In February 2024, Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures became the Nepal’s first B Corp certified company — a milestone we were deeply proud of.
Our journey toward certification began back in 2020, and what started as a simple curiosity turned into a profound learning experience that reshaped how we saw our own work.
The Questionnaire That Opened Our Eyes
The B Impact Assessment questionnaire was an eye-opener. It helped us see how many of our instinctive practices — the things that came naturally from living and working in a small, grounded community — were actually creating measurable impact. For the first time, there was a global framework that gave value and points to the very way we lived and worked: supporting local artisans, minimizing waste, empowering women, and using natural materials. It validated that the “simple” things we do out of conviction can indeed hold global importance.
The Long Road to Certification
The process, however, was far from quick. It took us almost four years to complete, partly due to the slow evaluation process and the disruptions brought by COVID-19. There were long pauses where nothing seemed to move forward. Yet, we kept going — driven by the belief that what we were doing mattered.
Pride and Practicality
When we finally achieved certification, we were thrilled. It felt like a collective win for every artisan, every small supplier, and every person who believed in ethical, regenerative business. But by the end of 2024, we made the difficult decision to let go of the certification.
Why? Because in our context, the business impact was minimal. In the Asian market — especially Nepal — very few people knew what B Corp certification meant. Except for a few European partners, most of our customers, collaborators, and even local institutions didn’t recognize its value. Moreover, the annual maintenance fee was high, and given the limited commercial advantage, continuing wasn’t practical for a small, impact-driven enterprise like ours.
What We Truly Gained
Even though we stepped away from the label, the process itself added immense value. It helped us streamline and document our internal systems, adopt clear frameworks, and learn new ways to measure and communicate impact. It gave language to what we had been doing intuitively for years — working for people, planet, and purpose.
We still believe that the B Corp model is excellent for social enterprises working at the ground level. However, for it to truly flourish globally, the framework needs contextualization — to reflect the realities of small, developing economies where impact looks different, but is no less valuable.
In the End
Our B Corp journey taught us that certification is not the destination — alignment is. At Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures, our compass remains the same: building a world that’s sustainable, equitable, and deeply human — whether there’s a certificate on the wall or not.
