Here are a few interesting facts about the first and the only billionaire from Nepal that can inspire anyone aspiring to succeed in life.
Binod Kumar Choudhary business sprawls across a dozen of verticals
Binod Kumar Choudhary is invested in businesses across several industry verticals, including education, hospitality, consumer goods, banking, power, and electronics. His entrepreneurial ventures are spread across 19 countries, and he runs over 80 companies.
Binod’s overseas business ambition has ancestral roots
Binod is a third-generation businessman. His grandfather hailed from Rajasthan’s Churi-Ajitgarh village located in Shekhawati district. In the 19th century, his grandfather migrated to Nepal to set up a textile business. His father opened Nepal's first departmental store The drive to foray into new businesses and expand into other geographies is something that Binod has inherited from his ancestors. Talking about the philosophy that fueled his overseas mission, Binod said, “Rajasthani businessmen like my grandfather knew they had to achieve something when they set out to new countries because nothing was waiting for them in their own land."
Joined the world of business when he was just 19 years
When he was just 19, Binod signed off a partnership deal with Copper Floor, a discotheque running in Kathmandu, Nepal. He did it amidst stiff opposition from his parents. During the three years of his association with the company, Binod said he learned lessons for a lifetime, finding out how to differentiate between people. This early experience helped him experiment with new businesses and expand them.
How he landed on the Noodles business
During the 1980s, he and his father built a huge flour mill. This flour mill eventually gave way to the founding of the famed noodles company Wai Wai. He said, “We soon discovered that we produced more flour than could be consumed. So I started looking around for another flour-based product, and that is the genesis of Wai Wai,"
The businessman has never tasted his own product
His firm manufactures about one billion noodles packets per year, and 95% of it is the flagship product Wai Wai 1-2-3 Chicken Noodles. Binod never tasted these noodles even once since he is a strict vegetarian. It is said, he even tasted the vegetarian version of his company’s noodles almost a year after they started the production.
Some of his famed enterprises
Binod Choudhary runs the CG Corp Global. He has a controlling stake in the Nabil Bank of Nepal, and his enterprise CG Foods makes the most famous Wai Wai noodles. Wai Wai Overseas factories are located in India, Serbia, and Bangladesh, with a new one being launched in Egypt. CG hotel assets comprise of 30 owned and 55 managed properties.
His three sons assist him with his business
Binod has three sons. Nirvana, who is based in Nepal, and the other two sone - Rahul and Varun who stay abroad and help him manage his businesses.