CSR in Nepal
CSR in Nepal
CSR in Nepal
NMB BANK
Conserving Heritage
As CSR activities go, NMB Bank has an independent organisation, NMB Social Initiative formed by
the employees of NMB Bank and its subsidiary, to carry out activities in social development. The
bank especially focuses on heritage conservation, inside and outside the valley and has been
continuing the initiative for the last five years. NMB Bank in association with Kathmandu Metropolitan
City Office organises NMB Bank Heritage Walk every year. The Bank also organises ‘fund raisings’
for heritage preservation by keeping a donation box at the Bank’s premises during the week-long
event. Earlier, the bank renovated and maintained the Goraknath Temple at Thapathali and Luchu
Bhuju Ajima Temple at Ganabahal, Kathmandu with the funds collected from the Heritage Walk
campaign.
The Bank has said it will contribute Rs 10 for heritage conservation to its NMB Social Initiative's
account whenever a new account under the Alakapuri Savings scheme is opened.
Also, NMB Social Initiative in association with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, Nepal Army and
Bhadrakali Guthi organised a cleanup programme of the Bhadrakali Mandir premises to mark World
Cleanup Day.
NMB Bank launched its corporate campaign with the theme Aatmanirbharta in April this year. The
campaign focused on the importance and the need for every individual and eventually the economy
to be ‘self reliant’. It features projects that the Bank has financed over the years, ranging from
agriculture to project financing which have not only changed the lives of its customers but influenced
change at a macroeconomic scale. During the post earthquake scene in 2015 and the subsequent
fuel crisis that left the economy crippled, the bank organised a campaign on the importance of ‘self
reliance’ in reconstruction and the country’s economy.
Apart from these activities, the bank has been active in supporting victims of natural disasters.
NMB’s Malaysian joint venture partner donated Rs 1.5 million to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief
Fund through the bank after the April 2015 earthquake. The bank further pledged a total support of
Rs Eleven Million Five Hundred Thousand for earthquake victims in affected areas. Similarly, the
bank had also organised a two day relief distribution programme for flood victims in five different
rehabilitation centres at Surkhet in coordination with the Surkhet District Office in September 2014.
Likewise, the bank felicitated Dhan Bahadur Malla, a notable social entrepreneur of Doti in the same
year. Meanwhile, NMB Bank has also organised health camps in various parts of the nation.
Besides these, the bank has been conducting different CSR activities on various occasions as well.
NCELL
Relating CSR with National Priorities
Ncell as a responsible corporate citizen has always been actively engaged in CSR activities. “Our
projects are designed focusing on sustainability and they aspire to bring about direct benefits to the
people and communities,” mentions Sanju Koirala, Corporate Communications Director of Ncell.
According to her, the company consciously aligns CSR in areas of national need and priorities and
makes attempts to utilise technology to derive greater benefits to the people and communities. “We
have policy and guidelines on corporate responsibility to guide us in CSR process,” shares Koirala.
Ncell has its focus in education, environment, livelihood, health and other areas as well. The mobile
service provider has spent Rs 388.55 million so far on CSR projects. In addition to this, Ncell is also
spending Rs 1 billion for rebuilding of schools and other infrastructures that were damaged due to
the devastating earthquake of April 2015.
“As a part of Axiata, Asia’s leading telecommunications group that has vision of ‘Advancing Asia’,
Ncell values education, bridging digital divide and supporting talent. Education remains our top CSR
focus areas,” says Koirala. The company has numerous projects in education like Adopt a School,
Digital Library, Scholarships to Girl Child and Scholarships to engineering students at Institute of
Engineering (IoE), Pulchowk campus. Under these projects, Ncell has equipped 44 community
schools with classrooms, furniture, drinking water facilities, toilets, sports and educational materials,
and supported the establishment of 15 digital libraries to support digital education. Together, these
have benefitted over 25,000 students in rural Nepal.
The company, under its girl scholarship programme, supported girls from remote districts of Karnali
and other regions who got good grades among female students in SLC to further their education.
The company has also been conferring scholarships and excellence awards to topper students of
Bachelor of Engineering (BE) Electrical, Electronics and Communication, and Computer faculties of
Central Campus Pulchowk, IoE.
