International Women's Day Spotlight NEPAL: Cultivating a new crop of hope
As a child growing up in Nepal, Sumeena Karki was forever asking questions and challenging what girls could do. Today, she's continuing that tradition on a much grander scale as a ground-breaking scientist, entrepreneur and Meryl Williams Fellow.
At just 26 years of age, Sumeena assembled five female partners to establish Rara Biotech - the first all-female led biotech company in Nepal. The role of CEO was her first job.
With its catch-cry Learning. Creating. Solving, the company is working to address agricultural problems that plague impoverished farmers in this highly patriarchal society. It has put Sumeena and her team at the forefront of innovation and seen them pioneer sustainable social enterprises with the capacity to benefit entire Nepalese communities.
According to GEAReD lead trainer Rebecca Spence, the fact that Sumeena is a female entrepreneur in Nepal is extraordinary in itself.
"Nepal has experienced years of turbulence (the Nepalese Civil War stretched from 1996-2006) and everybody has just kept their heads down," Rebecca says. "But Sumeena has had the courage to raise hers - to come up with brilliant ideas and bring people along with her. She knows how hard it is to get ahead as a woman in Nepal, but using her energy and wonderful assertiveness she's showing how it can be done; how to have real impact."
Here, Sumeena shares the source of her entrepreneurial spirit and explains how she implements this year's International Women's Day theme 'choose to challenge' every day.
Tell us about your upbringing and major life influences.
I grew up in the semi-rural city of Chitwan with my mother, father and brother. My parents saw boys and girls as equal individuals.
My paternal grandfather came here from the eastern part of Nepal, without any parental property, and established a renowned bicycle supply business. He was a great businessman and inventor. My maternal grandparents were farmers. When we were young, my brother and I used to help them cultivate rice, vegetables and wheat, so that agricultural influence was strong right from the start. As a child I could see the prevailing problems and wanted to do something to find solutions. It was just what I had to do. I couldn't sleep when I read about farmers experiencing disease outbreaks or having to cut their production because middle men had taken all their profits.
You studied microbiology, then a Masters in biotechnology before founding Rara Biotech in 2018. What does the company do and what projects do you have underway?
We are using research-based biotechnology to develop commercial products for agriculture and livestock production. Our main goal is to improve the socio-economic conditions of farmers and to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through partnerships with university, government and communities.
One problem for livestock producers is the high rate of pregnancy failure in their animals. Another is the lack of vets in many rural areas. We are developing a rapid pregnancy-detection kit for cattle and buffalo, to help farmers save time and money. It can detect pregnancy from milk or blood samples within 30 days of conception or insemination. We are now testing 10 prototypes in collaboration with the National Agriculture Research Centre, a government research centre. If the field trials are successful, this affordable kit will be ready to market in about six months' time. It may also be helpful to farmers in neighbouring Asian countries.
We are also trying to improve the cultivation of mushrooms, which has not been very successful over the past 30 years because of contamination, and a lack of proper guidance and knowledge transfer. We have been producing shitake mushrooms in artificial logs.
Another research project we completed was to look at the potential use of the Nepalese black soldier fly to help manage waste and provide disease-free organic food for pig, poultry and fish farms.
What gender challenges have you faced?
It wasn't until I established my company and started working on a contract basis that I started to experience gender issues. Most of the time I didn't get paid for the workshops and consultancy I provided, or I was paid the minimum rate. Male voices still dominate in the field. Even if the men are inexperienced, the mentality that men can do anything and are always right persists very deeply. I am judged as a woman and have to provide justification for every answer I give.
In the laboratory I can take the lead with no questioning, whereas in the field I waste most of my time convincing people. Men often refuse to accept me as the leader of the company and want a male representative to deal with. This drains a lot of my energy, sometimes leading to frustrations that I cannot express in words. Females have to fight against many stereotypes in agri-business in Nepal. It is very hard and we feel more pressure than males.
How is your work challenging stereotypes about women and their roles?
