Nanda Kishor Mandal is the head of Yunus Social Business Center, King’s College and founding director of Women Development Advocacy Center (WDAC) He is also in-charge of King’s Incubator program which provides academic teaching, training, access to seed capital, mentoring and networking to new business ventures.
Originally from Janakpur, Nanda Kishor did his early schooling in Kathmandu and MBA from India, where he also worked for Bank of America, Maruti Suzuki and Ashok-Leyland. After returning back to Nepal in 2013, he has committed himself completely to generating quality education and meaningful livelihood, with an overarching goal of transforming society through education.
In this podcast interview, he talks about his work as a social business educator at King’s College and his passion for grassroots entrepreneurship. He shares his experiences regarding the practical aspects of working in private corporations vs. working for nonprofits. He also reflects on our socio-cultural realities that are not conducive to creating a thriving entrepreneurial environment. He mentions that our culture, both at home and at school, suppresses curiosity and questioning, thus deterring our youth to seek out mentorship. He is however optimistic about the changing scenario in Nepal. He observes that the risk-averse culture of Nepal is being replaced by a positively contagious culture of innovation.
As the first person from his family to attend college, Nanda Kishor is grateful to have made it against the odds and believes in hard work and daring to dream.
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