Kathmandu: Following an intensive four-month business incubation through UNDP’s Green Job Creation through Recycling and Upcycling (GCRU) project, supported by KOICA, six innovative business ideas were successfully launched as operational enterprises.
Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya formally inaugurated the enterprises, expressing his delight at seeing young innovators rethink waste as a valuable resource.
“This is only the beginning,” noted Mayor Acharya, emphasizing the city’s ambitious vision to nurture more than 30 recycling and upcycling enterprises and create over 300 green jobs through our continued partnership.
The enterprises that demonstrate the power of innovation include:
Fully Charged Nepal: Repurposing used EV batteries into sustainable energy solutions like street lighting.
Hatti Hatti: Transforming discarded textiles into beautiful, practical products.
Kagaj Ghar: Giving waste paper a second life as handcrafted calendars and stationery.
Sanskar Fiber: Converting used PET bottles into recycled fiber for pillows and blankets.
Green Road Waste Management: Turning discarded glass into sand for construction.
Chillionaire Production: Creating inspiring art from discarded materials.
With the state-of-the-art Green Venture Zone (GVZ) currently under construction to serve as an innovation hub, Pokhara is steadily emerging as a model city for environmental sustainability and local government leadership.
Together with Pokhara municipality and KOICAICC, UNDP in Nepal has proved that the future of waste is not the landfill—it is innovation, opportunity, and sustainable livelihoods.
