The 2020 global pandemic does seem to slow down. The world economy remains inactive for a long time now. While it’s important to prioritize health, it is also important that the economy is back in business.
Leading companies of the world are now starting to reopen their businesses. They are allowing work from home till the end of 2020. The social media giant, Twitter is setting a new culture and allowing its workers to work from home forever.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey informs his employees that amidst the coronavirus pandemic, his employees can stay home forever and work from their comfort. However, he understands that it is not practical for every employee to work from home. Therefore, he is keeping the doors open for those who prefer to work from the traditional office space.
The CEO also informs that the decision solely lies in the hands of his employees. Besides, he also states that the office environment will not be as before and that it be careful, intentional, office by office, and gradual.
The impact of coronavirus
It’s amazing how quickly the pandemic changed how businesses operate. With companies ordered to shut down by authorities to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, workers, and management quickly adjusted to the new arrangements. The experiment proved to be more successful than ever imagined.
The presence of Zoom online videos, Slack, Google Hangouts, and other technologies connecting people working from home with their colleagues and bosses appeared to work out relatively smoothly.
Major corporations like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are extending their work from home policies. With big companies trying to adapt to the new normal, it can have a dramatic impact on the corporate world and may even affect how businesses operate forever.
Twitter is the first company to officially allow its employees to work from home forever. It seems that big corporations are ready to fast adapt to the changing scenario.
The Government of Nepal has invited proposals to provide capital grants for startups (innovation) through the National Planning Commission.
The government of Nepal is providing a capital grant of Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 5 million. This proposal is an invitation as per the Innovative Initial Capital Grant Procedure 2076 and the Innovative Initial Capital Grant Criteria 2077. This is an open proposal to any inventor, entrepreneur, businessmen, individual, or organization with the latest knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Meanwhile, you need to send a proposal in the format mentioned in the working procedures and criteria. You need to and send it to the office of the National Planning Commission within 30 days.
Therefore, to submit an offer, you need to register in the online system, create a username and password and log in. For this, the National Planning Commission is calling for submission of the form through this website.
How to submit a proposal?
Firstly, you have to go to the website provided by the National Planning Commission and register by putting your name and email.
Verification will come in the email. While registering, you can click on that link and login with the email and password placed at the beginning. Then, the application form will be available.
You can explain by clicking on the button to save your idea, details of what you are trying to do, all the information about the investment. After this, the commission will start the assessment from the submitted details.
Innovative Start-Up Capital Grant Guidelines, 2020
The government can set a strategy to help innovators with the release of Innovative Start-Up Capital Grant Guidelines, 2020. Innovators include entrepreneurs, business personals, or institutions that are looking to start new ventures.
The government will be allocating such grants every year and providing it in installments to encourage new innovators in innovative works.
This could really be a milestone to prevent “Brain Drain”; a problem that is proving to be much dreadful to Nepal in the present days. To tackle such a problem the government of Nepal has already started to set up a Brain Gain Center to encourage and utilize their intellectual labor in their home country.
According to the Nepal Labor Department data, currently, more than 5.5 million Nepali youth seek authorization letters for working abroad. One of the reasons could be the limited scope.
Nepal lags far behind in the field of new technology which gives the students enough of the incentive to pursue their study abroad in the technical field. This Start-Up Grant not only aims to promote entrepreneurship but will also encourage students to return with ideas and knowledge that could potentially benefit the country.
So, the question is who are Innovators as per the Guidelines?
One who intends to invent unique goods or services for the public welfare using their skill, knowledge, research that could be an individual, firm, organization, or entrepreneur. Every innovator is eligible to apply for this grant.
How does it work?
At first, a committee is established to regulate all the affairs related to granting of Innovative Start-Up Capital
The committee will publish an invitation notice for submitting proposals in the national daily newspaper twice for all the innovators– seeking to invest in information technology, agriculture, energy, health services, tourism, technological development, etc.
Interested innovators are required to submit their proposal stating following details within the time stated in the published invitation notice
Details of innovative ideas
Expected returns
Required investment amount
Likewise, an expected grant from the government
The positive impact that is likely to prosper the economy
Other particulars as stated
After receiving the proposal, the committee will evaluate the proposal within 30 days. The committee will forward it to the sub-committee for selecting the useful proposal.
The selected proposal gets the grant of a maximum of NPR 50 lakh.
The committee will carry necessary and regular examinations to ensure that the proposed work is as per the approved proposal.
The committee will direct the concerned party to pay back the grant amount with interest if the party is carrying activities other than the proposed one. It is mandatory to submit the progress report of the proposal annually by inventors at the ministry.
‘Timecard’ will not apply to the companies providing service through an online platform. Online services like Food delivery will resume operations from today.
The government introduced a ‘time card’ system inside Kathmandu Valley from Sunday to make the traffic systematic. But companies like Foodmandu, Foodmario, Gyapu, and Daraj were facing problems due to the new rules. The time allocated for vehicles carrying food and essential items was from 4 am to 10 am.
Time Card brings trouble to Online Food Delivery Platforms
E-Commerce companies like online food delivery platforms reported problems with the timings. When the government sets the time from 4 am to 10 am, people have to start ordering from 4 am. But that is not possible. According to Rohit Tiwari, CEO of Foodmario, it is not possible to deliver more than one or two orders a day at 7-8 in the morning. This problem is not only faced by Foodmario but also by all e-commerce companies.
Manohar Adhikari, the founder of Foodmandu, said that there was a problem in taking orders when the government puts a time card in the delivery of essential items. He said, ‘We deliver most of the deliveries during the day. But fresh delivery by 10 am is not possible.’
The e-commerce entrepreneurs urged the government to facilitate the business with more flexible timing. They expressed concern that the government has ignored the contribution of e-commerce companies to the coronavirus epidemic.
After considering the issues expressed by online food companies, the government lifted the ‘Time Card’ rule on e-commerce.
Online food companies like Foodmandu and Foodmario shared good news over social media.
Foodmandu tweeted it is ready to take orders and deliver to its customers.
Contribution of e-commerce during the lockdown
Doctors, Nurses, and Health workers are definitely contributing to preventing the spread of the virus. The online services providing essential items are also doing a massive contribution to society by making our life easier by risking theirs.
During this lockdown, raw materials, food, and medicine are most demanded supplies and because of e-commerce platforms, such deliveries are possible.
This lockdown is a time to reflect on our nation’s strengths and weaknesses. It is high time to decide for schools, businesses, and workers to adapt to the digital world and work on plan Bs in case of epidemics like the COVID-19.
IT Industries with an Investment of up to 150 million will stay open during the lockdown. Domestic and Small scale industries along with essential manufacturing industries received permission to open. The government allowed the opening of these industries from Friday.
Industry Secretary, Chandra Kumar Ghimire explains that all industries falling under the purview of domestic and small scale industries can operate as per the decisions of the Council of Ministers. This means all industries, including IT, with an investment of up to Rs 150 million can operate.
In Nepal, the industries are classified as small, medium, and large scale industries based on the investment. As per the Industrial Enterprise Act, the industries with fixed capital up to Rs 150 million come under small scale industries.
Industries such as gas bottling, domestic and small scale industries will start operating this week according to a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. Besides, export-oriented and special economic zone industries and construction industries such as cement and poles will also resume operation.
Here are the details of the decisions of the Wednesday meeting.
Telecom and Internet Service Providers, which have an investment of more than 150 million, are an exception. The ways to operate these companies are already managed.
Giving the green signal for the operations of industries alone is not enough. There should be proper management of workers as well.
The workers and laborers who are involved in the production process should be placed in a separate place by the industry.
If there is no enough space within the establishment, there should be arrangements to run industries and businesses in the concerned ward with coordination with the concerned local body.
It would be better if the workers stay in vacant spaces in the community without any contact with the local people.
The economy took a great hit when the Nepal Government arranged a nationwide lockdown for the safety of public health.
The government is planning to ease the lockdown in not so affected places and industries.
Banking and Insurance, Telecommunications, and Manufacturing Industries are starting to operate this week.
