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Our Team

Radhesh Pant
Chairman and Principal
Ashutosh Tiwari
Board Director and Principal
Joseph Silvanus
Principal

Radhesh is a Principal at DSV Advisors. He is also the Senior Managing Partner at VRock & Company. His expertise built over a 30-year professional experience, lies in leadership, general management, institutional strengthening, corporate finance, commercial negotiations, Government systems, and political and policy level dialogue for reforms. He has been the CEO of two commercial banks and the high-level Office of the Investment Board, which is a government agency that facilitates investment in public private partnership projects.

He currently serves as chairman in various boards including Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bio resources (ANSAB) and Smile Nepal. He is a founding director for South Asia Institute of Management (SAIM), a business school in Kathmandu, Nepal.

His academic credentials include an MBA from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India. Having spent his early teenage years in Japan, he also has a good grasp of Japanese.

Ashutosh Tiwari is the Managing Director of SAFAL Partners, Nepal's first operations-focused investment and consulting firm. As one of its verticals, SAFAL created a platform called SAFAL Angels which brings in Nepali private investors to invest in growth-oriented companies as angel investors, and to serve as Board Members and mentors. SAFAL works with small companies/start-ups to improve operations and governance, and helps them be ready for seed/angel investments. SAFAL also works with large companies to restructure their growth trajectories, and works with donors to train and place at-risk women and youth in industrial jobs.

Ashutosh is the President of South Asia Society of Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) which is based out of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, India. Earlier, Ashutosh served as the CEO at Sherpa Adventure Gear-Nepal, and at Himalmedia, and as the Country Director at WaterAid-Nepal. Ashutosh co-founded Entrepreneurs for Nepal in 2008, and was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011. Earlier in his career, he was a small-business adviser at GiZ Nepal, at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Bangladesh and a social activist against bonded labour in rural far Western Nepal.

With tri-sector leadership experiences, Ashutosh, a Principal at DSV advisors, is a sought-after CEO coach, corporate adviser and investor.

Joseph is a Principal at DSV Advisors. He heads Dolma Consulting, the advisory arm of Dolma Group. He uses his deep insights and experience in Nepal to support the growth of Banking & Financial Institutions, Small and Medium enterprises, and Corporates in their tryst to become efficient and access capital markets.

Joseph is a career banker having worked 27 years with ANZ Grindlays and thereafter with Standard Chartered Bank across various geographies. He was CEO Standard Chartered Bank in Nepal for 8 years with additional governance responsibility of Afghanistan and Bhutan. He has deep working knowledge of financial markets in emerging markets, driving sovereign engagement around ratings advisory, public policy guidance and development of capital markets. He played a pivotal role working with Multilateral/ Bilateral agencies, Development Finance and socially responsible Investors, for directing specific program-based support towards entities in ASEAN and South Asia.

He practices transformational leadership, involving changing of mindset's, amply demonstrated in resurgence of the bank's franchise in Nepal. A TEDx speaker, he regularly shares best practice with regulators & Nepali entrepreneurship on risk management principles and corporate governance techniques.

Bidhya Sigdel
Board Director
Dipendra Shrestha
Investment Analyst
Gaurav Devkota
Consultant - Chief of Foundation Outreach

Bidhya is the Managing Director of Dolma Impact Fund, first international institutional private equity fund, dedicated to development of private sector through investment of risk capital in Nepal. The key investors of the fund are FMO, OeeB, Finnfund and DGGF with total commitments close to $36 Million. Prior to Dolma, Bidhya was head of Business for Kailash Bikas Bank, he was an instrumental member of the management team which upgraded the then Annapurna Finance Company to the Bank. The company had won accolades from the central bank for its outstanding performance and contribution to the banking industry. Bidhya was trained in Delhi for his CA course, where he had experience in audits of energy companies, telecoms and companies involved in energy efficient manufacturing. In Nepal, he has worked with an accounting firm with an international affiliation where he gained expertise in equity valuation for private and public companies, including audit and consulting assignments of hydro powers with foreign direct investment.

Bidhya is also a certified corporate director from Institute of Directors, India. Bidhya is an elected member in the council of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, the apex body in regulation of accounting profession established by the Government of Nepal.

Bidhya was a board member in Rastriya Banijya Bank, the largest Bank in Nepal which is owned by the Government of Nepal. He also serves in board of various companies as a non-executive director representing Dolma Impact Fund. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA with specialization in Finance.

Dipendra Shrestha is working as investment analyst with Dolma Advisors and has exposure and experience in auditing financial management services in private sectors and development programs.

He is a Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal and obtained legal practitioner’s certificate from Nepal Bar Council as Advocate. He holds Master in Business Studies (MBS) and Bachelor of Law (LL.B) from Tribhuvan University.

