IPD Business Women

SASANE Sisterhood's recognition by Germany's Import Promotion Desk (IPD) marks a milestone for a travel operator that was, from its very first day, founded by women and powered by women. IPD — which works directly with the German government to promote sustainable trade and tourism with emerging economies — has partnered with SASANE since 2019 as part of its sustainable tourism programme, placing a survivor-led Nepali enterprise alongside the world's most promising responsible-travel businesses.

At the centre of that recognition is SASANE's founder, Jeny Pokharel, whose vision turned a simple idea into a movement: that the women most failed by trafficking, domestic violence and child marriage could become the very people who guide travellers through Nepal. SASANE's professional tourist guides and hospitality workers are women — many of them survivors — who have earned the qualifications, income and confidence to stand at the front of an industry that too often leaves women behind; revenue then funds the next woman's route in.

What makes SASANE a genuine women-empowerment travel operator, rather than a company that simply hires women, is that its entire model is built around their independence. Every trek through the Himalayas, every tour of Kathmandu, every journey to the Annapurna region is led by a woman who has rebuilt her life through this work. The goal is explicit: economic and financial independence for each participant, protection from trafficking, and the social, economic and cultural emancipation of women across rural Nepal.

The IPD partnership matters because it connects that local mission to global markets. Sustainable tourism only changes lives at scale when it reaches international travellers, and IPD's role is to help committed operators in countries like Nepal meet European buyers and standards. For SASANE, it has meant exposure, mentoring and a seal of credibility that few grassroots enterprises ever receive — confirmation that a business run by trafficking survivors can compete on quality, not only on cause.

This recognition also reflects a wider truth about why Nepal needs operators like SASANE. Tourism is one of the country's largest industries, yet its benefits have rarely flowed to the rural communities and marginalised women who need them most. By training female guides, channelling revenue into mountain villages and building sustainable rural businesses, SASANE redistributes the value of travel to exactly those places — turning visitors into partners in long-term change.

For travellers, the promise is rare and real: an authentic, expertly guided Nepali journey that also advances the financial independence of the women leading it. To book with SASANE is to support a model that the German government, through IPD, has judged worthy of the global stage — a women-led travel operator proving that empowerment and excellent travel are not competing goals, but the same one.