Why does one opt to become an entrepreneur?
For Mr. Anand Bagaria, it was the idea of having to work a nine to five job. In his words, “ In college, I realized my attitude and aptitude would not allow me to do a job.” The science student in high school, he was already more interested in accounts and business than his subjects. While studying engineering in Bangalore, India, he started a company exporting handicraft from Nepal to Aruba in the Caribbean. Although it was not successful, he learned a great deal about the complication of doing business. In his second attempt, he decided on starting a consultancy firm but soon realized that it would not be a feasible business because of his lack of experience. It was then that his family started a ballpoint pen manufacturing company in Hetauda, where he was appointed as CEO. He had no prior knowledge to help him manage the company but learned about accounting and other aspects of business but not before he faced another failure. It was then that he decided that he wanted to do business which added value. He wanted to become an entrepreneur, but he became an agri-entrepreneur.
The right people.
Mr. Bagaria is a firm believer that a good mentor can be invaluable while starting and growing a business. He found his mentor in his partner who now functions as the CEO of Nimbus. He also believes that employing the right people who share values and work ethics makes or breaks a business. When hiring a right people, it is all about expertise. The science behind every food is different. You need the right people with the correct information. Coordinating with all the people together and getting involved to ensure the right people. According to him, farmers should be more informed about new production processes so that they can incorporate their knowledge into new systems, after all, they are the experts. They should be more involved and given the freedom to produce what they feel is best suitable for the land. IT will help boost their knowledge and confidence. Nimbus I built around the principle of filling the gap between farmers, markets, and the buyers. 18 years of active action has helped Nimbus create a secure distribution network in 69 districts; their business has navigated into various sectors.
What next for agricultural sector in Nepal?
Agriculture accounts for 1/3 of our country’s economy and yet there is a massive expense on importing food products from other countries. There are many complications when it comes to production, management, and marketing of the foods produced in Nepal. Mr. Bagaria sees these complications as opportunities to improve the agribusiness sector. Aggregation, he says, is the key to increasing production of crops. Production of different crops are scattered across the country; if this problem of segregation were solved, production would increase tenfold. It would considerably eliminate the cost of production; the reduced price could go into measures for more effective production. Technology can be incorporated for improving the quality and quantity of crop production. The action could be taken for optimum utilization of produce, the processing of this product is possible in Nepal itself, this would be immensely helpful in cutting off an excess of imported food items which are readily available in Nepal. Proper storage systems should be installed to prevent spoiling food and the need to introduce off-season fruits and vegetables. There are many crops to choose from for specific agriculture practices. Even in the case of animal husbandry, there are so many improvements to be made. With proper standardization measures and grading of crops, there could be a vast improvement in agriculture as a whole. People are complacent to start agribusinesses because of the lack of statistical information; this lack of logistics itself is an opportunity with a significant narrowing of the gap in knowledge. If the logistical data were available, it would intrigue many people to join agribusiness. A lot of the cost cut down if unwanted steps are excluded. If the right people with the proper knowledge were to use their expertise for improving the quality of different aspects of agribusiness, it would be considerable progress towards economic growth.
Mr. Anand Bagaria is adamant about improving agriculture and is open to collaborations and cultivating partnerships to help with enhancing agribusiness.