He is involved in reviewing investment, screening prospective investment opportunities, evaluating potential companies, analysing financial information and preparing financial models, projections including sensitivity analysis based on market developments and company growth. He also provides legal support in a business operation.

Gaurav is a curious and receptive team player. He has spent his professional career working towards uplifting the lifestyles of people through technology, tourism and conservation. He is the first person to start commercial rafting from Achham and Dailekh and has organised various events like the 2nd and 3rd National River Summit in Trishuli and Karnali Rivers.

He has also worked with many indigenous people in communities throughout Nepal and has facilitated in developing Homestays and experience projects. Gaurav always seeks opportunities in challenges and lives a very minimalist lifestyle.

Santona Malakar
Business Development Manager

Santona Malakar works as an Associate at SAFAL Partners, an operations-focused investment firm. At SAFAL, she assisted the leadership in raising angel fund from private Nepali investor, and administering the fund in three young, growth-oriented local companies.

She serves as the Board Chair at Kopila app (of 8Byte Creative Studio) - one of the three SAFAL-invested companies. She is actively involved in the post-investment services (governance, systems-building and mentoring) that SAFAL provides to its investees.

She has been collaborating with experts, professionals and entrepreneurs in igniting conversations on setting up a Gender Lens Investment (GLI) fund for Nepal.

In addition, Santona works as Operations Lead for a USAID and UK Aid funded project named Jivika-Hamro Samman that trains 1,200 at-risk Nepali women and youth, female returnee migrants and trafficking survivors and places them in jobs or self-employment.

Santona previously worked in pharma-marketing and has completed EMBA from Kathmandu University. She regularly trains entrepreneurs and small business owners (on marketing, sales, etc.)

Gaurav Devkota
Consultant - Chief of Foundation Outreach
Nawang Sherpa
Consultant

Gaurav is a curious and receptive team player. He has spent his professional career working towards uplifting the lifestyles of people through technology, tourism and conservation. He is the first person to start commercial rafting from Achham and Dailekh and has organised various events like the 2nd and 3rd National River Summit in Trishuli and Karnali Rivers.

He has also worked with many indigenous people in communities throughout Nepal and has facilitated in developing Homestays and experience projects. Gaurav always seeks opportunities in challenges and lives a very minimalist lifestyle.

Nawang has a long experience of working in the non-profit sector. He was the Fundraising Officer at Teach For Nepal, a movement committed to ending education inequity in Nepal starting with two years of fellowship teaching in public schools. As a Teach For Nepal Fellow, he served as an English Teaching Fellow in a rural community for two years. He is also the Founding Executive Board Member at Teach For Nepal Alumni Association and Executive Board Member at Changing Stories Nepal.

Nawang has the experience of working with the Blue Diamond Society and was the student volunteer’s leader at the Sexual and Gender Minorities Student Forum Nepal. A member of United States Youth Council in 2015, he led a project called iMentor, an initiative aimed at filling the need for career support and counselling that students in the rural and remote schools lack.

He graduated with an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Kings College on a full scholarship (TFN-King's College Public Service Scholarship). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work and Psychology.

Radhesh Pant
Chairman and Principal

Radhesh is a Principal at DSV Advisors. He is also the Senior Managing Partner at VRock & Company. His expertise built over a 30-year professional experience, lies in leadership, general management, institutional strengthening, corporate finance, commercial negotiations, Government systems, and political and policy level dialogue for reforms. He has been the CEO of two commercial banks and the high-level Office of the Investment Board, which is a government agency that facilitates investment in public private partnership projects.

He currently serves as chairman in various boards including Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bio resources (ANSAB) and Smile Nepal. He is a founding director for South Asia Institute of Management (SAIM), a business school in Kathmandu, Nepal.

His academic credentials include an MBA from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India. Having spent his early teenage years in Japan, he also has a good grasp of Japanese.

Ashutosh Tiwari
Board Director and Principal

Ashutosh Tiwari is the Managing Director of SAFAL Partners, Nepal's first operations-focused investment and consulting firm. As one of its verticals, SAFAL created a platform called SAFAL Angels which brings in Nepali private investors to invest in growth-oriented companies as angel investors, and to serve as Board Members and mentors. SAFAL works with small companies/start-ups to improve operations and governance, and helps them be ready for seed/angel investments. SAFAL also works with large companies to restructure their growth trajectories, and works with donors to train and place at-risk women and youth in industrial jobs.

Ashutosh is the President of South Asia Society of Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) which is based out of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, India. Earlier, Ashutosh served as the CEO at Sherpa Adventure Gear-Nepal, and at Himalmedia, and as the Country Director at WaterAid-Nepal. Ashutosh co-founded Entrepreneurs for Nepal in 2008, and was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011. Earlier in his career, he was a small-business adviser at GiZ Nepal, at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Bangladesh and a social activist against bonded labour in rural far Western Nepal.