Similarly, education for students is shifting to an online platform. Recently, the Nepal government also launched an online learning platform for students of grades 1 to 10.
DishHome Pvt Ltd launched its free educational channel for students of grades 4 to 10. The channel was launched as a social contribution to the students to stay home and keep learning during the lockdown.
Ramesh Sapkota, the General Manager of DishHome says that the company has a customer base of 1.5 million. The company wants to contribute to the children of their customers to practice their learning skills.
The free educational channel is a product of collaboration with the Deerwalk software company.
The educational channel is available at DishHome’s channel numbers 114, 115, and 117 from 8 am to 8 pm (12 hours).
The channel has subjects like Nepali, English, Mathematics, and Science. The channel also provides details of subjects, day, and time. DishHome also facilitates recording of classes on Pendrive or external drive to study at their convenient time.
The educational channel is launching to help students utilize their time properly during the lockdown.
The company is offering one month free TV service to customers even if their subscriptions are due for recharge for more than 6 months.
The company informed that all the channels of DishHome will be free to watch from the 21st of Baishakh to the 19th of Jestha. According to Sapkota, about four lakh DishHome customers who have not recharged for a long time will benefit from this.
The company states that the customers who have completed their recharge period can watch DishHome’s channels on credit. In short, customers get credit for 10 days by calling 9801112233 from their registered mobile number. If the registrar does not have a mobile number, they can get 10 days of credit service by typing ‘credit’customer ID from any mobile number and sending an SMS to 32500.
If the customer is unable to recharge, they can call at toll-free number 16600122000 or 9801155000. Besides, the services of the company can also be availed by texting on DishHome’s social network Facebook and Viber.
Nepal Government also launched an online platform for students of grades 1 to 10 to utilize their times during lockdown.
To know more about Nepal Government’s e-learning platform Sikai Chautari, click here.
Sikai Chautari, an online platform has been launched by the government of Nepal. The site provides online study materials for students of grades 1 to 10. Due to the long lockdown period, the Government has shown concern over the education of students.
Hence, the Education and Human Resource Development Center under the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology have launched Sikai Chautari.
Sikai Chautari is an online learning platform for young students. Students can now learn their educational and creative courses from the comfort of their homes. The website includes interesting video materials, sports materials, and books on various subjects.
The content is widely distributed and contains interactive and engaging materials for students. Each grade contains different learning experiences.
The platform also has audiobooks, PDF Notes, and fresh visual demonstrations of learning.
When Nepal is not that far when it comes to the digital world of many countries. The scale may differ, but the capacity and the ability is intact.
COVID-19 has forced people to stay home and maintain social distance. The long duration of lockdown has not only affected the worldwide economy but also affected the studies and learning environment for students.
Nepal Government is taking measures with e-learning platforms for students so that with the help of the internet, parents, and students can stay involved with their study careers.
Private sectors, businessmen, and workers along with the Government are ready to adapt to the new normal and fight the Corona Virus Pandemic.
E-Learning is actually a cost-efficient medium for both our teacher and student communities. The service providers don’t require huge physical infrastructures and buildings when they use e-learning platforms. Likewise, for students too, they don’t have to bear travel costs of going to and fro college.
Also, e-learning decreases the opportunity costs for students thus helping them balance their studies and earning opportunities together. This ultimately reduces the long-term costs a student would have to bear otherwise.
The Federation of Computer Association Nepal (CAN Federation) has demanded to prioritize the ICT sector under essential services.
The country is in lockdown since April 25 to prevent the spread of a global pandemic. This has crippled Nepal’s economy and affected the employment of millions of workers.
Meanwhile, the cabinet decided to extend the lockdown till May 16 by resuming some industries at the same time. The listing of such industries under ‘essential services’ was made public and the ICT sector didn’t make the cut.
Thus, the CAN Federation – an umbrella organization of the Information Technology sector has objected to the listing. It has demanded to address the ICT sector as an essential service by handing over a memorandum to the secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Furthermore, the CAN Federation believes that information technology is the most important service after health in the present crisis.
What does the Memorandum Say?
The ICT sector has ensured the comfort and spreading of information to the general public during the lockdown. Telephone, Internet, online banking, e-commerce, online education, and news media are doing their bit to boost the economy and livelihood.
Besides, life in lockdown has become unimaginable without information and communication facilities. Due to the lockdown, the service providers haven’t been able to provide field support to their customers. Pointing out these facts, CAN said it was ironic that such an important service missed out as a priority industry.
The CAN Federation cited an example of our neighboring country, India, saying it has partially opened businesses related to ICT from May 3. CAN has expressed deep sorrow over the failure of the Nepal government to prioritize the importance of the ICT sector.
“Recognizing the importance of the information technology sector, we heartily request the Government of Nepal to include this sector in the essential services,” the memorandum said.
Similarly, the CAN Federation claims that the ICT sector is ready to take all the necessary measures and precautions to provide services during this health crisis.
Lalitpur, Nepal’s Own Silicon Valley on the Rise with an annual turnover of Rs 109 billion. Annual ICT Turnover At Rs. 109 Billion.
Lalitpur is at the forefront in terms of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on the basis of annual trade. According to the Economic Census 2074, the annual trade from Nepal’s own silicon valley is estimated at Rs. 109 billion.
Kathmandu comes in second place in terms of annual sales in the ICT sector. The annual turnover of Kathmandu district in ICT is Rs. 64.89 billion. No other districts come even closer to this margin.
With the annual trade of Bhaktapur in ICT at Rs. 4.2 billion, the total annual sales of Bagmati Province is over Rs. 180 billion. It is also worth mentioning that the ICT sector comes third in terms of annual sales in the Bagmati Province. Wholesale, retail, and trade industry comes first while the Manufacturing industry is in the second position.
After the Kathmandu Valley, the annual trade of Sunsari is Rs. 2.94 billion and that of Banke is Rs. 2.41 billion.
The government of Nepal has announced the ease of lockdown except for the Information Technology Industry.
The Nepal government has decided to ease the lockdown for certain industries. Economists and businesspersons say while they understand Covid-19’s danger to public health, the economy cannot be in lockdown forever.
Prolonged lockdown measures have caused hardships, especially for wage earners.
Factories, Manufacturing companies, Banks, Insurance companies, and other listed industries, under proper measures, can start resuming their operations.
On the other hand, the Communication Industry along with the Mobile phone market will remain closed as per the information published by the authorities. Mobile phone markets can be crowded, and the health concerns there have made the government keep these operations closed as of now.
The government has also suspended the industries related to information technology including software, hardware, data processing, and outsourcing until further orders from the government.
Despite the ban for communication services, the government has allowed repair and maintenance for Internet services. Likewise, service providers can get permission for the use of transportation for the maintenance of internet connections.
The market places where crowds gather also can’t operate as of now. Commercial malls, Non-food shopping centers, and mobile markets are still the victim of the lockdown.
Concerns over the economy
Numerous countries across the world have imposed lockdowns, full or partial, as a primary precautionary measure against the virus.
But several countries are now mulling ways to ease the lockdown, given the extreme economic costs of shutting down entire economies. Experts and businesspersons in Nepal are following suit, saying that the government needs to start working on plans. They believe that the government needs to introduce guidelines for operating businesses in a relaxed lockdown.
No one knows when the pandemic will come under complete control, but the economy cannot remain in lockdown forever, they say.
Puspa Raj Kandel, vice chairman of the National Planning Commission suggested that the government gradually relax the lockdown, starting from the agriculture sector.
Major economic centers such as Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, and Hetauda can be partially lifted. These areas have not reported any heavy effects of the virus. Experts show concern for the economy and the government should start taking measures to avoid damage beyond repair.
There had been discussions to mark the districts as red, yellow, and green zones had been going on tentatively in Nepal, but the high-level committee for the prevention and control of Covid-19 during its Tuesday meeting dropped the idea, saying it’s not feasible.
Zoom video conference software is now licensed at all local levels for online meetings in Nepal.
A software license will be provided of Zoom for Video Conference in Nepal by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. Moreover, this event is with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
All 753 local level government offices are being approached to provide necessary details of the official person to access the Zoom license.