Ncell App Camp has been another major project that the company ran in 2014 and 2015 aiming to
unleash the country’s digital talent, by providing them capacity building training to build businesses
around the mobile app idea and to set up their own startup businesses. Numerous finalists of the
app camp have either launched their own startup or are engaged in product development.
“Environment has been another area of CSR priority of Ncell,” informs Koirala. The company has
been organising environment awareness campaigns both inside and outside the Kathmandu Valley.
For instance, Ncell has planted 50,000 trees in 33 hectares of barren land in Dhanushadham
Protected Forest (DPF) and implemented an awareness campaign in the Dhanushadham
community aiming to contribute to reforestation and environment conservation. The awareness
project has contributed to local communities cohabiting and contributing to conservation of the DPF.
As a result of this initiative, DPF has also been declared as ‘Illicit Felling and Open Grazing Free
Zone’ in 2016.
Ncell is also adopting clean energy as a part of its environmental responsibility. “Over the last few
years, we have significantly adopted solar power to operate our base transceiver (BTS). Presently,
about 15 percent of the company sites (mobile towers/BTS) are backed up or fully operate with solar
power,” says Koirala.
“As a responsible member of our community, Ncell has always been providing various support to
the communities and people at the time of need,” Koirala mentions. In 2014, Ncell contributed Rs
201 million to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund for relief of the families affected by floods
and landslides in different parts of the country. The company also provided free phone balance to
customers affected by landslides and floods in Jure (Sindhupalchowk) to ensure smooth
communication in the affected areas.
During the devastating earthquake of last year, Ncell quickly deployed mobile BTS to support
communication in temporary shelters/open areas. It also provided free balance and SMS resources
worth more than Rs 1.6 billion to customers, enabling them to stay connected with their
family/friends and rescue and relief providers. Ncell is also spending Rs1 billion over three years for
the rebuilding of schools and buildings affected by the earthquake.
Since July 2016, Ncell has also been collaborating with Department of Hydrology and Meteorology
(DHM) and is disseminating flood early warning SMS alerts to the people living downstream of major
rivers, helping them to remain safe and prevent loss of property during floods. Under this
collaboration, Ncell provides forecasting and early warning information through mass SMS to the
people living downstream of West Rapti, Narayani, Kankai, Koshi, Bagmati, Karnali, Babai and
Kamala rivers, among others.
The company also supported in the health sector. Under its ‘We Care’ initiative, Ncell has helped to
construct a Day Care Dialysis Centre at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), enabling
the hospital to expand its capacity to provide critical renal health care services. The company has
also provided support to Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center (MCVTC) in
Maharajgunj to set up world-class cardiothoracic Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The support to these
hospitals amounts to Rs 30 million.
Ncell has also been implementing projects aiming to improve livelihood of the people in different
communities. Its clean water project in Eladi, Dipka and Thuladi villages of Syangja district has
strengthened the livelihoods of 75 families in those villages. Installation of Hydraulic Ram (Hydram)
Pumps, construction of water distribution channel, micro-enterprise and farming trainings and
linkages of farmers with markets have enabled the community members to access water for multiple
purposes in the village itself and created opportunities for them to make an extra income by growing
high-value vegetables using drip irrigation.
The project is the first of its kind in Nepal, as it uses a remote monitoring system using SIM
metering technology which has been implemented to measure the distribution of water for domestic
and irrigation needs. The community members contribute fund based on water usage for the
operation and maintenance of the system. Launched in 2014, the project was implemented in
partnership with Renewable World, an INGO with expertise in clean energy, Center for Rural
Technology, Nepal and Andhikhola Community Development Center.
Similarly,Ncell has been contributing to the promotion of Nepali culture and heritage (art, literature,
music). Ncell has also been contributing in the development of Nepali sports by supporting football,
cricket, golf and inter-college basketball.
Furthermore, the company as a part of its CSR has also worked for the promotion of ethical culture
and business ethics. It has also provided financial assistance to orphanages like BalMandir and old
age homes.
CE CONSTRUCTION
Strong Social Commitment
For CE Construction, CSR is an integrated part of the business. The company has been doing
various CSR activities over the years. Its activities are basically focused on areas like environment,
health, safety and society.
