplies and transformed the flowers into various designs. ‘I had made one or two tops for myself and wore them. Many people liked them.’ Then I thought of starting a business,’ she said.

She says that the initial days of her flower jewelry business were not easy. ‘When I started selling jewelry made from flowers, people would ask why I did it,’ she said. But Diksha did not give up. She continued her work without listening to others. ‘I first invested 30,000 rupees and bought flower top making materials. I was also scared by what others said,’ she said, ‘I went ahead because I had to do it well.’ Without saying a word, I made more profit than I expected in two months.’ Diksha says that that moment increased her confidence and encouraged her to continue her work.

She says that she is very happy that the products she makes are the choice of many customers and many order jewelry as gifts. Customers order earrings according to their wishes. Some order earrings in different colors to give as a gift to a friend’s wedding, some to apologize to their girlfriends, and some for a first date,’ she said. ‘Many also order for themselves.’ ‘That’s why I said that each earring has a separate story.’

She says that she is very sad at work. ‘Every job has its own pains. It takes 3/4 hours of hard work to make a top. Sometimes, when working with resin for hours, I have to cut my hand and go to the hospital,’ she said. ‘Only after a lot of hard work are the jewelry ready. At that time, all the pain disappears.’

She is not only a business person, she is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism. She is also a communication trainer. Diksha, who hails from Jhapa, has been doing business, studying, and working in Kathmandu. She says that she has the support and cooperation of her family in her business. She says that she receives many orders through social media. ‘Many orders also come from her circle of friends. But good orders also come from social media,’ she said.

Diksha, who was among the top 10 of Miss Universe Nepal in 2022, believes that beauty and confidence should not only be external but should be connected to the purpose. That's why Diksha has also spent a part of her business on social work. 'I have donated a part of the profit to poor children by providing books, paper and food,' she said.