All Ministries, State government and local levels are receiving one license each from UNDP to smoothly run Zoom for a video conference in Nepal.
Meanwhile, local and state governments can click here to send details for licensed zoom software.
Why Zoom for Video Conference in Nepal?
Millions of people all over the world are staying home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. During these lockdowns and quarantines, people have found a new way to stay connected with their family, friends, and business.
Zoom, one of the dozens of video conferencing services, is rising to the top with the love and support of all its users. In fact, the app is providing generous services that its competitors lack. To the broad consumers, the best-selling point of the zoom app is that it is free. In addition, it also offers 40- minute conference calls with up to 100 attendees. The app is very easy to use and requires no login to access a meeting.
Because of its delightful experience, more people in Nepal have started choosing Zoom over the likes of Skype and Google Meet.
Be it for business purpose or personal, at times of social distancing, Zoom has brought everyone together. Today, everyone knows about Zoom – Parents, Co-workers, friends, neighbors, and even our grandparents. It has certainly become a household name.
Zoom, today has an emotional connection with its wide users. People in Nepal widely and happily use Zoom for staying connected with their loved ones. That is to say, they share their birthdays, their little happy hours via Zoom.
It was only a matter of time; Zoom for Video Conference in Nepal is now official in all state and local levels. We certainly hope the app provides an ease to the Nepal government for taking necessary actions to fight this pandemic.
On one hand, there is increasing popularity of Zoom while on the other, the tech giant Google’ Meet. But, Google Meet vs Zoom comes down to figuring out your priorities.
Since the lockdown and quarantine measures, both platforms have gained popularity as the platforms to connect socially. These videoconference apps have made working from home and learning from home possible.
Zoom is a free and easy to use platform for videoconferencing which is also available in the premium version. However, the security vulnerabilities of Zoom that came in light not so long ago has made an impact on its usage. Nevertheless, bad publicity is still publicity and many users are still comfortable using the platform, even in Nepal.
Meanwhile, Google Meet has recently announced that it is making the app available for free to anyone with a Google account. It is a head-on challenge to Zoom and we just have to wait and see which app thrives at the end.
Which is the better among the two? Which one should you choose? Let’s go through the pros and cons of the two platforms to have a better idea.
Google Meet vs Zoom: At a Glance
Google Meet
Zoom
Supported devices
Web browsers (Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on both PC and Mac), Linux, Android, iOS
Windows 10, macOS, Linux (including Ubuntu), iOS, Android and Blackberry
Maximum number of participants
25 (100 in Google Meet), up to 10 visible at once
100, with up to 49 visible at once
Special features
Google app integration
Custom virtual backgrounds, end to end encryption, HD video, and audio
Screen Share
Yes
Yes
Mobile Availability
Both for Android & iOS
Both for Android & iOS
Is there a free tier?
Yes
Yes
Is there a paid tier?
Google Meet was paid but is currently free. Enterprise versions still exist, with more perks.
Zoom Pro ($14.99 per month per host)
App Rating
3.7 (Play Store)
1.6 (App Store)
3.9 (Play Store)
4.5 (App Store)
App Downloads
10M+ (Play Store)
100M+ (Play Store)
Paid tier perks
Enterprise Meet has 250 video callers at once
Meeting duration limit is 24 hrs, 1GB of cloud recording, Skype for Business (Lync) support
Google Meet (formerly Hangouts Meet) is a clear winner in terms of simplicity. While it has an app on both iOS and Android, people can still use it over the web. You can simply set up a meeting through your browser without having to download the app, unlike Zoom.
Another great thing about the free Google Meet is that it has no time limit unlike the 40-minute time limit on Zoom. Although that will change to 60 minutes for Google Meet from October.
Talking about security, Google Meet has encryption of the video and recordings. Moreover, it forbids anonymous users (without a Google Account) from video-bombing your calls. The hosts can control to admit or deny entry to an ongoing meeting.
Google hosts Meet on its G Cloud infrastructure and hence, it is relatively secure. Furthermore, Google Meet integrates Gmail and Google Calendar so it makes sense to have a Google account in order to use its services.
Zoom has grown in popularity since the social distancing measures due to the pandemic. It is popular for its Gallery view that displays up to 49 participants on your screen. Also, you can share your screen with fellow attendees.
As mentioned earlier, Zoom provides a 40 minutes time limit on group meetings in its free version. Like Google Meet, it lets you host up to 100 participants in a single virtual meeting.
It has come under fire for more than once due to its security concerns and ‘Zoombombing’. The latest patch update addresses some of them and users are still comfortable using the platform. However, with just the click of a link, anyone can gain access to a meeting without the host’s permission.
For online learning and meetings, recording features can be very important. Zoom allows you to record the virtual meetings in MP4 and M4A (audio) formats. On the other hand, Google Meet has just made this feature available for free until September 30.
If you are looking for a smaller group call with no time limit (that is until Sept 30), then Google Meet is the one to go with. Besides, it’s paid version is the best for online education with the support of G Suit infrastructure.
Both are pretty simple in terms of ease of use and interface. The security level of Google Meet is obviously unmatched but Zoom already has more popularity and is better understood by most people.
Microsoft’s Ideal Solution for Digital Learning and Teaching. The COVID-19 pandemic has led us to adopt alternatives for learning and working. With the opening of schools and colleges still uncertain, it seemed unacceptable to stay put and wait for the crisis to pass. Thus, almost all educational institutes have started digital classrooms with or without proper infrastructure or preparation.
As a crisis also generates opportunities, Microsoft is coming forward with what it claims to be an ideal solution for digital learning and teaching. Most schools and colleges are still struggling to adopt online education, while others are struggling with the platforms they are using.
Microsoft has several products that facilitate digital learning and teaching such as Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Azure, and more. These powerful tools support remote learning through digital classrooms.
Deependra Bajracharya, Business Development Manager at Microsoft says, “Microsoft has a complete distance learning ecosystem. In Nepal, we have around 250 schools/colleges operating on this. The best example is Nepal Open University.”
The solution from Microsoft provides users with a dynamic digital classroom experience through collaboration and communication tools.
Microsoft claims that the ideal scenario looks like this:
Now, according to Deependra Bajracharya, we can start with Moodle on Azure as the learning management process. Similarly, we can use Azure for research and development.
Prashant Dhewaju, who oversees the Office 365 community says, “The implementation of this distance learning solution in Nepal Open University has set a benchmark in the context of Nepal. I believe most schools and colleges didn’t feel the need for this solution due to the continuity of regular physical classes. However, due to the lockdown, the scenario has completely changed.”
What do Educational Institutes get?
There are a few applications and services for students that are available for free. After a school or college approaches for the solution, there are certain criteria to validate.
Microsoft MVP – Prashant says ” Any education institution with a valid domain such as edu.np is eligible for this program.”
Office 365 and Microsoft Teams are some of the tools that the institutes will get for free if they are validated. So, the team of Microsoft is responsible for integrating the applications and providing guidance to use it.
Like Microsoft Teams, there are other parts or tools of Office 365. So, educational institutes will get individual emails for teachers and students with 50 GB of Mailbox size including 1TB storage in OneDrive with few applications for students.
List of applications that students will be getting.
Why Microsoft’s Ideal Solution for Digital Education?
For starters, Microsoft 365 or Office 365 is entirely could-based. This means that you have the ability to access it from anywhere if you have an internet connection. For teachers and students at home due to lockdown, they won’t have to install any additional software to access it.
Why not get to know more from an expert? Here’s what Prashant Dhewaju says:
“The first and most important thing is the collaboration between teachers and students. Other tools are efficient and easy to use as well. But, why I would incline towards Microsoft Teams and Office 365 is because it has an excellent content called ‘Collaboration’.
From my experience using other tools, we need to generate new sessions every next time we use it. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams will notify each student after the sessions are scheduled. It gives the feel of an actual classroom with such features.
The second thing is productivity. Microsoft’s solution maximizes productivity with assignment management, availability of recorded class sessions, and teaching materials. So, even if a student misses a class for some reason, they can learn by themselves by watching the recorded session.
