About us

Samriddha Pahad ( "Prosperity in the Mountains")  is an organization that dates back to 2009 and was founded with the intention of enhancing the welfare of mountain communities by facilitating access to financing and other opportunities for sustainable development.

Graham Wrigley, who had been involved with Nepal since the early 1980s and had worked in rural north India in microfinance with a successful not-for-profit organization called CASHPOR, put together a team of Nepalis to launch the program known as "Samriddha Pahad" in Nepal. Together, they sought to comprehend how mountain villages may be better integrated into Nepal's financial and economic development. The Wrigley family, Blueberry Hill Charitable Trust, and Samriddha Pahad UK have all contributed funding.

Three initial goals were set for Samriddha Pahad (SP):

 (1) to give 25,000 people in Nepal's remote regions access to finance where they hadn't previously had such access;

 (2) to demonstrate the viability of the "Mountain Finance" model so that other banks and financial institutions would feel confident offering their services in mountainous regions; and

(3) to establish SP as a Nepali-owned and run organization.

10 years on, significant progress has been made. SP has raised $ 16m for 26,000 clients and 250 community institutions in the east and far west mountain districts of Nepal. Several bigger programmes have followed, and today there is much greater access to finance than back in 2009, though there is still more to be done, and in 2015 Samriddha Pahad was registered as a fully independent not for profit organisation in Nepal, under the section 166 of Company Act 2006 of Nepal.

Significant advancement has been made after ten years. For 26,000 clients and 250 community organizations in Nepal's far east and far west mountain districts, SP has raised $ 16 million. Although there is still work to be done, a number of larger programs have since been implemented, and today there is much greater access to financing than there was in 2009. In 2015, Samriddha Pahad was registered in Nepal as a fully independent not-for-profit organization under Section 166 of the Company Act 2006 of Nepal.

Currently, Samriddha Pahad continues to support its 250 partner community institutions through its "Samriddha Kanchenjunga" project. We are also heavily active in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, working with community institutions to develop sustainable tourism.

Today, Samriddha Pahad is providing ongoing support to existing 250 partner community institutions and we are deeply involved in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area working with community institutions and creating sustainable tourism through an initiative called "Samriddha Kanchenjunga".

Vision

Samriddha Pahad's mission is to develop local institutions, improve the quality of life for communities living in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, and improve the lives of mountain communities through appropriate livelihood possibilities and sustainable access to finance.