Bordered by two giant nations India on east, south and west and China on North, Nepal is one of the richest nations for biodiversity in the world. With an estimated population of 269 million and National Budget of NRs 285 billion for 2009-10 and a GDP of NRs 820.81 billion in fiscal year 2007-08 the Gross per capita income was 20,816 NRs in 2007-08 . Not long ago, Nepal was a trade link between Tibet and the rest of the world. The history of trade between Nepalese businessmen from Malla Dynasty and Tibet across world's highest peak dates back to 5th Century B.S. After centuries, industrial development started in Nepal with low scale extraction of metals like Copper and Magnesite, more for domestic consumption than export. Nepal finally started exporting goods like readymade garment, pashmina and handicrafts in large amount. These goods still dominate export products of Nepal but agriculture, commercial sector and financial and real estate sector are the three largest sectors contributing to country's GDP, remittance being one of the most important factors for balance of payments.

On the organization front, Nepalese Chamber of Commerce has been existing since 1952 AD and Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) since 1965 AD. Besides, Chamber of Commerce exists at local, national and bi-national level. Theses chambers are acting as business promoters and have started to pay attention to CSR albeit to a low extent; FNCCI has developed "Business Code of Conduct" for its members, it anticipates its members to be transparent, conduct business in a fair manner and to be sensitive about environmental concerns. In addition, FNCCI now has its own CSR Forum which was formed in 2008.

Nepalese Business sector has always been giving back to the society in the form of donations to various sectors like schools and temple and statues and to orphanages but the term 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR) is still new in Nepal. The credit of introducing the word CSR among the business sector goes to Lotus Holdings and Action Aid Nepal with conduction of the first ever study on CSR in Nepal . The findings showed low level of understanding about "CSR" among business entrepreneurs during that time. Realizing the importance of CSR for overall economic development of the nation Lotus Opportunities launched Socially Responsible Business Development Network (SRBDN) in 2004. The forum was participated and supported by civil society, development and private sectors. Very few businesses were aware of the term CSR at the time. Most viewed it as unwanted cost for their business but they were still positive about the impact that responsible business practices could have on their business and society.

Today most businesses make charitable donations in the name of CSR while others are using it as a marketing strategy. However, with increased awareness among the business community and increased media attention, businesses today in Nepal are more responsible in terms of their action on the employees and the society they are working with. Some banks and airlines have started allocating a small portion of their income on community service. They are mostly investing on education, health and orphanage. On the other hand companies like Bottlers Nepal are more interested in water and sanitation programs. But it is mostly only multinationals who are interested in investing on community services, the local businesses and SME's consider CSR to be related only with big corporations and not small and medium sized business, hence they prefer to use the term "Responsible Business". Some major players actively promoting CSR in Nepal are SRBDN, National Business Initiatives (NBI) and South Asian Watch on Trade Environment and Economics (SAWTEE). Some documents related to CSR have already been published in national language .

However, the demarcation line between philanthropy and CSR is still not clear either among the business community or the media group, who tend to post materials related to corporate donations in the name of CSR. The media groups are not to blame either when they are called for press release by corporate with the same perspective of CSR.

On a brighter note, CSR is already included in the three year interim plan of Nepal , it encourages private sector investment in sustainable and employment generating ventures by promoting competitive capacity and subsequently expects private sector to keep their operation transparent, adopt good governance, carry social responsibility and entertain participation of stakeholder and labor management. To add to it, the trend of appointing CSR officer has started and a few businesses are discussing this issue in annual and semi-annual meetings. Similarly a few multinationals have started to include CSR in their business strategy. CSR in Nepal is still growing but with the investment environment getting more and more unfavorable due to politically instability, the future of business sector in the country looks grim and consequently CSR will depend on future of business before being governed by pressure from buyers, legal measures and priority of private sector leaders.