Finally, the third upper-hand Microsoft has is its remarkable security. All of us have heard about the security vulnerabilities in some video conferencing or e-learning applications. When it comes to security, Microsoft Teams is quite superior as it has been providing solutions to government-level organizations.”
Implementation of Microsoft Teams
Deependra Bajracharya confirmed that over 250 schools and colleges are already operating on Microsoft’s distance learning solution. In a recent interview with ICTFrame, he hinted at the addition of more educational institutions soon.
It seems like the number is growing every day and here’s proof:
Alok Pandey, MVP (Visual Studio and Development Technologies) at Microsoft, posted this on his Facebook.
One thing is for sure! Microsoft Teams and Office 365 are indeed reliable platforms when it comes to brand reputation and security.
Ideas are responsible for progression and prosperity. No idea is too small, and each idea has the potential to turn into something big. Idea Studio came up with an idea to fuse ideas and money.
It is a platform that turns promising ideas into solutions and paves the path for entrepreneurship. The innovative ideas across the country can ignite social change by unlocking potentials in youth. In fact, Idea Studio came up with a brilliant idea in the hour of need.
Nepal is in lockdown due to the outbreak of coronavirus and people can’t get out of the house until extremely necessary. This has created difficulty in buying essentials, repairing, or maintenance of appliances at home. Moreover, some people can’t even have access to medicines due to the lockdown.
An idea from Idea Studio showed us how we can get through this crisis. The idea was to bring four business companies together to serve people during such difficult times. The four companies are Sajilo Marmat Sewa, Metro Tarkari, Nepal Med, and Kullab.
How does the idea serve people during the lockdown?
The four businesses were ready after Idea Studio took the lead. This is how the innovative solution of ‘1 Call 4 Services’ came into action. People can dial just one number and all the essentials arrive at their doorstep. This service has made lives easier for the general public during the lockdown period.
What Services Can People Get?
The idea has brought four businesses to one place. Read through to find out what services can people benefit from the service.
Idea Studio’s 1 Call, 4 Services
Sajilo Marmat Sewa
There’s always one family member that is a wannabe mechanic or electrician. But there are appliances even they can’t fix. Sajilo Marmat Sewa takes care of the problem for you.
It is a one-stop maintenance solution for households and businesses that provide easy maintenance services. It provides technical for repairing electrical appliances at home. Furthermore, it can help you solve minor issues by providing remote support via phone or video.
If you were worried about buying vegetables and fresh food, then MetroTarkari can take care of that. This online grocery store fulfills the need for everything from vegetables to fresh food in the kitchen. You can simply place your order and Metro Tarkari will bring the items to you.
The ultimate solution to your medical supplies has joined hands with Idea Solution. If you can’t get out of the house or there are no medical shops around your area, Nepal Med ensures your medical supplies are delivered at your doorstep.
This service is highly convenient for patients who need to take regular medications. Just make a phone call and order your medicines or any medical products.
Kullabs.com
The lockdown has affected the lives of students the most. Since regular classes and exams are in the hold, students need to utilize this time to study. For this purpose, Kullabs is providing online education.
They have uploaded teaching materials online so that students can gain easy access from home. The majority of students are benefitting from this service.
For now, the ‘1 Call 4 Services’ is only available in the Kathmandu Valley.
Idea Studio has been successful in providing platforms to many startups. It has collected over 1550 ideas and has been helping to transform these ideas into businesses.
It’s a great initiative to collaborate and provide essential services through a common platform. A crisis like this demands effective ideas like the ‘1 Call 4 Services’. During the lockdown, the general public isn’t allowed to step out unless it’s an emergency.
At present, people need to stay home not because of the lockdown but due to the risk of infection. Any idea that helps people with their essential needs and reduces their risk of infection is much appreciated amid the pandemic. We are just glad that Idea Studio took the lead.
Do you think more ideas and solutions like this should come forward? Do you have any suggestions?
While the total economic impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nepal is yet to be gauged, it is evident that the small-and-medium enterprises (SME) sector contributes around 22% of the GDP and generates about 17 lakh employment has taken a significant hit.
To revive the economy and further mitigate the impact of the pandemic, it is critical to reinvigorating the SME sector. To contribute to the efforts, Daraz, the leading online marketplace in the country, has launched Daraz Seller Sahayatri Program – a program through which the platform is inviting retailers & businesses across the country to set up their digital ventures on Daraz to diversify their revenue streams beyond traditional brick and mortar.
The program is currently being implemented in all of Daraz’s operating countries. It aims to reinvigorate the SME sector by providing a subsidy of nearly half a million US dollars with dedicated one-on-one support and access to free business consultation.
Under the program, Daraz Nepal has promised to charge 0% marketplace fees to SMEs on the sales made from the platform for May and June 2020. The total local support package includes subsidies of more than NPR 55 lakh. The company is providing a swift online store set up so that new businesses can start selling on Daraz as early as possible. Furthermore, businesses will also have access to analytical tools, free-of-cost education, and training on eCommerce operations through Daraz University as the platform focuses on learning to ensure sellers can optimize their business on Daraz.
Other support initiatives within the program include:
Weekly payouts to all Daraz sellers until 30 June 2020
Dedicated campaigns and visibility on the Daraz app for all SME sellers
Free access to analytical tools to improve performance
One-on-one support to help new sellers set up their online shops
Daraz is confident that the Sahayatri program will help thousands of SMEs get back on their feet by leveraging the increased e-commerce activity and reaching millions of Daraz customers across the country.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon, an e-commerce platform, has been using its sellers’ data to launch its competitive product. The article informed that Amazon.com Inc. employees had used data of independent sellers on their platform. She was purposed to create competing products.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the leading e-commerce companies in the online market. The company currently accounts for about a third of all US Internet retail sales. While the company now produces its product, it was not the same case earlier.
Amazon was built up with all the hundreds and thousands of smaller vendors who signed up to sell their products on the platform. This accounts for more than half of the company’s retail sales. And the new practice opposed the company’s stated policies that it doesn’t use information collected from third-party sellers for launching their product.
Regarding the report on Amazon
The Journal reported the news after speaking with more than 20 former employees of the company’s private-label business. The Journal also reviewed internal company documents to confirm the reports. The records showed Amazon executives requesting and accessing data from the vendors of the platform.
How have they used data for their benefit?
The collected information was used to determine the pricing of the product. Also, to determine which feature to replicate or whether or not involved in the product category. By looking at the popularity of the product in the market, they estimated profits that can be made with the decision and launched their competitive product.
Example of data usage for launching competing product
Amazon employees conducted a thorough report on a popular car-trunk organizer on their platform. They estimated the amount that Amazon gets paid for marketing and shipping and also the amount made per sale of the organizer. Amazon employees accessed documents relating to that vendor’s total sales before launching a competing product in the same category.
What Amazon says about the report
Amazon had previously testified to Congress regarding their access to sales data from sellers. An Amazon representative denied the assertions made in the Journal report but informed that the company took the allegations very seriously. And has launched an internal investigation regarding the statement.
Source: Amazon
Amazon told me that, like other retailers, they look at sales and store data to provide customers with the best possible experience. They added that they are against using non-public, seller-specific data to determine which private labeled product to launch in the market.
Conclusion
Many big companies developed with the support of individuals or local businesses have been many times found using their supporters. They used them to get prepared and then leave them behind in the business sectors. The news of Amazon using their seller’s data is not new in the market sector. As mentioned, they have already been alleged to use sellers’ data to build up their product.
Amazon has been under the spotlight for its anti-competitive practices for some time. The Federal Trade Commission hasn’t yet opened a formal investigation into the company on the matter. Still, they have interviewed sellers on the platform about how much of their sales come from Amazon. This somewhat helps to monitor the actions of the big companies like Amazon.
27 April Kathmandu, 2020
With everyone trying out to be productive and every company looking to enhance its human resources for more efficiency with less effort, online courses are taking the momentum. Especially with the current situation of lockdown, professional IT learning institutes like Broadway Infosys are making sure that people learn even while they are staying at home!
Is it not the right step?
