The number of cottage and small industries (CSIs) grew 20.7 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2010-11 compared to 2009-10. Their combined capital amounted to Rs 5.2 billion, up 9.5 percent from last year. According to Shyam Giri, general secretary of the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries, rising investment in CSIs reflects a shift from real estate to industry by entrepreneurs prompted by a slump in the housing sector. He said that entrepreneurs were attracted to processing industries like extracting fibre from nettles, banana and bamboo and manufacturing based on natural resources. The Department of Industry registered more than 4,500 CSIs during the review period. They include 3,944 registered at the Department of Cottage and Small Industries and 934 at the Cottage and Small Industries Development Board. The department looks after 27 districts while 48 districts mainly in the remote hilly regions are under the board’s purview. The government has categorised companies with a capital investment of up to Rs 30 million as small industries and those based on traditional technology and locally available raw materials as cottage industries. Among the companies registered in Q1 of the current fiscal year, 210 are cottage industries and 4,668 small industries. They have expected to provide jobs to more than 25,000 persons. However, the projected number of jobs for women has declined from 2,612 to 2,424. Out of the 8,589 entrepreneurs involved in CSIs, only 10 percent are women. However, the number of women entrepreneurs has surged by more than 60 percent compared to last year. “Though the participation of women entrepreneurs is still low, the trend of women investors has been growing of late,” said Hem Kumar Rai, executive director of the Cottage and Small Industries Development Board. Meanwhile, 110,761 CSIs have renewed their licenses as of the last fiscal year. They include 9,712 cottage industries and 101,049 small industries.
source:Kathmandu Post