Pavitra Bahadur Gautam

Pavitra Bahadur Gautam is an electronics and communication engineer, entrepreneur, and educator who graduated from Kathmandu Engineering College. He is the co-founder and CEO of Karkhana, a social enterprise established in 2013 that designs hands-on, progressive learning experiences for children. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to a team of over sixty staff members across Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Pokhara, and Butwal, delivering weekly educational experiences to thousands of students. Karkhana focuses on building twenty-first-century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication through localized innovation. The company has expanded its reach internationally, partnering with schools in Dhaka and Delhi, designing courses for New York University, and securing investment from Business Oxygen.

Beyond his work with Karkhana, Gautam is actively involved in national educational policy and entrepreneurship initiatives in Nepal. He represents the Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs Forum and serves on a government sub-committee under the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, contributing to the action plan for the national science, technology, and innovation policy. He has also collaborated with the ministry on the Bhavishya National STEM Challenge. Gautam strongly advocates for a participatory, hands-on approach to education that fosters scientific thinking and empowers students to actively reshape their communities.