ANIL CHITRAKAR

President

Anil started his career as an energy engineer for the Academy of Science and Technology when he traveled to remote areas of Nepal to transfer renewable energy technologies. Since then he has worked in many fields and in many countries but has consistently been seen as a leader and an innovator. He has been recognised as an Ashoka Fellow for his social entrepreneurship and as one of the ‘Global Leaders for Tomorrow’ at the World Economic Forum, Davos.

Anil spent many years in Washington DC helping design and expand the social venture capital models to over forty countries. Anil has also managed venture funds for environmental groups all over Nepal, with financial support from development partners, and has served as the head of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Nepal. A moderator par excellence, Anil has been central to many significant public-private and international negotiations, particularly in development sector.

Prashant Singh

Founder

A chartered accountant by education, Prashant has been trained in various professional disciplines at Harvard University, USA, Oxford University, UK, Asian Institute of Management, the Philippines and Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. With over twenty years of experience working with private sector, government and non-profit sector, Prashant has run some of the most visible global campaigns emanating out of Nepal. He is the founder of Himalayan Climate Initiative (HCI), and is hailed as a leading social entrepreneur in his own right.

Prashant served at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, as a Director for ten years, and has been one of the founding directors of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the nodal Tourism Marketing Agency of the Government of Nepal. Working at both these organizations Prashant made significant contribution in shaping and implementing their development models and projects.

Suman Joshi

Consulting Partner

Suman is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and creative finance experts in Nepal with 24 years in the banking industry. He is credited with developing and introducing numerous new products to the market to help small entrepreneurs gain access to finance. Most recently he built Laxmi Bank from the ground up and served as CEO for three consecutive terms. His achievements:

• Introduced a collateral-free loan product in 2011 with involvement and support of local trade outfits.
• Launched the first mobile payment service in Nepal. Co-founded Finaccess Pvt Ltd, owner of Hello Paisa - the inter-operable mobile payment platform.
• Established an investment management company to formalize and scale up private equity activities in Nepal and established an investment portfolio.

Lisa Choegyal

Consulting Partner

A specialist in planning, developing, operating and marketing pro-poor sustainable tourism, Lisa has undertaken tourism consultancy roles across Asia for 40 years. Lisa has helped to develop eco-tourism projects from the village level up to the sub-regional level, working closely with all stakeholders.She has worked on related areas of environmentalpreservation, conservation awareness, and community, government and media liaison.

Most recently, Lisa has identified investment opportunities for IFC Nepal, worked for the World Bank in Lumbini and Gorkha in Nepal, studied the impact of destination marketing in Nepal for UK Aid DFID and designed the Mannar District tourism strategy in Sri Lanka for IFC World Bank. Lisa continues to work closely with the private sector and is a director of Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge.

Krishna Gyawali

Consulting Partner

A former Secretary of the Government of Nepal, Mr Krishna Gyawali, joined Nepal Civil Service in 1984. He worked as Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Environment (later renamed as Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment) and the Ministry of Local Development, and as a Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, where he headed the Foreign Aid Coordination Division and Economic Affairs and Policy Analysis Division, among others.

His main area of interest and expertise is to analyse political economy and governance issues that impact a country’s sustainable socio-economic development process. He is well positioned to help global organisations set up or expand businesses in Nepal and support the implementation of effective policies. Mr Gyawali is committed to practicing and promoting quality and ethics both in personal and professional lives.

Nabraj Lama

Consulting Associate

Nabraj Lama is a research scholar based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He has a professional objective to contribute for mainstreaming backward communities and excluded groups in the socio-cultural and political-economic affairs of the state. He was selected for his social entrepreneur idea to bring change in the society through literacy classes, income generation training and leadership training to women by Ashoka Nepal Under its Bridging University Students (BUS) program in 2007. He is involved in researching water resource, international affair, political economy and Tourism issues of Nepal. He has extensive field-based research experience – both academic and developmental projects. He has an experience of working with The World Bank Nepal; India China Institute (ICI), The New School University; Durham University, UK; Helvetas/ Swiss Inter-cooperation Nepal; Heifer International Nepal; Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University.

He has extensively traveled across different parts of Nepal and internationally; he has visited Japan, Thailand, China, India, South Korea, United States of America (USA), Kenya, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and United Kingdom (UK). He is currently leading the research project entitled “Energy on the Move: Longitudinal perspectives on energy transitions among marginal populations (A comparative study)”, in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology, Durham University, UK.