Nepal's transition to green, resilient, and inclusive development can be accelerated by supporting the country's digital evolution. IIDS, along with development partner The World Bank are committed to this goal and is supporting the Government of Nepal in executing its Digital Nepal Framework which recognizes digital development's enabling role.

Strong support for innovation and entrepreneurship is critical to grow the IT sector. Research suggests that an effective platform for knowledge sharing can be beneficial for new as well as active innovators and entrepreneurs in Nepal. The active and well-established Network of Global Nepalis (NGN), including members of the diaspora and those Nepalis with global experience working in the IT industry or related fields can serve as catalyst to not just to mobilize investments to develop digital industries in Nepal but also to mentor digital businesses and startups in Nepal. Similarly, the NGN along with other members of the digital sector in Nepal can bring their collective minds to support Nepal's startup IT and digital sector professionals to build strong and resilient future.
 
Within this context, IIDS is conducting a Mentorship Network to connect eligible Nepali digital businesses and startups to qualified mentors from the Nepal's digital and IT sector. Through a curated mentorship program, this program aims to build a culture of continuous learning and professional growth within Nepal's digital and IT community. The Mentorship Network program aims to identify 10 committed professionals as mentors and connect them with 20 startups and digital business professionals. A mentor-mentee matching networking and exchange event will be held based on the needs of the startups and the experience of mentors.
 
 
List of Mentors:
 

                                            Name

             Specialization

                     Photo

 Sushil Bhattachan is the CEO at AgileMove Inc, based in Tampa Florida. He has decades   of experience in product strategy, product management, e-commerce, quality           management  and accounting. He is also a member of The Great Nepali Diaspora. He is a   Strategic Advisor at People in Artificial Intelligence (AI). He holds a Master in Business     Administration (MBA) from the University of Florida.

 

  FinTech, Marketing, E-Commerce, Product          Management

 

        

Chandika Bhandari has worked with Microsoft Enterprise Software and other startup businesses. At the Seattle App Lab, he has used Microsoft to help corporations grow efficiencies and reduce risk. As the co-founder of Product and Business Development at SurveySwipe, he helped mobilize the market research industry.

 

Outsourcing, Sales, Business Development, Marketing

        

Dibya Dali is the Founder and Managing Director of Digital Age Nepal Private Limited. Digital Age Nepal provides solutions on CPFDS(AML Solution), KYC, Data Validator, and Customer Screening, among others. She is the Secretary of Women in Information Technology (WiIT) and was on the Women in IT committee at the Federation of Computer Association of Nepal.

 

Startup, Women in IT, Customer Screening

 

        

Nora Asha Gurung is a Digital Financial Services specialist with experience in cross-border payment services and product management. She is currently the Director of Product for Machnet Technologies Inc. She was previously a product manager and has worked for organizations such as the International Association of Students in Economics and Business (AIESEC) and Cornell Social Venture Club. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University.

 

Digital Finance, Product Development, Cross Border Payment

        

Bal Krishna Joshi—Bal Krishna Joshi is the co-founder of thamel.com, Machnet, and ThamelRemit. Through his ventures, he has significantly contributed to creating a digital ecosystem providing access to cross-border digital banking. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Lewis and Clark College. 

 

Startup, Digital Tech, Fintech, E-commerce

        

Sanjay Manandhar is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wicket Software. He has an academic background in computer science and engineering and 20+ years of professional experience in the technical field, finance, business development, and sales. He holds a Master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

FinTech, Startup, ClimateTech

        

Dr. Suresh Manandhar is the CEO of Wiseyak and the head of AI research at Fusemachines. He has over 24 years of research and teaching experience in Computational Linguistics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. He is the Honorary Chair of AI at Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology. Dr. Manandhar has demonstrated experience in AI research and years of teaching experience at the University of York.

 

Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning, Healthcare Technology

        

Atulya Pandey is the co-CEO at Outside. He has worked as an independent consultant in design and has experience creating professional websites that can increase a company's presence efficiency. He was also the head of Client Relations and Marketing at PMB Creative in Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Marketing, Product Design, Startup

        

Dr. Prativa Pandey is the founding CEO of Catalyst Technology. Catalyst Technology works on Research and Development (R&D) consulting in environmental science and nanotechnology, among others. She is also a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology (RIBB). She holds a PhD in Organic/Materials Chemistry from Northwestern University.

 

Science Entrepreneurship, Method Development, Nanotechnology

        

Moushumi Shrestha is the director of the Shreenagar Agro Group, which provides a “One-Stop Solution” to poultry, livestock, and agriculture farmers. She is also the Founder of Shree Kisan Innovation Hub. A Consulate General of Sweden in Nepal, Shrestha is a Senior Fellow at IIDS. She holds an MBA from Kathmandu University.

 

Startup, AgroTech, Product Development