Kathmandu, Oct. 17 -- There is something inherently elitist about labels like 'expat' and 'diaspora'. They refer to skilled Nepalis studying, working or living abroad and not to the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers when, in fact, both are just individuals moving out for better opportunities.

But Nepal's migrant economy has also opened up new business prospects, as Kalyan Ghimire discovered. It was during a trip to Qatar to organise a musical event for Nepalis that he saw a market for 'nostalgic products' like dalle khursani and gundruk among the 400,000 Nepalis in Qatar.

"On one hand, I saw Qatar's reliance on imports of vegetables, especially after the embargo, with a high share of Nepalis as the consumers of these imports," Gh...