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Women constitute 51 percent of the total population
of 26 million in the Kingdom of Nepal. Overcoming gender inequality
remains one of the greatest development challenges in Nepal, as
only 42% of Nepali women are literate compared to 65% of men. Though
the Nepal Government has committed to reserve 33% of all positions
in all state bodies for women less than 1% of high-level government
decision makers are women.
Despite these challenging circumstances, women
have over the past two decades made substantial headway in entrepreneurship
development, both at the grass root and urban levels with significant
contribution to the national economy.
Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs Associations
of Nepal (FWEAN) is a not-for-profit organization aiming at representing
the collective efforts of Women Entrepreneurs in the economic progress
of the nation and decision making at national and international
levels. FWEAN is the central body of WEAN established in 1989 and
looks at establishing subsidiary WEAN chapters in all 75 districts
of Nepal thus involving 10% of the 245,944 Entrepreneurs. Based
in Kathmandu, FWEAN is a focal point for interaction not only with
the government, but also the various national and international
women's organizations.
The Federation ultimately seeks to redefine the
perspective of women entrepreneurship–from contribution to
economic growth and poverty alleviation towards participation of
women at all levels in the socio economic sectors.
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