Kumar Bahadur Nepali, residence of Inaruwa Municipality, Sunsari district, comes from a Dalit ethnic group. Shoe making at a local village was his traditional profession. He was not aware of the innovative design and market demand for his product. He was producing limited pairs of shoes and they too were not easily sold in the local market. This was because Mr. Kumar was not aware of the market demand for design and style of the shoes people prefer due to lack of basic entrepreneurship skills.

His limited production and sale of the shoes was not enough to have two ends meal and other daily requirements for his family of six members. He was having difficult time to buy raw materials and the basic equipments required for running his small shoe making shop. Some times he had to stop his enterprise due to lack of raw materials particularly the leather which is not given on credit. Due to his ultra-low income and sole responsibility on him for the livelihoods of the family, he was quite unable to invest for the expansion and improvement of his shoe making enterprise.

Since he was from Dalit ethnic group and belong to the poorest of the poor family, one fine day he was selected as the target beneficiary of Micro-Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP) through it exclusive participant selection process. Since Mr. Kumar was selected as the potential micro-entrepreneur under the MEDEP process, he was provided entrepreneurship training and facilitated for accessing on micro-credit so that he can improve and expand his shoe making enterprise. With the entrepreneurship training provided by MEDEP, Mr. Kumar has been able to upgraded his entrepreneurial as well technical skills and also accessed on micro-credit opportunity from Agriculture Development Bank of Nepal (ADBN). ADBN provided him micro-credit of Rs. 7,000 as a first cycle loan to improve and expand his enterprise. Consequently, he was extremely encouraged with this credit support and utilized the amount for the improvement of his small shoe making shop converting it into a growing micro-enterprise. He invested the first cycle credit to buy equipment and other accessories required for making shoes and improved the quantity and quality of his products. Obviously, his income has been raised with the increased production and sales of shoes, which ultimately built up his confidence and sense of security for further expansion of his enterprise. Thus empowered Kumar once again applied to ADBN for the second cycle credit and the bank, assessing growing performance of his enterprise, sanctioned credit of an amount Rs. 12000 for further expansion of his business and linking to wider market. MEDEP has also helped to link to wider market for his product by supporting him to participate in exhibition and trade fair in Kathmandu and Butwal.

At present, Kumar Bahadur Nepali is earning an income of Rs. 12000 ? 15000 a month which has given him and his family economically a comfortable living. With the increased income level, he has been able to replace his thatch roof with corrugated sheet and have better food and clothing for the family. He has also paid the bank loan back and now he has been self reliance in running his shoes enterprise. Now he is partnering with his uncle Indra Bahadur Nepali and planning to start another shoe shop at Dharan. They have decided that existing shoe centre at Inaruwa, will be run by Indra Bahadur and the new shoe to be opebed at Dharan will be operated by Kumar.

Today, Kumar's Koshi Shoe Shopping Center is a growing shoe making enterprise in Inaruwa Municipality, which sells its products at the local market and also supplies to Itahari, Jhumka and local markets centers in the nearby VDCs. Before this enterprise, Mr. Kumar Bahadur Nepali used to work part time owing to very low income level and inability to invest for his traditional profession (shoes making) to make it a fulltime business but now he has employed two permanent employees in his Shoe Center.

Now, Kumar's expanded enterprise and growing business has not only improved his livelihoods but it has also been a source of aspiration and successful example worth adopting by other potential entrepreneurs from low income group.

Like Kumar Bahadur Nepali, there are thousands of poor and ultra poor families who are striving hard to manage their livelihoods due to lack of entrepreneurship skills, financial support and the access on the information regarding the sustainable use of the local resources. Also, there are thousands of government and non-government organizations and their programmes and projects being operated in the name of poverty alleviation. However, they seem to be unable to target their poverty alleviation activities sharp on the needy segment of the population. Now the development workers should learn from such successful examples and direct their development efforts and activities targeting sharply to raise the livelihoods of the poorest of the poor rural families.