The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The DHI BEGIN (Business Entrepreneurship Growth and Innovation) is one of DHI’s mandates to lead and stimulate the private sector development through a culture of innovation, creativity and enterprise. The 5th batch of DHI BEGIN, that began three months ago, ended on July 29.
In the closing of the program, the Chief Executive Officer of DHI, Karma Yonten, said, “The skills taught during the training are life-long and we hope that the enterpreneurs make the best use of it.”
One of the BEGIN participants, Tshering Penjore, said, “ Providing skills to enterpreneurs are the need of the hour and nobody does it better than this program. The trainers are all world-class and very supportive.”
Suraj Rai, a participant, is optimistic about his business idea of manufacturing PET bottles in Bhutan and reducing the import of such bottles from India. The project cost estimation is at Nu 5 mn, and he plans to apply for 80% of the funds from the Business Opportunity and Innovation Centre, additional 10% from the Loden Foundation and the remaining funds will be put in from his personal resources.
The graduates of DHI BEGIN that hold the certificate of excellence will get an opportunity to show their business plans to the investment committee of the Enterpreneurship Promotion Fund to look into possible equity financing.
In addition, the graduates can also train for 9 months under the BEGIN mentorship program, whereby they will be provided with one-on-one mentoring by BEGIN mentors (established local enterpreneurs or international mentors) and subject-specific mentoring by DHI’s internal resources.
DHI provides trainers, training space and training materials for the program to ensure the right type of training, mentoring and financing structure and systems are available to motivate the enterpreneurs.
47 enterpreneurs have completed DHI BEGIN training program since its inception in 2012. After the program, the participants continue to receive advisory support from DHI while others have undergone the mentorship program.
