Since moving to Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu ten years ago, 33-year-old Sumita Rai has experienced her share of ups and downs. Starting her new life in the city as a cleaner, the young mother found that her earnings were not sufficient to make ends meet. With nothing but 2000 Rupees to her name, Sumita went on to start a small food cart business to supplement her income. However, when the 2015 earthquake hit the city, Sumita had to start over and started selling vegetables, earning just enough to put food on the table.

Determined to establish a better life for herself and her family, with support and encouragement from a friend, Sumita sought training to become a driver. She soon found employment as a driver of a Safa Tempo  ̶   a three-wheeled electric minibus which is a common form of public transport in Kathmandu. With a more stable income as a driver, Sumita was finally able to save some of her earnings, enabling her to aspire for more. She dreamed of operating her own Safa Tempo and become her own boss. Drawing close to her goal of self-sufficiency, Sumita eventually managed to save just enough to purchase her own vehicle. However, the aspiring entrepreneur still lacked the funds to purchase a battery, which costs more than US$8500. Sumita’s only option was to seek a loan, but without collateral or documentation of her earnings, obtaining a loan of such a high amount was a daunting prospect.

Feeling stuck and unable to realise her ambitions, the tide eventually turned when she learned about Aloi, an innovative fintech platform designed to support informal business owners in Nepal who lack collateral and credit history to access financing to develop and grow their businesses. Through Aloi, the driver was connected with a bank and offered a subsidized loan to purchase the battery she needed. Aloi is among 15 fintechs and digital start-up companies in the region that received co-financing and technical support through two challenge funds implemented by ESCAP and UNCDF. The goal of the funds was to support digital solutions that improve access to financial services and e-commerce opportunities for women-led MSMEs. With support from the project, 55 Safa Tempo women drivers/owners received low interest loans for their businesses totalling U$413,534 from Aloi’s financing partners.  

For Sumita, the support she received through Aloi has been life changing. Today, she is the proud owner of her own Safa Tempo business. When she was employed to drive someone else’s vehicle, which operated on a less efficient gel battery, the driver earned 1000 rupees a day. As her own boss, Sumita earns 4000 rupees a day, operating her vehicle on an environmentally sound and efficient lithium battery, which enables her to make more trips in a day while reducing her carbon footprint. Sumita now feels confident that she can secure a brighter future for her 15-year-old son, relieved that she can comfortably pay for his education, which used to be a major challenge for the family. Looking ahead, Sumita hopes to expand her business and invest in a larger vehicle. She also sees hopes for other women drivers across the city facing similar obstacles, who she believes, with the right support, can go on to thrive like she has, contributing to Nepal’s growing local economy. 

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Since 2018, the Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship programme implemented by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with funding from Global Affairs Canada has mobilized over US$90 million in capital for women-owned and led businesses, and directly supported over 178,000 women entrepreneurs such as Sumita through access to finance and enhanced skills to grow their businesses.