In recent years, the country has seen significant development when it comes to entrepreneurship. Being in a small country, with an increasing number of social media users, local and international speakers at the recent DHI InnoTech Talk said it can be an advantage for Bhutanese entrepreneurs. They said entrepreneurs can build their brands and expand their businesses more quickly.
With over 100,000 registered users from across 117 countries, Samuh has swept the population into its hold. The Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Samuh, Nyema Zam said being a small country, if the entrepreneurs have good ideas and creative innovations, the business will thrive.
Moreover, she said through the social media platform they can reach many Bhutanese.
“For an entrepreneur, one of the most important things is that you have to be able to adopt and adapt quite quickly. You have to have this attitude of always looking for solutions.”
However, she added that Samuh did face challenges such as a lack of payment gateway and an increasing number of copyright infringement cases.
“One of the biggest challenges I feel that is currently confronting not just Samuh but also other startups are regulations. When it comes to Bhutan, I think most of the regulatory organisations do not move as fast as the world is moving. Sometimes, innovation is coming first and regulations are trying to play the catch-up game and because of that we might lose out,” said Nyema Zam.
One of the panellists, the Chief Technology Officer of DHI InnoTech said that Bhutan is doing well in terms of startups. He said entrepreneurs should take time to carefully innovate and develop a product.
“In some of the countries like Australia where I have worked, I have seen a lot of entrepreneurs actually take on too much too quickly. So, they start off and they have a really good idea but they are not sure which is the right way to implement that idea,” said Jacques Von Benecke, the Chief Technology Officer of DHI InnoTech.
Some other panellists like Saul Singer, who is the co-author of the best-selling book Start-up Nation, said that one of the advantages of being a small country is that it allows an individual to be globally competent and persistent from the very beginning.
Moreover, entrepreneurs pointed out that through the government’s support, and with the right ideas and skills, entrepreneurs can expand their businesses in the market.
Tshering Deki
Edited by Tshering Zam
