12 Sep We Have a New Country Director for Ennovent-Bhutan

Phuntsho Namgay recently joined Ennovent as the Country Director of Bhutan. Seeking to scale up our work in Bhutan, we were looking for someone who could work closely with our global and regional teams, to build on our existing work in the country and explore new opportunities to develop and execute impactful projects in Bhutan.

Phuntsho was raised in Bhutan and moved outside the country to pursue his undergraduate and graduate studies. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from State University of New York, Stony Brook and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney.

With almost a decade of work experience in business development and finance in Bhutan, Phuntsho is excited about the impact that he can create in local communities through his new role. “I am eager to meet with entrepreneurs, hear their stories, learn from them and to see them want to shake things up”, he says, “With my background and experience both in and outside Bhutan, I can introduce, translate and teach proven international concepts into Bhutan.”

Having earlier worked with Druk Holdings and Investments, Phuntsho is very proud of being part of the designing team for the DHI Begin programme, which was one of the first business incubation programmes in Bhutan.

He feels that the time is ripe for building momentum towards entrepreneurship in the country. “I dream of people hearing Ennovent Bhutan and immediately thinking about GNH (Gross National Happiness) Businesses”, he adds. GNH is a sustainable and holistic approach to development which balances material and non-material values. It is a developmental philosophy, the concept of which was promoted by Bhutan’s fourth king, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk in the early ’70s. It takes into consideration 4 core pillars – Environmental Conservation, Sustainable & Equitable Socio-Economic Development, Good Governance, and Preservation and Promotion of culture – to enable the pursuit of happiness. Phuntsho is keen to extend this concept to business ventures to ensure balanced and sustainable growth.

Apart from his ambitions for Bhutan via his role at Ennovent, Phuntsho also makes time for leisure. He hits the gym or plays a sport every other day and says that since he was never the biggest kid in class, this motivation is a constant in his life. He also explores his interest for stories with Manga and Anime.

Currently, Phuntsho is working on Ennovent’s Fair Trails Himalayas and SEEED projects and is also broadly focused on thematic areas in youth entrepreneurship, tourism and agricultural for Bhutan. He feels that most entrepreneurial ventures in Bhutan often stop short of scaling their businesses and fail to place a warranted emphasis on innovation. He wants to see entrepreneurs take advantage of the support they receive from various sectors including the government and nonprofit sectors and establish themselves as key contributors to the economy. “As part of Ennovent I aim to develop a few business ventures which can be successfully scaled, and whose story of growth can be emulated by existing or newer entrepreneurs”, he explains.

You can follow Phuntsho on LinkedIn here. Write to him at phuntsho.namgay@ennovent.com if you wish to connect with him about projects in Bhutan.