Talking about the current lockdown period, people are staying at home watching movies, series, and chilling on Netflix. However, some people are looking to increase their creativity as well. It is for such people that Broadway Infosys is providing the platform where they can enhance their knowledge by taking IT courses on an online basis.
Why Should I Choose Broadway Infosys?
This is a common question that comes to mind of aspiring candidates who are interested in joining a professional IT institute. Well, it is a matter of honor to let everyone know that Broadway Infosys is one of the best inclusive IT training institutes in the country.
Established in 2008 and located at Tinkune, Kathmandu, the company is honored with the ISO 9001:2015 certification. With more than a decade of expertise in the IT training field, Broadway Infosys offers well-designed and complete professional IT Courses and training in multiple courses, including programming languages, disruptive technologies, designing, accounting, engineering, and many more.
Could I Know What Broadway Infosys provide courses?
Broadway Infosys has, as mentioned earlier, a wide variety of courses for interested candidates to choose from. Whether it be an onsite or online course, Broadway Infosys is ready to provide you the platform to enhance your field of knowledge!
As for the courses provided by Broadway Infosys, here are the top 20 courses that are provided here:
Could I Have More Details about Online Courses at Broadway Infosys Nepal?
Broadway Infosys has been providing online courses for quite a while now. For people who are not able to attend the onsite classes, for any reason, online courses are available.
In order to view more details on online classes, you can visit the Online IT Training page. Also, in order to take classes and make your admission, you can visit the online admission page by clicking here.
Let us dive into more details about online IT training at Broadway Infosys. The classes can be taken in a group or on an individual basis. The class timing is also very flexible, with the candidates themselves choosing the time that they want to take classes at.
This feature of online classes has made Broadway Infosys more popular among the ones who are seeking online IT training.
Do I Have to Make Payments for Online Classes? If Yes, How?
Yes, online classes at Broadway Infosys are live training sessions and do come with payments. However, once you start taking classes, you are guaranteed to feel that you have invested in the correct institute to build-up your career!
To make payments at Broadway Infosys, you have multiple options like:
1. eSewa
2. Khalti
3. ConnectIPS
4. Fonepay
5. Bank Transfer
More details about online payment for taking online as well as onsite classes at Broadway Infosys can be found here.
You are free to choose the payment option that suits you. With all these payment options available, online IT training at Broadway Infosys is only a click away from you! Grab the opportunity to enhance your knowledge and career now!
We are all aware of the current situation caused due to the COVID pandemic. To help stop spreading this deadly disease, Nepal Government has announced nationwide lockdown including all educational institutions closed until further notice. With the closure of educational institutions, it has started to affect students with their new academic sessions.
Amidst this situation, Himalaya Boarding School (HBS), Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu has started conducting it’s classes online to keep the teaching-learning activities going on.
HBS had initially conducted classes only for current SEE preparing students. However, after positive feedbacks and recommendations from teachers, students as well as parents, the school has now started running regular online classes for Grade 8 and above. School is also soon starting classes for Grade 7 and below. All teaching faculties were provided with online training prior to starting online classes.
“This is totally a new experiment for us and we are trying our best to provide education to our students as there seems to be no other alternative to virtual way of conducting teaching-learning mechanism as for now. We are also constantly taking feedback from students and teachers because we are concerned about them,” says Mr. Khem Raj Ghimire, who is the principal of the Himalaya Boarding School and is also the Chairperson of PABSON – Budhanilkantha. “We are also regularly in-touch with Parents and are conducting regular Parents – Teachers Interaction to get the feedback from parents about the online classes” adds Mr. Ghimire.
Himalaya Boarding School is using tools from Microsoft, like Microsoft Teams and OneNote to conduct its online classes. ‘We have found that these tools from Microsoft are much more beneficial than other tools as this has many more features including sharing notes and assignments, providing grading to students, easy class taking, and is more than just the video conferencing. You can also easily schedule your class routine and students can join their classes by simply login into the portal and without any hassle’, says Mr. Dol Raj Basyal, who is the director of Himalaya Boarding School.
Technorio Inc., which is an Independent Software Vendor (IT Company) is providing all necessary Technical support and consultation to school. Technorio has been working closely with educational institutions and helping them go online.
Himalaya Boarding School is an English medium school located at Budhanilkantha-3, Kathmandu. It is a promising institute which was founded by an enthusiastic, dynamic, dedicated and well-experienced group of academics and professionals in the year 2062 B.S. with the cherished goal of producing competent, dynamic and skilled manpower for any kinds of managerial/ financial field who devotes themselves for contributing in the all-round development of the nation.
The government is planning to launch a new app to trace the COVID-19 infected. The name of the app which is in its final phase of development is COVID-NP.
People can expect this app to have an integrated feature combining multiple functions. This app can help detect potential coronavirus infections using Bluetooth tracking.
The concept for this app was made public when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli addressed the nation earlier on April 9. He mentioned that a tracing app is in development which will assist to identify those infected with the coronavirus.
Prime Minister’s IT Consultant, Asgar Ali, said that COVID NP was ready during a videoconferencing held on April 25. The government is preparing to make the app public through a formal event in a few days.
How will COVID NP help to fight the Coronavirus outbreak in Nepal?
Talking about the app, it is currently available in Google Play Store. It was last updated on April 21 and has over 100+ downloads. The app acts as a platform where the public can find authentic and official updates on COVID-19 status from the government in Nepal.
The app needs permission from the user to gain access to location and Bluetooth. It also has the feature to read phone numbers if we allow permission for it.
The app will reportedly integrate existing scattered government data. “In the current situation, the app will help to create and analyze data and fight against COVID-19,” Asgal Ali said. He also informed that the ‘Hamro Swasthya’ app developed by the Ministry of Health will also be used.
Furthermore, the app has a function called Self COVID-19 Test. It basically asks questions to the users and based on the answers, it recommends the next action. It also provides information on electronic passes, household needs, and public announcements.
Moreover, you will be able to report any suspect or security threats directly through the app. It provides all the information regarding Coronavirus awareness and status. In addition, patients can consult doctors regarding their health status through the app itself.
Users will be able to shop for household needs directly from the app. And, it also has a quick Emergency Call function for any case of emergency.
This app has been developed by the National Information Technology Center (NITC) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT).
Well, it is not the first COVID-19 awareness or tracing app. However, it is the first from the government that will have integrated features. The app from MoHP had a clear intention of informing people about the current situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal.
Both the web portal and mobile app had more or less the same features. The web portal: covid19.mohp.gov.np contains official numbers of the infected, under observation, and suspected cases. Also, it gave the number of tests done and death cases.
The mobile app is no different from the web portal. However, you can also do a self-assessment test if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Apart from the Ministry, Nepal Army and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) also have launched their own app to fight the pandemic. However, the differences between these apps are not too significant.
The KMC app has something called the Triage Test which gives a clearer output of infection. The Nepal Army app, however, seems useless as it just presents the information and nothing more.
So, the question still remains ‘why are there so many apps and web portals?’. If the aim is to provide the basic attributes of information and self-test, why invest time and money on separate apps?
The COVID NP app promises to integrate scattered government data to provide live updates with the feature of self-test. A single app would suffice to spread awareness and information regarding the COVID-19 spread in Nepal. There’s no need to confuse the public with multiple apps giving the same information.
Final Say
COVID NP app is pretty helpful and informative. It integrates several features that help the public in every possible way. However, it would be better if it included a single dashboard for what all other coronavirus-related apps provide.
In our opinion, there is no need for all these apps for the same basic purpose. The COVID NP app suffices most of the basic needs of the public. You should definitely download and check out the app.
Fusemachines Inc. recently launched a powerful AI-enabled education platform. The AI platform “Fuse Classroom” changes the way we look at the education process. It will provide an innovative online learning experience to students and transform educational institutions.
Schools and colleges are conducting online classes during the pandemic with limited resources. Obviously, it had become a necessity to continue basic studies due to an uncertain future. The educational institutes in Nepal could use some help from software companies to facilitate the learning process.