With tri-sector leadership experiences, Ashutosh, a Principal at DSV advisors, is a sought-after CEO coach, corporate adviser and investor.

Joseph Silvanus
Principal

Joseph is a Principal at DSV Advisors. He heads Dolma Consulting, the advisory arm of Dolma Group. He uses his deep insights and experience in Nepal to support the growth of Banking & Financial Institutions, Small and Medium enterprises, and Corporates in their tryst to become efficient and access capital markets.

Joseph is a career banker having worked 27 years with ANZ Grindlays and thereafter with Standard Chartered Bank across various geographies. He was CEO Standard Chartered Bank in Nepal for 8 years with additional governance responsibility of Afghanistan and Bhutan. He has deep working knowledge of financial markets in emerging markets, driving sovereign engagement around ratings advisory, public policy guidance and development of capital markets. He played a pivotal role working with Multilateral/ Bilateral agencies, Development Finance and socially responsible Investors, for directing specific program-based support towards entities in ASEAN and South Asia.

He practices transformational leadership, involving changing of mindset's, amply demonstrated in resurgence of the bank's franchise in Nepal. A TEDx speaker, he regularly shares best practice with regulators & Nepali entrepreneurship on risk management principles and corporate governance techniques.

Bidhya Sigdel
Board Director

Bidhya is the Managing Director of Dolma Impact Fund, first international institutional private equity fund, dedicated to development of private sector through investment of risk capital in Nepal. The key investors of the fund are FMO, OeeB, Finnfund and DGGF with total commitments close to $36 Million. Prior to Dolma, Bidhya was head of Business for Kailash Bikas Bank, he was an instrumental member of the management team which upgraded the then Annapurna Finance Company to the Bank. The company had won accolades from the central bank for its outstanding performance and contribution to the banking industry. Bidhya was trained in Delhi for his CA course, where he had experience in audits of energy companies, telecoms and companies involved in energy efficient manufacturing. In Nepal, he has worked with an accounting firm with an international affiliation where he gained expertise in equity valuation for private and public companies, including audit and consulting assignments of hydro powers with foreign direct investment.

Bidhya is also a certified corporate director from Institute of Directors, India. Bidhya is an elected member in the council of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, the apex body in regulation of accounting profession established by the Government of Nepal.

Bidhya was a board member in Rastriya Banijya Bank, the largest Bank in Nepal which is owned by the Government of Nepal. He also serves in board of various companies as a non-executive director representing Dolma Impact Fund. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA with specialization in Finance.

Dipendra Shrestha
Investment Analyst

Dipendra Shrestha is working as investment analyst with Dolma Advisors and has exposure and experience in auditing financial management services in private sectors and development programs.

He is a Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal and obtained legal practitioner’s certificate from Nepal Bar Council as Advocate. He holds Master in Business Studies (MBS) and Bachelor of Law (LL.B) from Tribhuvan University.

He is involved in reviewing investment, screening prospective investment opportunities, evaluating potential companies, analysing financial information and preparing financial models, projections including sensitivity analysis based on market developments and company growth. He also provides legal support in a business operation.

Gaurav Devkota
Consultant - Chief of Foundation Outreach

Gaurav is a curious and receptive team player. He has spent his professional career working towards uplifting the lifestyles of people through technology, tourism and conservation. He is the first person to start commercial rafting from Achham and Dailekh and has organised various events like the 2nd and 3rd National River Summit in Trishuli and Karnali Rivers.

He has also worked with many indigenous people in communities throughout Nepal and has facilitated in developing Homestays and experience projects. Gaurav always seeks opportunities in challenges and lives a very minimalist lifestyle.

Santona Malakar
Business Development Manager

Santona Malakar works as an Associate at SAFAL Partners, an operations-focused investment firm. At SAFAL, she assisted the leadership in raising angel fund from private Nepali investor, and administering the fund in three young, growth-oriented local companies.

She serves as the Board Chair at Kopila app (of 8Byte Creative Studio) - one of the three SAFAL-invested companies. She is actively involved in the post-investment services (governance, systems-building and mentoring) that SAFAL provides to its investees.

She has been collaborating with experts, professionals and entrepreneurs in igniting conversations on setting up a Gender Lens Investment (GLI) fund for Nepal.

In addition, Santona works as Operations Lead for a USAID and UK Aid funded project named Jivika-Hamro Samman that trains 1,200 at-risk Nepali women and youth, female returnee migrants and trafficking survivors and places them in jobs or self-employment.

Santona previously worked in pharma-marketing and has completed EMBA from Kathmandu University. She regularly trains entrepreneurs and small business owners (on marketing, sales, etc.)