The company puts emphasis on producing environment friendly products. CE, with an objective to
minimise the pollution which is created by the brick manufacturing industry is using bricks produced
by Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) technology, which is one of the cleanest methods of brick
production around the world. Also, the company is collaborating with a technology transfer project
named CESEF (Cost Effective Social and Environment Friendly Building Materials and Techniques)
which is initiated by Skat Consulting and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation
in Nepal. The objective behind the collaboration is to bring technology optimisation in cost,
consumption and energy.
CE Construction makes a special effort to ensure the safety of its employees at job sites. Besides
providing them with full-fledged protective equipment such as hard hats, closed shoes, gloves,
safety nets and safety belts, the company also reminds its staff about their safety and cleanliness on
the site by using safety notes and by providing on site trainings regarding safety measures and
proper equipment handling.
CE has been following the approach, "Giving back to the society" since its inception. Though the
company doesn’t allocate a fixed budget for its CSR activities, it actively provides its support in the
areas where they are needed the most. “We conduct CSR activities on a project basis. We identify
problems in an area and go with the needed resources," informs Suman Thapa, Assistant Marketing
Manager of the company.
Meanwhile, CE has also been constructing roads and doing frequent plantation programmes in the
areas where it has been developing hydropower projects.
Besides these, the construction company has been supporting the Nepal Orthpedic Association. It
organises frequent blood donation programmes and also supports the Blood Bank by arranging
needed blood in case of emergency. CE also funds women empowerment programmes and
provides a budget on an annual basis to the Nepal Blind Association. Also, the company supports
the Bagmati cleaning programme by providing jackets to some of the campaigners. The company
also encourages spiritual practices among people by organising meditation programmes. It also
supports 11 orphan children in a school in Kirtipur with the help of funds from company staff.
SURYA NEPAL
CSR Excellence
Surya Nepal is considered to have one of the best integrated CSR strategies among the companies
in Nepal. Like its parent company ITC Group, the company also has considerable CSR undertakings
in the four main areas of community empowerment, tourism, ecological conservation and health.
With the stated objective of “Creating Enduring Value for the Society”, Surya Nepal is conducting
CSR activities employing four CSR strategies namely, SNPL Asha, SNPL Khelparyatan, SNPL
Prakriti and SNPL Suswasthya. A recipient of the prestigious National Excellence Award for being
the best managed company in Nepal, the company has also received the National Safety and
Environmental Award for its work in the community.
SNPL Asha: Through this strategy, the company focuses on community empowerment. Under this
platform, the company is providing vocational training for example in garment sewing and candle
making to needy women helping them gain a measure of economic independence by creating
sustainable income generating opportunities. The company has signed a MOU with Morang
Chambers of Commerce Industry and has provided employment to 300 women in the local industry
in Morang. Surya Nepal also supports public education institutions aiming to enhance the quality of
primary education.
Similarly, the company provides technical knowledge to farmers about tobacco farming.
It also organises an educational tour for farmers to exemplary cow farms in Chitwan and fodder tree
nursery bat Palpa in order to help them explore themselves in the farming sector.
The company also has a dairy initiative to enhance milk productivity by improving cattle breeding.
Surya Nepal has established two cattle development centres at Santapur and Judibela of Rautahat
district focusing on artificial insemination, fodder management, veterinary services and training
development while also organising animal health camps and vaccination camps.
In addition to this, Surya Nepal is also a pioneer of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Award. The
award recognises the best entrepreneur who focuses on employment generation and sustainability.
The event was organised for three consequent years in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and each winner
receives a purse of Rs 100,000.
SNPL Khelparyatan: With this CSR strategy, the company puts its main focus on strengthening the
country's economy by promoting sports tourism. SNPL is sponsoring golf tournaments to develop
professional golf in Nepal. The long running SPNL Golf Tour is one of the major golf tournaments in
the country.
SNPL Prakriti: With the stated mission of “Creating Enduring Value Through Environment
Preservation”, through this initiative, the company focuses on preserving the environment with
various activities around the country. The environmental commitment of the company has led to its
participation in the 'Green Birgunj' campaign where it is active in planting trees in road partitions.
In addition to this, the company organises tree projects like eucalyptus and poplar tree plantations to
boost greenery. Meanwhile, Surya Nepal has also been encouraging the use of organic fertilisers by
providing financial and technical support to farmers in the production of vermin-compost. The
company also extends its support in constructing water harvesting ponds in waste lands.
