United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) signed an agreement on 15 December 2019 to extend partnership to pilot Kathmandu Business Hub (K-Hub).

Based in Kathmandu, the K-Hub is a platform to provide an enabling eco-system for the start-ups and young minds to accelerate their ideas and skills on business and entrepreneurship to create jobs.

Under this agreement, UNDP and KMC will collaborate to tackle the emerging issues of youth unemployment in Nepal. Besides providing a common working space, the hub will also help support and facilitate registration of start-ups and networking for them to grow.

Signing the LoA, Mayor of KMC Bidhya Sundar Shakya said, “This concept of K-Hub is not a stand-alone entity to be taken forth by only one institution. It requires collective efforts to tackle complex emerging issues that the cities in Nepal are facing today. KMC is delighted to deepen its partnership with UNDP to jointly accelerate the concept of K-hub to support and promote youth employment, a first of its kind in Nepal.”

UNDP Resident Representative Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé expressed pleasure to extend the partnership with the municipality. “This partnership has taken place at the right moment – just when the municipality is celebrating its 25thanniversary. This reflects the need of today to promote and support young entrepreneurs to address unemployment,” she said.

This initiative of K-Hub has been envisioned to be a self-reliant and vibrant entity based on the principle of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). On behalf of KMC, it is the City Planning Commission (CPC) while on behalf of UNDP, the Accelerator Lab Nepal will act as the coordinators and driving forces to implement the plan of actions into reality.