Social innovation in Nepal: Opportunities for youth

Dr. Dhaka Ram Bhandari
Mar 12, 2020
social innovation

Social innovations are new practices that change the rules of the game in business, civil society, and politics. In social innovation, new strategies, concepts, ideas, and organizations are formulated that meet the social needs of different elements which can be from working conditions and education to community development and health care. Stanford School of Business defines social innovation as “a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than current solutions”. The value created accrues primarily to society rather than to private individuals.

The Noble Prize winner from Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus’s idea of establishing Grameen Bank that pioneered the concept of micro-credit to support the impoverished without requiring collateral was a big success to uplift the poverty level in developing countries. The micro-finance was an innovation with the social value that lead to positive social changes. Unlike the terms social entrepreneurship and social enterprise, social innovation transcends sectors, levels of analysis, and methods to discover the processes—the strategies, tactics, and theories of change—that produce lasting impact. The organization Classy Awards predict the trends in social innovation as

  1. Available capital for innovation will increase.
  2. Mobile solutions will focus on individual empowerment.
  3. Large NGOs and agencies will prioritize innovation.
  4. Data intelligence will transform social solution design.
  5. Corporations will be more vested in addressing social problems.

Nepal is still listed among one of the poorest countries in the world and is one of the best examples of failed development aid. The corrupt polity and bureaucracy, the cartels, the syndicates and the mafias are paralyzing the country’s economy. Nevertheless, the literacy rates are gaining momentum, the access to rural communities is increasing and gender equality is on rising. But still, the country lacks inclusive governance even after the promulgation of the new constitution.

Despite having substantial natural resources, such as water, solar, tourism, forest, herbal plants, the country has failed to harness the potential. Social innovation in this sector will be an area for the young generation.

Nepal has 83,000 MW of theoretical and 42,133 MW of technically/financially viable hydroelectric potential. However, the total installed capacity, at present, is a mere 730.47 MW. Few hydroelectricity projects have been initiated, but the construction time is often prolonged then estimated. As Nepal is prone to earthquakes, building up dam and infrastructure which can resist an earthquake of around 8 Richter magnitude scale will be challenging. However, there is no doubt that in the long run, hydroelectricity should be developed. The rivers and lakes can also be used to develop natural fisheries. The local communities, along with government officials, should prevent poachers from using chemical and electricity and also stop fishing during the breeding season.

Developing local natural fisheries will promote social innovation. The feasibility of wind along the bank of the rivers should be carried out to evaluate the potential of wind energy, which can be directly used by the local communities. This energy can be also be used in irrigation.  But in the meantime, solar energy should also be harnessed.

Nepal has around 300 sunny days in a year. Cities and rural municipalities can directly use the off-grid electricity harvested by using solar cells. The initial investment and time required to install a solar system are safe, prompt and secure. Co-operatives, micro-finance systems, soft loans, reduction in taxes, training technical manpower and increasing the awareness of solar and wind energy are areas where intervention is required.

The community forest in Nepal has proved the success of the participatory approach for the management and protection of the forest. In Nepal, the forest is used as a source of fuel-wood, feed/fodder for livestock, and timber for house and furniture and food source. The potential of herbal plants found in the forest has not been fully explored.

Standard analytical techniques can be used to standardize the herbal products and can be sold at a higher price in the international market. Working with local communities, it will be possible for sustainable forest management. Identifying local herbal plants, cultivating them in the forest, collaborating with national laboratories for quality control and for developing herbal formulations, selling raw materials to domestic and international industries will be the areas where intervention can be made.

Similarly, social innovation in tourism and agriculture will assist in uplifting the economy of the country.

(Dr. Dhaka Ram Bhandari of Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany can be contacted at [email protected])