Women leading nature: From stories to scale

Organisers: IEDI, KGS Inc, Briddhi and ICIMOD

About the event

The Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI), Knowledge, Growth, and Sustainability (KGS) Inc and Briddhi, in collaboration with ICIMOD, are organising a workshop that will bring together the 30 women entrepreneurs featured in the ‘Women Leading Nature’ booklet, representatives of IEDI, KGS Inc. and Briddhi, and selected entrepreneurs/ecosystem partners to strengthen and finalise the booklet jointly. The final publication will also serve as a proof of concept for government partners to replicate and scale similar approaches.

The event will focus on practical outcomes, including validating existing stories, capturing one authentic anecdote from each enterprise, understanding where the businesses are now, and documenting growth, finance/investment mobilised, and priorities for scaling.

This event is being supported by ICIMOD’s Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP), funded by United Kingdom International Development through its flagship Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) initiative.

Objectives

The specific objectives of these workshops are to:

• Validate the key facts and the ‘Before → Programme Support → After’ story for each enterprise.
• Capture a short, authentic anecdote or turning point from each entrepreneur.
• Create a current snapshot of the 10 enterprises: business status, products/markets, jobs or producer reach, partnerships and finance/investment mobilised.
• Identify what each enterprise needs next to scale, including investment, markets, partnerships and technical support.
• Allow IEDI, KGS Inc. and Briddhi to validate and strengthen their respective institutional, incubation and mentorship contributions.
• Generate inputs for the new chapter on ‘From Proof of Concept to Scale’ and agree the process for finalising the publication.

Background

‘Women Leading Nature’ booklet is being developed under HI-REAP’s Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Innovation Challenge and Business Incubation Programme, initiated, designed, financed and technically supported in partnership with IEDI, KGS Inc., and Briddhi. The programme built on IEDI’s existing government mandate and incubation experience while adding a NbS and bioeconomy lens, new incubation and mentorship partnerships, and a targeted proof of concept for greener, more inclusive and more resilient enterprise support.

The journey began in 2024 with a shared ambition to explore how nature-based entrepreneurship could contribute to greener, more inclusive and resilient livelihoods in Nepal. Working closely with the Government of Nepal through IEDI, the partnership brought together ICIMOD’s technical and programme experience with KGS Inc. to strengthen government capacity to design and deliver incubation support for nature-based enterprises. As the programme evolved, Briddhi joined to connect entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, industry experts, and business networks, strengthening the practical and market-oriented dimensions of the incubation journey. Through this evolving partnership, the programme moved from concept development and institutional capacity building to enterprise incubation, mentorship and market readiness. The resulting process documentation captures not only the stories and transformation of participating enterprises, but also the learning generated through this collaborative model. It is intended to help IEDI further strengthen, institutionalise, and scale the approach, while giving entrepreneurs a clearer understanding of their current position, growth pathways, and opportunities to mobilise investment, markets, partnerships, and technical support for the next stage of their journey.