Idea Studio Nepal Collaborates with CNI

We had the privilege to conduct an interview with a young, youthful and vibrant ideator, Mrs. Uchita Maharjan Bajrahcarya. She is the general manager of Uchit Jaivik Udyog Pvt. Ltd, a company established to produce biofertilizers in an attempt to facilitate the farmers and agricultural industry as a whole. Their fertilizers are not just beneficial to the natural environment but also act as an effective substitute for chemical fertilizers used nationwide. Uchita has been a valuable member of the company since the beginning handling multiple areas of the company and took upon the role of the general manager after completing her masters in management.

This company was once closed due to lack of profit. It was reestablished by her father with the support of Uchita and her sister’s support in 2069 B.S. In her father’s words, “In the beginning the company was trying to solve a problem that didn’t exist. While now, the problem exists and by tapping into the market it is beneficial to all the parties that are involved.” Her father had done the work of building a product by himself and all she needed to do now was to increase the company’s threshold. After completing her masters, she went on working in the company full-fledged. Her sister, who was handling the position of general manager left the company to go abroad and since her dad couldn’t handle everything she took upon general manager’s position. She explains how working under the authority of other individuals was not what she liked since the beginning and since she had an opportunity in her father’s company she dived right into it. She was passionate and dedicated to better the lives of consumers and the farmers but she had a huge risk. She had very little idea about agricultural phenomena. So she decided to work more upon gaining more knowledge. In 2015 A.D, when she  was still studying bachelor’s 2^nd year ,she took part in a Rockstart Impact Program conducted by Netherlands in which Uchit biofertilizers came on top 10 among the other 55 companies. In the program, she had 100 days to learn with mentors and investors and that helped her to build connections as well. In the process she also contacted and got connected to idea studio from where she got knowledgeable ideas and help with the market. She also took training and researched regarding matters of agriculture in Nepal and worldwide in order to gain perspective.

She is very interested in sustainable farming and understands the impact sustainable agriculture has on climate change and reforestation. Agriculture is at the forefront of environmental conservation and eliminating the use of pesticides and chemicals plays a very important factor for the cause. She says that a significant proportion of investment is always dedicated to Research and development. With the company’s core value being to always give the same or better quality products, research and development is very important to the company as well. After she joined the company, she made sure to establish a sole distributor of her products, contacted multiple INGO and NGOs and established collaboration with multiple governmental and non-governmental organizations. She says that the company has a goal of creating a demand supply ecosystem where there is coherence between manufacturer, distributors, farmers and the customers. The ecosystem involves a functioning loop where they provide proper fertilizers to the farmer and the product that the farmers produce is not only advertised by them but also used by the company as a raw material in further production since they already know that the product of the farmer is organic.

But Uchita’s time in the company has not been easy. Firstly, due to lack of proper awareness, people had to be explained what biofertilizer actually is. There was enough awareness on chemical and compost fertilizer but little to none on biofertilizers. To solve this problem multiple awareness programs were conducted as well. Secondly, she encountered problems with convincing the farmers to use biofertilizers. She had to keep bets with commercial farmers in which she took a small portion of their land and used biofertilizers in them. The bet entailed that if the company’s biofertilizer didn’t work, the company would bear all the losses but if they did the farmers would use it. Fortunately, all her bets were successful and she was able to sell her products. Additionally, she faced some problems at the beginning with collaboration as she was not given much importance because she was a young lady in the field and was often undermined. She says that the main person that helped her overcome all her challenges was her father. Her father was her support system and she attributes all the success to her and her father’s positivity. Uchita says that although there are challenges involved in her position, she is also proud of some qualities that she had that helped her become a better manager. She says that she has encouraged communication within the company and ensures proper response is given on time. She values the idea of “give example and lead”, meaning she says that only through her respecting the other people of the company will she be respected and valued. She tries to never give work to people working in the company before and after company time as well. She considers it to be a success when customers repeat themselves and says that customer repetition makes her comparatively happier than her first sale.

Uchita considers the flourishing of Nepal the biggest priority, even before the sale of their products overseas. She follows the phrase “Be True to yourself” and considers herself as an ever growing and ever evolving individual. Uchita has grown and developed with her years in the company and never fails to show up for herself, her loved ones, the company and the company’s needs. Uchita is a motivation to all of us to give their hundred percent to all that they are doing and not fall into false pretenses.

Aashma Tripathi

 Samikshya Bhatta

St. Xaviers College