The sixth edition of 'Nirbhik Nari', organized by Nari Monthly, a co-publisher of Kantipur Media Group, is continuing its discussion on women's issues in four panels.

The first session was attended by Sangeeta Pandey, who became an entrepreneur through her mother's pickles, entrepreneur Radhika Adukiya, Laxmi Upreti, manager of international food chains KFC and Pizza Hut, and social media influencer Binjul Shrestha. The session titled 'Pathway to Leadership' was coordinated by Moon Pradhan, who heads the Leadership Committee of Zonta Club.

If you have the ability and confidence, education will not stop you.

Sangeeta Pandey, who started her mother's pickles from home with 3 thousand rupees, says that she is happy when she reaches different countries. 'I had taken training in pickles while in India. I decided to do that if I have the skills.' The business that started with 10 kg of chillies worth Rs 3,000 now goes to 50 countries,' she said, 'The business that started at the age of 49 has now reached 50 countries at the age of 64. If you have the ability and confidence, even education will not stop you.'

Sangeeta said that she started the business because she wanted to do something. 'There was nothing that was not enough for me. My family also said why should I work. But I wanted to do something myself. Age and education do not stop me,' she said, 'I do not depend on my husband's income. I cannot be limited to the kitchen, but because I want to do something.' Sangeeta says that no work is small. 'In my old age, I said that I should do something, not because I want something from my parents, but because I have to earn a name.' No matter what you do, you never think of the work as small or big. And age never stops you,’ she said.

She said that you should not give up when starting something. ‘You will come forward to find a solution.’ Problems come up a lot. If there are a hundred problems, a thousand ideas come up. That is why you have to get involved in a job,’ she said. She said that her son and daughter-in-law, who were abroad, came to Nepal because of her business and were happy to help her in the business.

Trying to find out about fraud in the purchase and sale of jewelry and starting her own business Speaking at the session, entrepreneur Radhika Adukiya said that after completing her graduation, she returned to Nepal with the intention of working in a different field than the family business. She said that she has become more involved in this field while trying to find out about the various types of fraud that occur in the purchase and sale of jewelry. ‘I started this work with the aim of ensuring that customers buying jewelry get adequate information, that the transaction is transparent and that no one gets cheated due to lack of knowledge,’ she said.

She mentioned that she received continuous encouragement from her family, saying that they encouraged her to try again and again without being afraid of failure. ‘Don’t be afraid of failure, the support of my family helped me move forward while working on my idea,’ she said.

It is very important for women to be financially independent

Laxmi Upreti said that she is a chartered accountant by profession and decided to return to Nepal despite the opportunity to build a career there after completing her studies in India. She said that she started her career as a deputy manager in 2020 and is currently leading the financial sector.

She suggested that women should continuously invest in developing the skills necessary to reach leadership positions. ‘Today’s generation spends a lot of time on social media. Financial literacy materials can also be learned through that medium,' she said.

Upreti emphasized the need to invest in learning skills and develop the art of investing money in the right places. According to her, confidence is an important foundation of leadership, which enables a person to present their ideas confidently.

'It is very important for women to be financially independent. I think financial independence is the main foundation of leadership,' she said. She also said that one should learn to face and manage the challenges that come along the journey of success, and she believed that success is not possible without challenges.

Starting a business with food prepared for her daughter

Entrepreneur and health worker Binjul Shrestha said that she started her business after the birth of her daughter. 'After Melai's daughter was born, she used to make solid food and feed it to her and post it on social media. Some of the mothers who watched my videos ordered me to make it for their children,' she said, 'It would be nice, but they didn't have the money to buy the necessary materials. I had bought the necessary materials for Lito by asking for an advance with them.' She said that it was difficult to turn the popularity gained on social media into a business. 'In the digital age, we don't feel like we have to wait for opportunities. We can create our own opportunities,' she said, 'It may be easy to get popularity on social media. But, converting that trust into a sustainable business is the difficult thing.' She said that it is necessary to survive in the business for a long time and maintain the quality of the materials. ‘For me, the biggest challenges are maintaining quality, providing the required quantity of goods in the market, maintaining the quality of food,’ she said, ‘Customers don’t just buy goods. They also buy trust.’