Fuse Classroom combines the latest Artificial Intelligence with smart features that empower students, instructors, and school management. Educational institutions in developing countries like Nepal will be able to make all their curriculum available online. Moreover, the platform encompasses the experience of an entire school or college in a different dimension.
Introduction to Fusemachines
Fusemachines was founded in 2013 and has offices in the USA, Nepal, Dominican Republic, and Canada. In fact, it launched its first Fuse AI Center for training and research in Nepal in 2019. The company helps empower AI talents in Nepal and provides AI solutions to organizations.
The community of Fusemachines has over 240 global employees and 200 engineers. The primary objective of the company is to seek young talents and bring them into the global market of AI. Their skilled team identifies the right strategies to help businesses become AI-enabled.
Contributions of Fusemachines in the Education Sector
Back in 2019, Fusemachines partnered with colleges in Nepal to teach AI courses under the initiative “AI Shikshya for Nepal”. Dr. Sameer Maskey, the founder and CEO of Fusemachines said that the mission of this initiative was to enhance the AI capabilities of the global workforce.
Therefore, the AI-based company partnered with extra colleges to introduce a world-class AI education track.
Recently, they have introduced an AI dimension classroom keeping the wake of COVID-19 in mind. With the uncertainty of schools and colleges going back to their normal routine, the future of students is at stake. Fuse Classrooms may just be the perfect solution that brings educational institutions to the digital forefront in the era of AI.
This platform allows to track progress, answer questions, and recommend students who need support with courses. Furthermore, it facilitates the admission process and online classes.
“More than one year ago, we began building an education platform with the intention of helping schools to create a better online learning experience for students and recognized a need to help streamline core school operations beyond the classroom as well. In the wake of COVID-19, we have decided to launch Fuse Classroom ahead of schedule in an effort to support schools in their time of need,” said Sameer Maskey.
Final Say
The limitation in physical interaction has paved the path for AI-based applications and robotics. The world is in need of a solution, not only in educational institutions but for every sector possible. We might as well see AI shaping the global economy with the risk of the pandemic at a rise.
AI-enabled companies like Fusemachines have the resources to identify the solution to the economic crisis by minimizing human involvement. In fact, most schools and colleges in Nepal have already started online classes. They are conducting live classes through platforms like Zoom, Google Classroom, and Google Meet. However, these platforms do not compare to an overall learning management system.
Thus, Fusemachines may be up to something that transforms the way we look at the learning management system.
In our recent interview with Naresh Shrestha, CEO/Principal of Samriddhi School, he mentioned that he was expecting an AI-based learning system that is in development at Fusemachines. With the announcement of Fuse Classroom, it seems like the platform is already in demand.
Do you think AI-enabled applications will shape our future? Will the learning management systems really limit physical interactions?
25 April Kathmandu, 2020
We all are aware of the current situations created by COVID-19. Fear of COVID-19 has locked everyone in their own homes. As a result, almost all the services are out of operation. Educational activities in schools and colleges are waiting for the end of lockdown. Schools are searching for alternative ways of teaching. Some schools have even started teaching online.
To help the schools in Google Education Group (GEG) Kathmandu has started training the ICT teachers. The Group will be teaching the ways of using free Google products like for the use of Google tools. According to Sushil Upreti, co-leader of the group, at the initial stage, GEG Kathmandu is training ICT teachers and principals. People from 101 private schools in Bhaktapur are getting the training. GEG Kathmandu is organizing the program in association with PABSON Bhaktapur and Vedanta Publications.
The program runs 2 hours a day and will run for 5 days for a total of 10 hours. In the training duration, the ICT teachers will learn to use free Google Services. They’ll be learning the proper use of Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google Forms, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and so on.
Yesterday was the first day of the training. A total of 176 people were present in yesterday’s session. Organizer believes it is a trainer developing training. The trainees will be teaching to the teaching staff in their respective schools. As a result, training a few people will spread knowledge to a large mass.
GEG Kathmandu has been continuously working for the digitalization of the way of teaching-learning activities. The group also trains for the Google Certified Educator. Being a Google Certified Educator is gaining worldwide recognition as a teacher. GEG Kathmandu provides the necessary guidance for the preparation. It also assists in the exam arrangement.
GEG Kathmandu definitely deserves praise for organizing the program. We wish, such programs are organized all over the country and schools start online education as soon as possible.
Result publishing has always been a tedious work that requires you to be accurate and diligent. From the printing of the report cards to its distribution, it surely is a burden for many institutions financially and takes a lot of their valuable time. Especially during this pandemic where large gatherings and human contacts are to be avoided, result distribution almost feels impossible. But Dynamic Academic ERP has been making that impossible, possible for more than 450 educational institutions in Nepal even in the COVID times.
By using Dynamic Academic ERP, schools can easily upload the results. And after downloading its application from either the App Store or Play store, students, teachers, and parents can easily access the results. The app allows parents and teachers to monitor the progress of any student easily. Complaint and suggestion management, daily attendance record, progress report, homework and assignment records, and other features of the app helps the school, teachers, and parents to work for the betterment of any particular student closely. The digitally published results are available for reference to the parents and teachers throughout the academic year. With the use of Dynamic ERP, educational institutions can deliver results to their students in a cost-efficient way and saving a lot of their time.
Apart from the mechanism to efficiently publish results, Dynamic Academic ERP has many other features to help schools, colleges, and universities improve their quality of services. Features such as the Fee Management, HR, and Payroll Management, Budget Management allow institutions to track their financial records with a simple click. Whereas Transport Management, GPS Tracking will enable schools to ensure safety for the students of their institutions. It’s easy to use interface, and customized login makes the user’s experience satisfying. And the Multi-School and Branching System allow large institutions to operate in a contemporary way.
Times like this are an opportunity for us to consider our ways of doing things. As our education system still relies on old and conventional methods, it is high time that we change it. A digital system for schools will provide an opportunity for every stakeholder to develop and contribute to the fullest. And Dynamic Academic ERP is a fantastic way for us to digitize our education system, helping our students with the best guidance possible, whereas making schools self-reliant and productive.
The threat of COVID-19 pandemic leaves an uncertain future for human interaction and work. The world is swerving from human interaction and adopting social distancing measures. Meanwhile, the rise of robots remains another threat to humanity that could replace human workers.
Analysts predict the robots are going to replace many human workers for better or worse. The perspective of people towards a human element to their interactions has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Has it really opened up new opportunities for automation?
Paaila Technology, a Robotics and AI company based in Nepal, is certainly proving the point. Recently, the company launched hospital service Nursing Robots to limit human interaction with corona infected patients. These robots operate automatically to initiate communication between patients and medical staff.
Introduction to Paaila Technology
Have you seen any humanoid robot in Nepal greeting you when you enter a bank? Or, perhaps a restaurant? Well, if you have and were amused by it, the credit goes to Paaila Technology.
Paaila Technology is a fast-paced company dealing with automation that aims to produce world-class human-friendly robots. In fact, it has managed to do so in such a short span of time. Its popular flagship product is called ‘Pari’, a humanoid robot. Pari was first deployed at SBI Bank, Durbarmarg to greet and guide customers in their visit to the bank.
Image source: Paaila Technology website
Image source: Paaila Technology website
This deployment back in 2017 was actually the first of its kind in Nepal. Since then, Paaila has already introduced Pari 2.0 (an upgrade to Pari), Ginger – Waiter Robot and is working on Ferry – Room Service Robot. These robots support Query-AI powered chatbot and Nepali speech recognition to greet people.
Robots on the Rise Amid the Pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen implementations of some drastic measures to limit human interaction. People are depending more on machines and there are drones flying in Dubai sterilizing the streets. So, we can expect more AI implementations and inventions in the near future for sure.
Paaila Technology had deployed ‘Paryatan Pari’ robot at Tribhuvan International Airport to promote tourism and assist visitors arriving in Nepal. Similarly, the company has been active during the pandemic and recently launched a Nursing robot.
The Nursing robot will assist health personnel by reducing their interaction with corona infected patients. Furthermore, it will facilitate communication between patients and medical staff via video call. Also, it can deliver food and medicine to patients without manual intervention.
