NBI Symposium 2024: Championing Private Sector’s Contribution to Disaster Resilience
National Business Initiative (NBI) together with United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Tayar Nepal, held its symposium on the 5th of June, 2024 at Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu. The event, themed “Promoting and Building Business Resilience in Nepal,” highlighted NBI’s pivotal role in leading the business continuity management (BCM) for the private sector. The chief guest of the event was Secretary Mr. Krishna Bahadur Raut, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies in Nepal.
With two panel discussions, the symposium aimed to propel meaningful discourses on the role of the private sector in DRR and resilience building. Mr. Firzan Hashim, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of A-PAD and Country Director of A-PAD SL was one of the speakers at the event. The presentation delivered by Mr. Hashim, emphasizing the role of private sector engagement in disaster management, earned praise and appreciation for enhancing the purpose of MSMEs in taking BCM and DRR seriously for businesses. In his presentation, Mr. Hashim also spoke of the need for multi-sectoral stakeholder collaboration that included humanitarian organizations, government, academia and media, in both regional and international level.
A-PAD was identified as a role model for including disaster risks reduction (DRR) measures and initiatives in business continuity plan (BCP) and was highly commended for its stakeholder coordination and lessons learned.
The symposium also served as a platform for recognizing and rewarding companies with effective Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), enhancing Nepal’s resilience landscape. The finalists for the awards, selected by a prestigious jury panel, was a first in Nepal.
The symposium brought together around 300 attendees and while the majority were from the private sector, it was also graced by the presence of delegates from the Ministry of Industries, Commerce, and Supplies, Members of the Parliament, the Mayor, representatives from the US embassy, Chief of Party and representatives from USAID, the Board of Management of NBI, and leading business personalities.
Following the symposium, many discussions were held with A-PAD on the avenues for collaboration, approaches for the way forward, and Nepal’s potential to replicate A-PAD’s achievements. These dialogues reflected the shared commitment to fortify Nepal’s resilience landscape through a shared vision between the stakeholders.
The symposium was organized by NBI, the partner organization of A-PAD in Nepal, which will carry forth the initiative of enhancing business resilience through effective BCM practices and institutionalization of disaster risk reduction.
