Nepal lockdown forces some startups to shut, some others to modify

Namgyal Dorjee Sherpa and some of his friends started Customandu in December last year. Their team had dreamed of earning some good profits within a few months. However, their dream has got shattered now.
“We are not in operation for now. We are not shut down; we will be starting again. But, this may take some time even after the lockdown ends,” Sherpa, a cofounder of the shoe customisation company, says, “As of now, we have stopped taking orders and have requested our customers to wait till we are instructed to do business in a safe manner.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has halted the movement of the whole world. From an individual’s daily home-to-workplace routine to the government’s functioning, all have been directly or indirectly affected by this catastrophe.
This unprecedented pandemic and the resultant lockdown have impacted all kinds of businesses, but startups are worst hit, claim some startup runners including Sherpa claiming they are more vulnerable to recent changes in the market situation.
Whereas a few of the startups might be thriving due to their nature of focusing on emergencies, most have changed their regular operation model to sustain and some of them have completely shut down their business activity for now.

herpa explains that his company has been severely affected by the lockdown as the international supply chain has been obstructed.  “We order our accessories mainly from the USA, and the lockdown in various countries has affected the supply of our goods. There are many people like us” Likewise, Dulwa, a web-based travel information centre, has also halted its regular business amidst the lockdown. Nipun Shakya, the founder of the startup, says, “Business-wise, during the lockdown, our revenue is zero. Being a tourist information centre, with zero mobility of people in and out of the country, our routine work has been completely shut as of now.”
Nevertheless, he informs that Dulwa, in collaboration with different donors, is actively working to serve humanity during this hard time by distributing various relief packages to the needy ones  following all the precautions and the rules stated by the government.