Medical personnel and staff are at high risk while treating the patients. Inventions like these will help reduce their direct involvement with the patients. With robots automating the tasks, it will help reduce the exposure of medical staff to the virus.
Similarly, Paaila had also announced a UV disinfection robot. This robot is capable of sterilizing hospitals, banks, airports, and public places. UV disinfection guarantees 99.99% sterilization of contamination. The automation of this robot will help in controlling the disease thereby mitigating the risk of exposing people to contamination.
Paaila Technology recently took it to social media announcing its current work in progress. The shortage of ventilators with the rise in COVID-19 cases has hit the world at a drastic level. The team at Paaila is working on the development of low-cost ventilators to support the government and medical facilities in Nepal.
The company claims that when needed, these low-cost ventilators can be mass-produced in a short span of time. Moreover, they claim these ventilators to be robust, reliable, and fault-tolerant with backup power. These will feature tunable alarms as well.
The operation of these ventilators will be similar to the regular ventilators equipped with the most common modes of operation.
According to Paaila, these ventilators will have the following features:
Volume Control and Assist Control modes of operation (PC-CMV PC-SIMV PRVC VC-SIMV, BPAP, CPAP).
Control of parameters: Tidal volume (TV), I: E ratio
Respiratory Rate (RR), Peep, FiO2
Emergency Blow-Off valve
Hepa filter to filter in and out viral particles in breath
Battery Backup up to 8 hours
Smart graphical as well as numerical visualization in screen
Emergency pressure, power, and breathing alarms
Final Say
The future of robotics and AI seems to be taking a potentially better turn in Nepal. The fact that Paaila is responding quickly to the current situation in Nepal is praiseworthy. It is a fact that human interaction needs to be limited as much as possible.
During such times, robots seem like the best option to help humanity control and fight the pandemic. Robots are for human convenience and service. Robots taking over the world may be a good plot for a sci-fi movie but it is a need of the hour.
However, one has to imagine the possibilities of robots turning most people jobless. As convenient as they may be, can robots really replace all human activities?
The commitment and dedication of educational institutes in Nepal have been exemplary during the lockdown. Most schools and colleges have started online live classes through several online platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Google Class, etc.
Amidst the pandemic and the government imposed lockdown, LBEF Campus has made over 3100 online classes available for its students. These classes will not only help to widen the students’ skills but also keep them busy during the lockdown.
Here’s the official notice from LBEF Campus’ website:
Notice on Online Courses from LBEF Campus’ website
LBEF was founded in 1998 as a non-profit, non-government organization. It is the first IT college in Nepal and has made steady progress to become one of the leading colleges in the country. More than 7000 students have graduated from the institute and currently, over 1000 are pursuing their studies at LBEF Campus.
Let’s see what LBEF is planning to provide remote classes and resources to its students.
Interview with Prakash Kumar Kejriwal – Executive Director, LBEF Group of Institutions
Q. Are online classes being conducted at present?
A: Yes, we are conducting live online classes as well as providing online courses to students. Currently, we are conducting live online classes for MBA, BSc. IT, BBM, and MSc. IT.
Q. How are you offering complimentary Online Courses to students?
A: Besides academic courses, we used to offer 54 complimentary online courses to students for the past one year. Since the lockdown, we have done two things. Firstly, we started conducting live online classes. They are going as scheduled on a regular basis. Secondly, we offered access to more than 3600 online courses to our students.
These online courses are references for students in topics like Arts, Computer Science, Big Data, etc. So, there is a wide range of topics and courses from the World’s leading Universities. We have acquired licenses for these courses that we offer to students.
Q. How effective are the online classes going?
A: Honestly speaking, we found a very low attendance in morning classes (7:30 AM). Maybe it’s the lockdown effect that students started waking up late (laughs). But the participation of students is perfect in classes scheduled at 10-11 AM. Although I have to say that around 80% of students are attending the live classes.
Q. How are the future scopes of online live classes at the LBEF Campus when normal lives continue after the lockdown?
A: We are definitely going to continue the live classes. We are planning webinars and other ways to facilitate a better learning environment as well.
Two things that this pandemic taught everyone around the world are that we can ‘Work from Home’ and we can ‘Learn from Home’. Some aspects of these were unimaginable in the past but no doubt, people are exploring the possibilities of learning from home as well.
I believe live classes will become an integral part of every academic institution’s learning management system. It will be just like an infrastructure. Every academic institution needs to implement a learning management system that minimizes the need for the physical presence of students and lecturers.
In fact, we are on the verge of launching our own platform called “e-Jaach” by next week. This platform will allow us to conduct 100% proctored tests online. So, applications like these will become a part of academic lives and infrastructures in the future.
Q. Can you tell me more about this application?
A: We have already prepared the application and we have worked really hard on it. In fact, the development is in the final phase and I believe we will be soon announcing the launch of the application. We will be able to conduct 100% proctored tests through the portal.
This examination portal will facilitate online assessment and will be one of a kind. We have our own software team working on it collaborating with a team of Singapore. The main purpose of this application is to facilitate online examinations from home. It might as well be a solution for conduction examinations such as SEE and other board examinations that have been halted due to the lockdown. The capacity is huge as we will be able to conduct around 10,000 tests at a time.
Do you think online learning applications will shape the future?
Let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions regarding online classes in Nepal!
We all are facing this severe situation of coronavirus. For the coronavirus concerns, most of the countries are in lockdown and so is Nepal. The lockdown has affected almost all the sectors. Education is the one among those sectors. To continue the educational activities in this lockdown, universities, and colleges are searching for alternatives, and Olive’s ‘E-Campus’ could be a choice for them.
E-Campus is a complete remote teaching-learning platform for colleges and students. Software marketed by Olive Group, an Irish company, offers quite more than video conferencing software. The software was solely developed for teaching-learning activities and supports extra features than video conferencing software. It is web software and can be accessed through browsers.
The software has got lots of features for teachers, students, principals, and even parents. The software has an inbuilt attendance system which helps in monitoring the presence of students and teachers. The teachers can check the assessments of the students online and provide the feedback without the need of downloading the assessments. It also lets students ask questions. Based on the answers provided by the teachers, the AI learns the answers and provides the answers to more students in a really fast time.
It also has got a feature to set questions after the completion of each session for knowing how well did the students understand. Not limited to this, the system gives access to a vast catalog of study materials based on the subject. Students can learn from it and can even ask questions. The featured has been named as ‘My Virtual Tutor’
The system also makes interaction easier. The system has got live chat and study rooms. The game-based study makes students attentive to their study. It has got VR and AR-based learning.
In addition, online exams and quizzes can be taken with access to previous years’ questions and answers. With the Virtual Tutor added to the E-Campus, students can quickly ask questions to the online help solution and find the most relevant study materials and answers quickly. With the help of AI and Machine Learning each time a student asks a question to the bot, it learns to become much quicker and efficient in answering queries.
The system has got the Exam Proctoring feature, too. With the help of online proctoring examinations can be taken online, where students will have secured exam centers through which they can take the exams and realtime plagiarism checkers will check the answers for potential cheating.
Olive Group has finally brought the system in Nepal. It is the branch for the Olive Group in Nepal. According to Ganesh Shrestha, representative of Olive Group solutions, the development works of the system are done in Nepal. He said the product was first tested in the European market due to high opportunities in the European market. He added, that the company felt the necessity of the product in Nepal for educational activities and was brought here.
Have you switched to an online platform for transactions yet? Well, you should give it a try. There are many online services that store your payment information and facilitate electronic transactions. We also call these services “digital wallets”. You can make transactions simply via a web portal or mobile app.
The list of online payment gateways in Nepal includes platforms like eSewa, Khalti, IME Pay, and PrabhuPay. Among these, eSewa and Khalti already have a huge customer base and reputation in the market. Although, IME Pay and PrabhuPay are also doing quite well and emerging as convenient digital payment platforms. In case you haven’t noticed, both come from Nepal’s well-established finance industries.
Wondering what to choose between IME Pay and PrabhuPay? Read through and find out the features of the two platforms to support your decision.
