FFIN - the Foundation for Foreign Investment in Nepal - is an organization of foreign private investors in Nepal.

FFIN's members offer a unique body of firsthand experience in Nepal's economic environment. Most are entrepreneurs dealing with the full range of the political and economic issues in the same way as a Nepalese citizen.

Nepal's economic condition has attracted many development agencies. At the same time, political and economic issues that contribute to the lagging economy have discouraged most foreign investment. The few foreign-owned companies that do exist were started by individuals attracted to Nepal by its natural beauty and resources, culture, religions, or the challenge to make a difference. As residents and investors they take the long term view on Nepal. Most have learned to speak Nepali. And now they have joined their efforts through FFIN to effect positive changes in the business environment.

An Introduction to FFIN

FFIN's members offer a unique body of firsthand experience in Nepal's economic environment. Most are entrepreneurs dealing with the full range of the political and economic issues the same way as a Nepalese citizen.

Nepal's economic condition has attracted many development agencies. At the same time, political and economic issues that contribute to the lagging economy have discouraged most foreign investment. The few foreign-owned companies that do exist were started by individuals attracted to Nepal by its natural beauty and resources, culture, religions, or the challenge to make a difference. As residents and investors they take the long term view on Nepal. Most have learned to speak Nepali. And now they have joined their efforts through FFIN to effect positive changes in the business environment.

Until FFIN's formation four years ago, foreign investors shared three major problems:

• there was no central source of data for prospective investors,
• there was no organization to speak with government on the shared problems of the foreign investment community, especially those who require visas,
• there was no group to champion the steps Nepal must take to build a market economy nor the reforms needed to make Nepal competitive with other nations who court foreign investors. The policy stage has been dominated by government, donors, and market forces whose agenda has often not been market reform.

FFIN was established so that its members could contribute solutions to the aforementioned problems. The threefold objectives are:

• to help attract foreign investors by supplying them with current information and accurate orientation on the local investment climate,
• to provide a range of services to existing foreign investors and to create a means for them to pool their experience in order to improve the business environment,
• to support the work of HMG's reformers in their efforts to liberalize the economy, and to inform the administration about investor concerns and difficulties.