A total of 137 cottage and small industries in Kailali district have ceased operations due to raw material shortages. Among these closures, some were unable to sustain operational costs, while others couldn’t compete with market prices. The Cottage and Small Industries Office reports that a portion of these closures occurred because proprietors sought foreign employment opportunities, further exacerbating the situation.
However, there’s been a noticeable surge in the registration of women-owned enterprises in recent years within the district. This uptick can be attributed to incentives such as reduced registration fees for women-owned industries.
Currently, there are 15,434 registered industries in Kailali, with 137 registrations nullified. These include 3,194 production-based, 6,488 agriculture-based, 2 construction, 65 tourism-related, 12 information technology-related, and 5,673 service-oriented industries, collectively amounting to an investment of Rs 25 billion.
To support industrial growth, the Sudurpaschim provincial government has earmarked Rs 15 million for the ‘One Electoral Constituency, One Industry’ program in the ongoing fiscal year.
Employment figures indicate that 9,120 women and 69,611 men are engaged in registered industries, according to the Office.
In terms of revenue, the Office collected Rs 5 million 216 thousand in the last fiscal year (2022/23) and Rs 10 million 500 thousand within the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2023/24), as of March 13th.
