Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: The second National Cooperative Youth and Technology Conference 2082 kicked off on Tuesday. Speaking at the inaugural session, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. On the occasion, youth leadership is indispensable in technology-friendly enterprises. Saying technology knowledge and skills are mandatory for being successful in today’s competitive age, he urged the youths to come out of the jobless mentality and focus on entrepreneurship.

The conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation and the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal. Secretary Madan Bhujel, Chairman of the National Cooperative Regulatory Authority (NCRA) Dr. Similarly, Acting President of Federation Ramesh Pokharel also stressed on the importance of youth participation and technology in cooperatives.

On the first day of the conference, a panel discussion was held on the theme ‘Economic Empowerment and Youth Leadership in Entrepreneurship’. The panelists included Badri Guragain, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Cooperative Bank, Devendra Khadka, Vice President of Fintech Alliance, Ganesh Prasad Timalsina, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of NEFSCUN and Sunita Nemafuki, CEO of Agri Nepal.

The participants stressed that the state should create conducive environment to attract youths into entrepreneurship and real economic empowerment would be possible only if youth participation increased. Youth cooperatives, youth entrepreneurs, government and non-government representatives from all seven provinces will participate in the conference.