Female entrepreneurs in Nepal are mostly older and/or have a PhD with a strong financial or professional status. Not many come from a pure science background like me, and people are amazed at my age. But I believe you are never too young to start.
I struggle with the financial part. I have multiple projects underway and still the banks are not flexible. Women in Nepal, who don't have property, can find it hard to get bank loans and are not a priority for employment. They face a great financial burden; they literally have to beg their partners for money, which is completely unacceptable in this era of freedom.
When people see someone doing something great, they take inspiration from that; they see what can be done and follow in their footsteps. I want to be that inspiration and give rise to many other women behind me. When you show your dreams through your work, people start to believe in you.
What we are doing with Rara Biotech is very new. But I think I am helping to change the perspectives of the people I work with, especially my male counterparts. They are starting to believe what I say and joining with me.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Sometimes you have to wear the boss hat, but most of the time I remain silent and make my work happen, so that the work shouts more than my voice.
I believe in collaboration and I am working to make a system that leads to sustainability. I want to encourage emerging female entrepreneurs in every field, so that mutual benefits can be shared. With our mushroom project, for example, we have trained people in cultivation and provided our collaborators with micro-loans at lower rates to set up their businesses; we act as trainers as well as guarantors. We are helping these female farmers to improve their financial literacy and production, and giving them some security.
By investing in women, we are investing in families. It gives them financial freedom and empowers the women, and this helps support the health and education of children. We hope our community projects will spread all over Nepal, creating a cycle. In this way, everyone benefits.
Rara Biotech is taking the lead and showing that it is not necessary to be like others. I believe leadership applies to everything you do. It is about leaving a strong legacy and empowering others.
What other challenges have you faced?
It takes a lot of energy and it can be hard to keep yourself as well as your partners and colleagues moving forward. But if you don't take leadership opportunities and raise your voice, the government and other policy-makers will not realise what needs to be done. They will think that things don't need to change.
It takes courage during meetings and discussions with farmers in the field. Your voice as a woman is automatically suppressed and you feel like you don't exist. Until you can influence people, I believe it is better to make an impact on society through your work. Then the policy-makers and authorities will come to you for advice.
The ways that Rara Biotech is working are new. Most of the time I feel like I am out on my own. The path I have chosen is very different from others. I have been trained and I have all the skills, but the financial burden is great.
What are the benefits of being a Meryl Williams Fellow?
The fellowship is a complete package for me, but I am especially interested in the mentorship. I know how a mentor can help you to grow. Most of the time, it is neither skill nor money that helps a business to develop; it's receiving the proper guidance at the right time.
Who have been your female role models?
My mother is the greatest example. She was the top of her class at school, but she married at an early age and could not continue her dreams; she did everything for her family.
But she did not let her lack of opportunity stop her from providing for me. Her example keeps me going, even when it is hard. She would not give up on me, so how can I give up on myself and my dream? It is nothing compared to her sacrifice.
I also take inspiration from older female entrepreneurs and professional women. They have faced many more challenges than my generation. If they have been moving with such grace, then why can’t I?
Why is International Women's Day important?
When we hear and see the stories of other women, we feel inspired. We also see the similarities between us. When we see what one woman can do, we ask ourselves 'why can't I'?
If we don't do anything, it piles up and becomes a burden for future generations. We have to be the path leaders, to challenge the way people view women. I get a lot of calls from junior women in biotech who say that I am an inspiration to them and that they want to be like me. It overwhelms me. International Women's Day is about supporting each other.
Sumeena Karki was awarded a prestigious Meryl Williams Fellowship in 2021. The Meryl Williams Fellowship is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and supports female agricultural researchers across the Indo-Pacific to improve their leadership and management skills. The Fellowship contributes to more secure food systems by providing women in agricultural science with greater access to resources and decision making, building collaborative networks, supporting career advancement and driving institutional progress towards gender equity. You can learn more about the fellowship at https://www.geared.global/aboutmwf