SNPL Suswasthya: Under this CSR project, the company organises various activities such as free
health camps, bed support to patients of spinal injuries, eye camps and dental camps to the
underprivileged groups. Besides donating ambulances and organising blood donation campaigns,
the company is collaborating with Nepal Orthopedic Hospital to raise funds for community health
programmes.
Apart from these core activities, infrastructural support like the construction of drainages and
community toilets are also a part of the company’s CSR initiatives.
NIMBUS HOLDINGS
Cultivating Partnerships
With the zeal to improve and enhance the quality of the lives of farmers, Nimbus Holdings works with
farmers to increase their productivity, to support their families and invest in their farms to build a
stronger economic foundation. The CSR activities of Nimbus include free trainings for farmers, free
insurance of the livestock of farmers using Shakti Feed, free consulting on livestock and poultry
management, along with the establishment of demo farms. Nimbus has also employed females who
are under the protection of Maiti Nepal at Nimbus Krishi Kendra, the company owned one-stop agri-
input centre.
According to Dr Sital Kaji Shrestha, Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs at Nimbus, the CSR
activities are developing a bond between farmers and the company. "Our CSR activities add the
sustainability dimension to our business and help promote equal opportunities, health and safety,
and value and respect for people," he says. Calling the activities of the company a fruitful
partnership, he says that oneof the most important benefits of the CSR is to promote greater
efficiency and deliver customer satisfaction through team work.
Nimbus has assigned “Inclusive Growth” and “Giving Back to Society” as its main CSR themes.
"Being socially responsible has always been the priority of our work culture," says Shrestha, adding,
"Activities like training farmers in areas related to poultry, cattle and maize, employing girls from
Maiti Nepal in Nepal Krishi Kendra, demonstrates the philosophy and fundamental beliefs of our
social commitment.”
The company organises such activities on a routine basis. "We focus on sustainability and
participation of all stakeholders in the activities and try to bring behavioural changes in farming
practices thus increasing efficiency and profitability," says Shrestha.
The parent entity of four agri business companies, Nimbus has been organising CSR activities in 65
districts of the country where it has distribution and supply chains. "Nimbus’s CSR policy envisages
uplifting the technical and professional ability of its farmer partners thus creating a positive impact in
their day to day lives,” says Shrestha. The impact is made through various on-ground free training
sessions given to farmers to better manage their livestock, use sustainable farm practices and uplift
crop output through modern farming techniques. According to Shrestha, with the motto of Cultivating
Partnerships, the company treats all stakeholders, especially the end users of its products and
services, as partners.
This commitment led Nimbus to launch an insurance scheme named Shakti Helping Hands in 2014
for farmers using Shakti Feed, a livestock pellet produced by Probiotech Industries, to feed their
commercial broilers and layer birds in the event of an H5N1 Avian Influenza outbreak in their farms.
“With the belief that enterprises can only develop successfully and be prosperous if all its
stakeholders are prosperous and in a position to grow, are resilient to economic and natural
shocks/disasters, Nimbus started Shakti Helping Hand to provide compensation to farmers who
suffered due to outbreaks of bird flu, and to give poultry insurance,” says Shrestha.
The company has a substantial budget for its CSR activities. As per Shrestha, Nimbus allocates Rs
five million every year for the purpose and has spent Rs 60 million in CSR till date.
Nimubs Sahayogi Haath: In 2012, the company launched the 'Nimbus Sahayogi Haat' initiative with
seed money of Rs 7.5 million to further strengthen its CSR undertakings. Similarly, Nimbus also
established the 'Bird Flu Relief Fund' during the Bird Flu epidemic of 2012 to encourage farmers to
report the disease without the fear of bearing huge losses. The company has partnered with the
Department of Livestock Services and Nepal Veterinary Association to compensate the farmers who
have lost their livestock due to the disease.
PANCHAKANYA GROUP
EVEREST BANK
Making a Difference
Everest Bank Limited (EBL) has been organising various CSR and philanthropic activities. The bank
has been extending its support to public and community educational institutions through EBL’s Adopt
a School Initiative which was launched in 2013. Under the Initiative, EBL supports such institutions
to improve their infrastructures along with the quality of education. Prior to this, the bank had actively
supported public and community schools by donating computers and other items. In 2009, EBL
donated 24 computers to 17 schools in different parts of the country.
