Supporting an entrepreneur to provide for his family

This cheerful face belongs to Chandrika Prasad. For the past eight years, he has been running a small shop in Butwal in western Nepal. Hailing from a community of predominant farmers, the 43-year-old took a leap of faith when deciding to invest all his savings into a small shop. In its advent, the shop was a small cottage with a cramped space serving tea and an array of local snacks including samosas, pakoras, nimki (all traditional flour-based snacks). His neighbours thought he was crazy for doing something so unconventional; they couldn’t stomach this bold decision. Thus went seven years; although there wasn’t much profit he was as determined as ever.

Initially, with the earnings from the shop, Chandrika was barely able to manage his household expenses. With four mouths to feed and the pressure of his school-going children’s expenses, he recalls times being tough.

However, things took a different turn this year as Chandrika found his shop space growing larger and having more free space resulted in more customers coming in. All thanks to the support provided from World Vision who saw potential in him and supported him to expand his space and also provided equipment support to make his shop bountiful.

His once thatched roof has been replaced by iron sheets. There is also a display rack which has made the place more appealing, and it is attracting almost 100 customers on a daily basis. With added equipment, the shop is able to cater to the diverse needs of customers who visit the place throughout the day.

His shop is now big enough to accommodate large groups at the same time. He prepares different varieties of snacks depending on the time of the day and customers' preference. Within a span of a few months, he has been able to make a profit of NRs. 16,000 (USD 160), almost twice as more as what he used to make before. He has also been saving at a local cooperative and plans to expand his shop even further in the following years. A portion of his savings will also go to his children's education.

Apart from being a successful entrepreneur, Chandrika is also the proud father of Renuka, who is 19 years old and aspiring to be a teacher. She used to be a sponsored child at World Vision in Nepal and has fond memories of it.

“My sponsor was from Ca..na..da,” she says slowly, “I used to receive letters from my sponsor, who used to tell me interesting things about his place and I would write back doing the same. I would look forward to these letters as I got to learn something new each time.” Her father adds, “She used to be happy reading the letters; seeing her happy made me happy.”

Renuka studies in grade 11 and goes to college early in the morning and comes back to help her parents at the shop. And when she has homework, she goes home to complete it first. She can be seen with a cheerful smile at the shop, interacting with the customers and taking orders. 

He is content that he was able to take the right decision earlier although no one was in his favour that time. With active family members supporting him, he is more than optimistic that his entrepreneurship will help him live his dreams someday.