Divesh Kumar Chaudhary is a Senior Enterprise Development Facilitator in Duhabi Municipality, located in the southern plains in eastern Nepal. His office runs entrepreneurship development programmes for women, youth, jobseekers, returnee migrant workers, and business owners, reaching about 300 entrepreneurs every year through skills training, business counselling, technology support, subsidized loans, and start-up funds.
“We understand the country’s social, cultural, and business realities firsthand, making the learning more effective and sustainable.”
- Divesh Chaudhary
He is an experienced business development trainer. However, through the SME Loop training by GRAPE 2, he recognized that women and young entrepreneurs can face different barriers, and that a one-size-fits-all approach does not always address their specific needs.
The programme changed Divesh’s approach. He learned practical ways to look beyond the surface of business problems, understand their underlying causes, identify what sets a business apart, and better understand its customers.
“Before this training, I used to support all entrepreneurs using the same approach. Now I identify each entrepreneur’s specific needs and provide tailored advice and support accordingly."
- Divesh Chaudhary
The gender focus helped him better understand the household responsibilities, limited access to finance, and social expectations that can create additional barriers for women entrepreneurs. The climate modules of the SME Loop training helped him recognise local risks, such as irregular rainfall, flooding, and extreme heat, and understand how these can affect businesses. As a result, he now feels more confident discussing these issues with the business owners he supports and exploring solutions that respond to their specific needs.
