Indian Embassy organises 2nd India-Nepal Startup Connect: Curtain Raiser for Startup Maha Kumbh

The event began with a roundtable that included representatives from Department of Promotion of industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), India, Startup India, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries Young Entrepreneurs Forum (CNIYEF).

Along with Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies (NAS-IT), Fintech Alliance of Nepal (FAN), Robotics Association of Nepal (RAN), Nepal Hub (NHub), Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Kathmandu University and Nepali startups.

Prithivi Subba Gurung, Nepal's Minister for Communication and Information Technology, invited as chief guest of the event highlighted advances Nepal was making in embracing latest IT technologies that created opportunities for startups. He highlighted the unique and strong ties between India and Nepal and the ease of working for Nepali and Indian nationals in each other others' country. He encouraged Nepali companies to participate in SMK 2025.

Addressing the inaugural session, Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India to Nepal, highlighted how startup culture has become mainstream among India's youth. He underscored India's widespread embrace of digital technologies.

"The growth of Digital Public Infrastructure had catalysed this digital shift. This presented opportunities for cross border startup collaboration that leveraged digital connectivity. A recent example was the interoperability between Nepal's FonePay and India's UPI which saw more than 4 lakh merchant transactions being done last year since its launch in March 2024," the ambassador highlighted.

During the event, Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Government of India delivered a presentation on SMK 2025. He showcased how the event had grown into a flagship event for the startup space and invited Nepali startups to participate. SMK will feature over 3,000 exhibitors, 10,000 startups, and 1,000 investors, incubators, and accelerators, with an anticipated 50,000+ business visitors from across India and beyond.

Cutting-edge innovations in sectors like D2C, Fintech, AI, Deeptech, Cybersecurity, Defence; Space tech, Agritech, Climate tech/ Sustainability, B2B; Precision Manufacturing, Gaming, E-Sports; Sports tech, Biotech; Healthcare and Incubators; Accelerators, would be showcased through focused thematic pavilions.

Umesh Kumar Gupta, Executive Director, Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI), delivered a presentation on "Startup Policy in Nepal". Rajendra Mootha, Head (New Initiatives), IIT Madras Pravartak, gave an overview of how IIT Madras Pravartak is helping in promoting incubation, develop technology and build partnerships with other universities to foster incubation.

The first panel discussion focused on the opportunities in India and Nepal for emerging technology startups. Prashant Mishra, CEO, TechXR spoke about how virtual reality helped them curate new tourism experiences.

Asgar Ali, Co-founder, F1 Soft, shared his journey of building software for banking in Nepal. Amit Agrawal, Founder, Khalti Wallet, demonstrated how digital payments in Nepal have grown. Rajendra Mootha, Head (New Initiatives), IIT Madras Pravartak shared success stories of cutting-edge technology startups that were incubated at IIT Madras.

The second panel discussion focused on Digital Public Infrastructure for Social Impact, in which Sixit Bhatta, CEO, Vriddhi Sanjal Pvt Ltd, shared his efforts to build DPI for Nepal. Neelesh Man Pradhan, CEO, Nepal Clearing House Limited elaborated on their products like Nepal Pay which were digital rails for Fintech companies in Nepal to innovate on.

Bal Krishna Bal, Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean, Kathmandu University shared about Kathmandu University's efforts to encourage their students to build digital public goods. Himanshu Tiwari, AVP, SchoolNet shared experience of education DPI such as Diksha in India.

The discussions closed with special addresses by Radhika Aryal, Secretary, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Nepal and Gobinda Bahadur Karkee, Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

"Embassy will continue to encourage activities to promote India-Nepal Startup Connect. Today's event follows the 1st India Nepal Startup Connect organized on January 24, 2023. We encourage all stakeholders in Nepal, including academic institutions, startups and investors to reach out to Indian startups and incubators by participating in the Startup Mahakumbh 2025. Any queries in this regard may be addressed to the Commerce Wing of the Embassy at com.kathmandu@mea.gov.in," a release from the Indian Embassy states.

Panelists in the discussion agreed that India and Nepal are ideal markets for startups from both countries looking to expand internationally; Startups in India and Nepal are leveraging emerging technologies to solve new problems and societal challenges at scale; development of DPI presents the ideal opportunity for new startups to innovate on. This model has been very successful on India. Nepal also has its DPI and this can be the launchpad for next generation of startups in Nepal.

The panel of experts also highlighted that cross border connectivity between DPI platforms could help reap further dividend from them. Along with Nepali startups could tap into the funding and mentorship network available in India especially through incubators like IIT Madras Pravartak.

The participants appreciated existing connections such as the MoUs between IIT Madras Pravartak and Tribhuvan University as also Kathmandu University for cooperation in setting up startup incubation centres. The panelists also called for greater collaboration between India and Nepal in the startup sector. (ANI)