Oxfam in Nepal organized a one-day “Startup Event on Empowering Her: Advancing Women’s Economic and Political Leadership for Climate Resilient Communities” on 16 June 2025. The event was organized to share Oxfam in Nepal’s new initiative to promote women’s leadership and support women-led green business/enterprises in Rautahat district of Madhesh Province and Kanchanpur district of Sudurpashchim Province scaling up and building on the Building Economic Resilience in Seasonal Migrant Families (BERSMF), a pilot initiative.

"Empowering Her", a three-year initiative, is a KOICA public-private partnership. It will be implemented in collaboration and partnership by Oxfam in Nepal, National Environment and Equity Development Society (NEEDS Nepal), and Rural Development Centre (RDC) Nepal.

Manoj Bhatta, Member Secretary, Social Welfare Council, was the Chief Guest for the event, Kong Moo Heon, Country Director, KOICA Nepal was the Special Guest, and Pralav Kayastha, Chief Administrative Officer, Rajdevi Municipality, Rautahat district was the Guest for the event.

The event commenced with welcome remarks from Tripti Rai, Country Director for Oxfam in Nepal. She shared, “It is with great pleasure I welcome everyone to the inaugural event for this incredible initiative. Oxfam is an organization working towards ending global inequality. Oxfam in Nepal's programs are designed to integrate our five interconnected thematic areas – Gender Justice, Climate Justice and Resilience, Water Governance and WASH, Economic Justice, and Humanitarian Response, focussed on ending inequality and injustice.

This initiative provides a unique opportunity to advance women's empowerment in two key regions of Nepal: Madhesh Province and Sudurpashchim Province. In today’s world with shrinking civic space and shifting global priorities it is crucial now more than ever to collaborate and partner with government, local partners, and agencies like KOICA in our journey towards a more just, inclusive and resilient Nepal to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Our partnership with KOICA has been a long one. I want to express my sincere gratitude to KOICA for entrusting this initiative to Oxfam in Nepal. We're also deeply appreciative of the local government in both Rautahat (Madhesh Province) and Kanchanpur (Sudurpashchim Province) districts for their welcome and support. This moment is a testament to the hard work and collaboration of my team at Oxfam, the team in Oxfam in Korea alongside our key partners, NEEDS Nepal and RDC Nepal, who have been instrumental in bringing this vision to fruition.”

The event featured a presentation by Soni Pradhan, Oxfam in Nepal's Thematic Lead for Gender Justice. She shared the key achievements and successes of BERSMF (implemented in Ward 9 of Bhimdatta Municipality of Kanchanpur district)), which was Phase 1 of "Empowering Her". Pradhan also highlighted how "Empowering Her" is expanding upon this foundation, briefly detailing its objectives for the next three years. She shared that the initiative will be implemented in all wards of Rajdevi and Brindaban Municipalities of Rautahat district in Madhesh Province and all wards of Bhimdatta Municipality of Kanchanpur district in Sudurpashchim Province.

Following this, Bhawa Raj Regmi, Executive Director of NEEDS Nepal (implementing partner in Kanchanpur district), and Ashish Kumar Singh, Executive Director of RDC Nepal (implementing partner in Rautahat district), spoke about their hopes for the initiative and the positive impact they foresee in the communities it serves. They highlighted that both districts face high migration rate, and women are not exposed to economic empowerment opportunities. They shared that they hoped this project will bring about positive change in their respective districts.

Pralav Kayastha, Guest for the event shared, “Thank you for choosing Rajdevi Municipality as an implementing area for the initiative. There is a need to contextualize in terms of complex social norms and diversity. Rautahat district falls under one of the least developed in terms of literacy and health care. We have deep-rooted patriarchal norms. We need to work on retaining migrant youth. The government and other stakeholders like development organizations should align their work towards our common goal. I would like to extend my best wishes to this initiative.”

Kong Moo Heon, KOICA's Country Director and Special Guest for the event highlighted, “It is great to be here on behalf of KOICA for the launch of this new initiative. This new ambitious phase is built on our previous collaboration. The districts we have chosen are climate-based disaster-prone areas. When disaster strikes men migrate for work and women are doubly burdened. However, they are not involved in any kind of decision-making activities. This initiative is a holistic approach to meet KOICA’s support in Nepal. The initiative aims to empower women. KOICA is immensely proud to be a partner on this journey. Congratulations to all involved in this.”

As the Chief Guest for the event, Manoj Bhatta shared, “I feel honored to be part of this event. Thank you for inviting me. Very few initiatives have been focused on entrepreneurship. And this initiative is an example of entrepreneurship in Nepal focused on supporting the country achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This is not just focused on financial resilience but is specifically targeted towards seasonal migrant families. I hope this initiative will help reduce seasonal migration in the targeted areas. I wish this initiative success and hope that it will contribute to the 16th periodic plan and Sustainable Development Goals.”

The event was attended by more than 50 participants including representatives from the KOICA, Social Welfare Council, Local Government, Development Partners, non-governmental organizations, INGOs, and media.

Oxfam in Nepal has been working with government, civil society, partners, women, and youth in Nepal since 1980s through various development, humanitarian, and influencing projects to strengthen civic spaces and peoples’ actions to end all forms of inequalities and social injustices. Oxfam aims to ensure rights of all genders irrespective of their identities enabling women and youth leadership at all levels. We have five integrated programmes viz Gender Justice, Climate Justice and Resilience, Water Governance and WASH, Economic Justice, and Humanitarian Response.