Market conditions in Nepal are evolving rapidly in Nepal. For entrepreneurs in the IT sector, what are most pressing challenges, most lucrative opportunities. What are some of the common missteps and how can you solve them. How can Biruwa Ventures help.

1. IT Entrepreneurs in Nepal:
Opportunities & Challenges
Presented by:
Vidhan Rana, Founding Partner
Biruwa Ventures, Pvt. Ltd.

2. THE OPPORTUNITIES

3. “Jawan Desh”
40% population under
the age of 30
Mobile penetration
over 50%
Internet usage
increasing every year

4. “Dherai samasya, dherai samadhan”
Petrol chaina!
Batti chaina!
2 million Nepalis living
abroad, how can
loved ones
communicate better
with them

5. “Sasto ra thuprai employees”
IT colleges are
producing graduates
in thousands, many
looking for jobs
More and more
private colleges and
training institutes are
opening

6. “Aahile low-tech, pachi high-tech”
From farmers to
students to
government offices
need IT solutions
Digital age is
penetrating every
aspect of the lives of
an average Nepali

7. “Duniya bhari Nepali”
2 million Nepalis living
abroad, around
300,000 in the U.S.
alone
Many are working in
top IT/software &
Fortune 500
companies around
the world

8. “Hamra dui thula dai”
India’s Economy
worth $1.7 trillion in
2010
China’s Economy
worth $5.9 trillion in
2010

9. India / China vs. USA
1990 2010
India India
5% China 8%
6%
China
27%
USA
65%
USA
89%

10. THE CHALLENGES

11. “Khae ta Sambidhan”
Political
instability, uncertainty
about the future
Too much power to
labor unions, can
cause disruption of
work

12. Registration Fee Based on
Authorized Capital
Up to 100,000 (authorized capital)
100,001 to 500,000
500,001 to 2,500,000
2,500,001 to 10,000,000
10,000,001 to 20,000,000
20,000,001 to 30,000,000
30,000,001 to 40,000,000
40,000,001 to 50,000,000
50,000,001 to 60,000,000
60,000,001 to 70,000,000
70,000,001 to 80,000,000
80,000,001 to 90,000,000
90,000,001 to 100,000,000
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000

13. “Katti dherai kagaj patra”
Number of days to register a Company
Registration fees
China
Bhutan
increases based on
Sri Lanka authorized capital
Thailand
Nepal
India
Japan Bringing in foreign
Pakistan
Bangladesh
investment can cost
Maldives upwards of Rs. 2 lakh
Afghanistan
United States
in legal fees
Hong Kong SAR, China
0 10 20 30 40

14. “Dherai manche, thorai trained”
Lack of properly
trained labor pool
Education system
focuses more on
theory less on
practical experience
High employee
turnover

15. “Yo project kasari manage garne?”
Regular cost, time over-
run
Cannot manage
employees, leads to
high turnover
Cannot understand
customer
demands, market
trends properly

16. “Aani paisa khae?”
Banks seek
collateral, business
plan becomes irrelevant
No proper channel for
small companies to
raise capital
Listing in share market
very complicated

17. “Saano desh ko raja”
Market saturates very
quickly
Competitions can
quickly erode profit
margins
Difficult to sell
services overseas

18. “Made in Nepal” brand
Nepal known for
mountains, khukuris,
carpet .. where is ICT
Hard to compete with
companies in
India, Vietnam, Philip
pines

19. COMMON MISSTEPS & SOLUTIONS

20. “Kina chaiyo ra business plan?”
Most IT companies in
Nepal do not have a
plan
Products are
launched in an ad-hoc
basis
Customer get
confused, do not find
value

21. “Value kaata cha ta?”
IT companies should
reflect existing
behavior
Make it easier for
people to find
information
First time vs. Repeat
(customer service)

22. “Ma nai coder, ma nai manager”
OK to start as
manager, salesman,
HR manager, coder
… but you will soon
need to delegate
Grooming and
identifying talent
becomes critical

23. “Tanna ad halum, paisa aai halcha ni!”
Too many ads will hurt
traffic
Not a good idea to
depend on one source
of revenue
Make sure ads are
relevant to your user
base (Google Adsense)

24. “Kaslai cha ra design ko matlab?”
Customers do care
(think Apple products)
Your product will lose
value (and traffic) if
the customers do not
enjoy the experience

25. “Ke ho ta Mobile Strategy?
Facebook’s poor
performance after its
IPO is blamed on its
week mobile ad
strategy
Twitter mobile ad
revenue are strong
due to its focused
mobile strategy

26. “Je je sakincha garum”
Jack of all
trades, master of
none
Lack of focus can
confuse
customers, reduce
value
Can be difficult to
manage, especially
for a small company

27. “Malai ke garne thaha cha”
Confident or over-
confident
Seek advise to avoid
common mistakes
Be ready to accept
failure

28. “Kina yatro risk line”
Nepali society dislikes
risk
Copy existing
business model, hope
for the best
Business is about
evolving, experiment

29. “Aarulai kaa trust garne”
Most companies in
Nepal are scared of
collaboration
“Hamro idea
chordincha”
Stronger with
collabration

30. Responsibility
How can IT sector
influence behavior
Activism
Open government
Disaster management

31. Some Ideas
Sajilo maramat ra Business ideas
safai discussion forum /
archiving
Business services
(web-based Travel applications
accounting, HR (trekking, history, mon
management) uments)

32. How can Biruwa help
Entrepreneurs?
Business services Mentoring /
(business plan networking (access to
development, market seasoned
research, marketing, r entrepreneurs)
ecruiting)
Office space Seed funding (no
(shared, low cost) collateral)

33. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS
NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK
EVOLVE, BE PATIENT, SHARE /
COLLABORATE, LEARN
Contact Us:
info@biruwa.net
441-4414
www.biruwa.net
Facebook.com/biruwaventures