Picture Courtesy: DeerExpress Club

On March 18, 2016, The DeerExpress Club, DWIT hosted a prominent figure in the Entrepreneurial scene of Nepal, Mr. Asustosh Tiwari. Ashutosh Tiwari is a co-founder of Entrepreneurs for Nepal (E4N), which is a 44,000- member networking group. Addressing to the young and energetic audience, Mr. Tiwari gave an exceptional talk- inspiring the students with his life experiences and good sense of humor.

After graduating from Harvard with a degree in Economics, he had to make a career choice in his life. He was offered a handsome job in one of the banks in New York, and simultaneously invited to work on a social movement in Tulsipur, Dang, where he had previously volunteered. Upon consulting with his professor, he decided to take on the challenging task to free bonded agricultural ethnic Tharu laborers, ‘Kamaiya’ in Tulsipur, Dang. Born and raised in Kathmandu valley, Mr. Tiwari was exposed to the diversity and poverty of Nepal through this experience. It was an enlightening experience for him, and he says that it was a decisive moment in his life.

“Doing unconventional things can change your life”

In July 2000, the social movement succeeded when Girija Prasad Koirala, the then prime minister of Nepal banned the practice. Following the success of the movement, he took on the job of market consultant in GTZ (German Technical Co-operation). Although, he had no prior knowledge of market, he was offered the job. He believes it was his enthusiasm to learn that got him the job. Relating to the experience, he advised the students to keep the process of learning ongoing throughout their life.

Mr. Tiwari resonated with one of the motto of DWIT, “Simple tasks can be done by anyone, try taking on the hard challenges” After a short tenure at World Bank as a business consultant, he took on the job of CEO at Himal Media. It was a challenging task for him as he had turnaround the company- financially and operationally, and solve labor union issues, which he successfully completed. Mr. Tiwari also gave some valuable insights into the job of a CEO. He shared his experience of earning the trust of board members and employees, and firing half the employees in the company.

In his talk, Mr. Tiwari, who was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011, emphasized on talking the hard challenges, and keep the learning process ongoing.