Similarly, the bank is also active in supporting differently able people partnering with the Differently
Able Youth Organisation Nepal. It has handed over computers and t-shirts to the organisation.
Similarly, it provided t-shirts printed with messages of awareness to the Ministry of Environment on
the occasion of World Environment day in 2012. In 2011, EBL provided t-shirts to Mataya Jatra
Organising Committee in a bid to conserve local culture. Meanwhile, the bank has also supported
Sushmita Maskey financially for her expedition to Mount Everest which she had decided to
undertake to raise funds to create awareness about rights of Nepali women.
Some other important contributions of EBL include providing M/s Siddhi Memorial Foundation, a
non- government non-profit organisation with a Hydrocholator Machine, a machine used for
physiotherapy, in 2010 and financial support during floods in different years. After the April 2015
earthquake, the bank contributed Rs 5million to the PM’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund to aid the
quake victims and distributed 500 blankets to keep disaster affected people warm during the winter.
In addition, the bank has also been providing free remittance facility to people looking to donateto
the temples of Pasupatinath and Janaki from across the country and India to the accounts of the
respective temple management committees.
As part of its CSR activities, EBL frequently organises blood donation camps and free health
checkup camps in different parts of the country. For the betterment of security services, the bank
has also helped the Community Service Committee to construct a police beat at Chabahil,
Kathmandu. The bank has also been providing public facilities with pure drinking water. Some
examples include Janaki Temple and Geta Eye Hospital, Dhangadi and the most recent at Ratna
Rajya Higher Secondary School in Kathmandu.
MUKTISHREE GROUP
Community Contribution
Muktishree Group contributes 10 percent of its annual profit for CSR purposes. The Group through
Madhab Raj Sumargi Smriti Kosh organises different CSR activities emphasising on education,
culture and heritage preservation alongside some
other areas.
Bal Sarathi, an independent organisation of Muktishree Group located at Pashupatinath Temple
premises is providing free education and meal services to children. “We provide one meal and
education for free to the orphans and to the children whose parents cannot afford food and
education,” says Ashmita Sumargi, Chairperson of Bal Sarathi who also looks after CSR activities of
the Muktishree Group. According to her, the children come to the school for the meal and also get
the opportunity to learn. Bal Sarathi School is taking care of 10 orphan children from different parts
of the country and provides food and lodging to them.
Similarly, Madhab Raj Sumargi Smriti Kosh in cooperation with Pashupati Area Development Trust
(PADT) has constructed Bhojan Prasadi Griha for various ritual rites at a cost of Rs 60 million. The
income generated from the Bhojan Prasadi Griha goes to PADT.
The Group has been contributing financially to various temple management committees including
the Gokarneshwor Kshestra Vikas Samiti and Koteshower Mahadev Khetra Vikash Thatha
Bewastha Samaj for various purposes. It has also been supporting the construction of temples along
with the upgrade of public educational institutions.
Meanwhile, the group has been increasing its community level engagements by constructing
earthquake resistance community halls. Using the Inco-panel, a weather proof construction material
produced by the Group’s own manufacturing unit, it has built two such facilities in Makawanpur and
Kavre districts with each hall having a capacity of 1,000 people. The halls will be handed over to the
respective communities soon. In the meantime, the Group has completed two community halls at
two districts. A total of 10 community halls are under construction in different parts of the nation at
present.
Likewise, Muktishree Group is financially contributing in infrastructure development projects. It has
contributed Rs 10 million to open the Rapti road track in Hetauda through Madhab Raj Sumargi
Trust. The Trust has also contributed Rs one million for the expansion of Hetauda Hospital. In the
same way, the Group has provided Rs 500,000 to Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Memorial Health
Cooperative for the construction of a hospital. Similarly, the Group has given financial assistance to
the Chitwan Sahitya Parisad for the development of literature and publishing. In the upcoming days,
the Group plans to organise free health camps. “We are planning to hold free eye check-up camps
at different old age homes,” informs Sumargi.
CHAUDHARY GROUP