The startup scene in Nepal is not only growing, but has also been quite successful in making its mark internationally. In 2014; Yellow Nepal, a restaurant info service, became first Nepali startup to win GBG Stories Search. And last year, former US President Barack Obama acknowledged ‘Medication For Nepal’, a volunteer-run health initiative, at Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley.
And now, three Nepali startups have made it to the top 9 in GBG Stories Search 2017. Organized by Google Business Group, the international competition had called for the submissions earlier this year and the participants had to submit answers to questions that describe how Google products have helped their business. The submissions were evaluated by the panel of judges and the top 9 finalists have been revealed, three of them being startups founded and based in Nepal.
GBG
Khalisisi, founded by Aayushi KC, is a digital platform that connects waste sellers with waste entrepreneurs to efficiently mobilize the recyclable trash in the Nepalese capital. Even though an estimated 70% of waste is recyclable in Nepal, it often ends up in a landfill. This social enterprise aims to change that situation, and make Nepal a zero-waste nation.
The users who are in need of their trash to be taken care of can simply use the Khalisisi website and schedule the time according to their convenience. They can choose if they want to sell or donate their waste.
GBG
Nishan Chandi Shrestha realized that Nepal needs some new construction material that’s affordable, environment-friendly and resilient against earthquakes for reconstruction post the devastating 2015 earthquake. And that is when he came up with the idea and founded Eco Cell Industries. It introduced the interlocking brick building technique in Nepal. Shrestha along with his team set up small manual production lines in remote earthquake- hit villages where there were no access to roadways and electricity. They trained the local people and used the local soil to produce interlocking bricks.
Shrestha aims to transfer this technology to other disaster-prone countries as well.
GBG
Khalti is an startup that is driven by its mission to ensure digital financial inclusion for every citizen in Nepal and connecting people across the nation to technology which allows them to digitally receive and make payments for services. It hopes to bring cashless banking services to the fingertips of each internet user in Nepal. Manish Modi, the Managing Director of Khalti, along with his team are working towards making the country a cashless economy.
Voting is now open in order to choose the community favorite. The winner will receive a trip to the Google I/O tech conference in San Fransisco, California that’s scheduled in May next year.