Oh! If you haven’t come across our similar article, eSewa vs Khalti, then go and check it out.
Introduction to IME Pay
As the name implies, IME Pay is a subsidiary of IME Remittance which is one of the leading remittance companies in Nepal. It is one of the most popular and emerging online payment solutions in the country covering a wide range of services. In fact, it was the first digital wallet to get licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank.
IME Pay is basically the legacy of IME on your smartphone. Its services include basic utility payments, remittance services, flight booking, bus ticketing, wallet-to-wallet transaction, etc. It has a wide IME network of over 14,600 touch points in Nepal.
PrabhuPay also comes from one of the most influential groups in Nepal’s finance sector. This digital wallet is from Prabhu Group and incorporates all the payment services like IME Pay. It has managed to bag over thousands of downloads within a short span of its release.
It allows quick recharge and easy payment of utility bills with a user-friendly user interface (UI). Moreover, the new additions to its services make it app quite unique and multipurpose.
– Merchants, service providers and retail outlets can Send/receive payments
– Internet Bill
– Landline Bill
– Airline and bus ticket
– Remittance check
– Electricity/Water Bill
– Mobile Top Up
– TV Subscription
– Antivirus recharge
– Insurance Premium
– Prabhu Capital Market
– Register Patients in Hospital
– Newspaper Subscription
– EMI Payment
– Movie Ticket
– Money Transfer
– Voting
– Merchants, service providers and retail outlets can Send/receive payments
Mobile App Availability
Both for Android & iOS
Both for Android & iOS
Nearby Deals
Yes
Yes
Registration
Free
Free
Global and Nepal Alexa Ranking
Global – 223,048
Nepal – 400
(Rank may change)
Global – 546,527
Nepal – 1216
(Rank may change)
Refer and Earn
Yes
Yes
Reward Points
Yes
Yes
User Interface
Better
Average
App Downloads
500k+ (Play Store)
100k+ (Play Store)
App Rating
4.2 (Play Store)
4.0 (App Store)
4.1 (Play Store)
2.4 (App Store)
App Rank (Finance)
#4 (App Store)
#32 (App Store)
Fingerprint Verification
No
Yes
Scan & Pay
Yes
Yes
IME Pay or PrabhuPay: Which Digital Wallet To Choose?
Both offer pretty much the same kind of payment services. However, IME Pay has a complete module of remittance from sending/receiving the money to tracking the money. Moreover, it offers Rs. 50 cash back on the first utility payment. You can also pay with IME Pay for fuel in selected petrol pumps. As a matter of fact, IME Pay offers the highest amount of cashback on flight booking. Also, it offers Chandragiri Cable Car ticketing. Talking about its UI, it is visually pleasing but has large icons and font for no reason.
Meanwhile, PrabhuPay is no less in its emerging popularity with successful marketing campaigns. Recently, the app was the official voting and payment partner for season 2 of “The Voice of Nepal” which added to its popularity. Furthermore, it doesn’t get left behind on the remittance system. Like IME Pay with its “IME Remittance”, Prabhu Pay supports its own “Prabhu Money Transfer” service along with Prabhu Insurance.
Another notable feature of PrabhuPay is that it offers hospital appointment booking with the integration of bill payment. Currently, this service is limited to 6 hospitals with the likes of Civil Service Hospital and Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center. That’s not it! It also offers newspaper subscriptions. It might be relatively new but it is making its impact in the Nepali market with its productivity and marketing campaigns.
Personally, I prefer the UI of PrabhuPay due to its well-managed font and icons. It is expanding its services and reaching out to more stakeholders and gaining partners. So, it is certainly one to look out for. However, it still has a lot of catching up to do compared to the popularity and reputation of IME Pay.
Which digital wallet do you prefer to use? Please let us know in the comments!
The ICT sector is a growing industry globally and it certainly can use all the wide range of ICT talents. There is a huge gap between digital skills needed in the sector and the job seekers with the required technical knowledge.
Today we are celebrating International Girls in ICT Day which aims to empower girls and women in the technical field globally. It is an initiation of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) with the slogan “Expand Horizons, Change Attitude”. Supporting the education of women in ICT is also in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On April 23, 2020 (Thursday), TechPana is organizing a Facebook Live event to address the involvement and stories of ‘Girls in ICT’ in Nepal. It will talk about both the opportunities and challenges for women in the ICT sector and how to empower them. You can witness the event live on Facebook starting from 3:15 PM.
Similarly, there are many strong women in technology who are contributing to Nepal’s ICT sector. They are leading by example and empowering girls and women around the nation with their work.
Here’s what they have to say about girls and women in ICT.
Interview with Roja Kiran Basukala, Deputy Director at NTA
Q. When did you start your Journey in ICT?
A: I graduated in Computer Engineering from Pulchowk Campus in 2063 B.S. Then, I worked in an IT company and eventually went to Korea where I finished my Masters. After getting my Masters’s degree, I returned to Nepal. I have been working in the NTA for 10 years now.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities for Girls and Women in ICT in Nepal?
A: To start off, I would say that the presence and involvement of women in ICT are low in every part of the world, not just Nepal. The initiation of ‘International Girls in ICT Day’ runs events, interaction programs, training, and workshops throughout the year to empower women and increase their presence in the ICT sector. Talking about opportunities, ICT is in a blending trend with all other sectors in Nepal. For example, we have topics like e-learning, telemedicine, and e-agriculture which are revolutionary for the ICT sector in Nepal. There are provisions of working from home which we are witnessing on a wide scale during the current lockdown.
People often say that without education, you can’t achieve anything. But times have come when we are realizing that without IT, we can’t sustain our career. There are growing opportunities for women and they need to come forward realizing the immediate needs of ICT.
Q. How are the Government and other organizations supporting the initiative of Girls in ICT?
A: As I mentioned earlier, it is a global issue. So, the ITU has initiated a mission to empower girls in ICT and Nepal is a member country of this initiative. The ITU has been requesting each of its member countries to support the movement. Similarly, we have been supporting the cause and celebrating Girls in ICT Day since 2013. As a part of this initiation, we have been organizing events like essay competition and quiz competition to draw the attention of women towards ICT. Also, we have conducted Presentation contests to encourage women to display their communication skills.
Every year we organize an event or workshop or training by requesting several stakeholders to take part in this initiative. I believe all of us belonging to different perspectives, morality, and sectors have to take part actively in this to bring significant changes.
Q. What is the situation of ICT for Girls outside Kathmandu Valley and what are we doing to empower them?
A: There are certainly some challenges for girls in remote areas of Nepal. The first thing is the ICT education and awareness. From my personal experience, we provided WordPress training to girls in Humla with an attendance of over 100 girls. We primarily focus on awareness campaigns where not just girls but people, in general, have no idea about ICT. In the areas with better infrastructures and availability of resources, we organize training and workshops. And, we also organize hackathons in cities like Butwal, Pokhara, and Kathmandu where there are trained individuals and better infrastructure. We aim to maximize productivity from the hackathons and convert ideas into startups.
Not just in Kathmandu valley but we organize several awareness programs and skill-based training workshops in remote areas of Nepal. Unfortunately due to the lockdown, we couldn’t execute our plans for this year’s Girls in ICT Day. Similarly, we are trying to set up virtual meetings and events for conducting training and workshop. Hopefully, we can come up with more strategies and implement them after the nationwide lockdown.
Interview with Dolma Sherpa, Coordinator at LBEF
Q. When did you start your Journey in ICT?
A: I started my journey from 2002 as I finished a 2 years course from NIIT (Shimla). After completion of the course, I joined the job in the same institution as an instructor in Computer Science. I migrated to Nepal in 2006 and started working as a primary teacher in schools. Eventually, I reached the position where I am today as the coordinator for BSc. IT and MBA at LBEF.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities for Girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: Undoubtedly there are many opportunities in Nepal. Maybe that’s why I am involved in the IT field. However, there are also several challenges that point towards the lack of awareness regarding ICT. Let’s just take the example of the recent trend in data breaches in Nepal. It has been said that the major reason behind the incidents was the lack of proper utilization of cybersecurity knowledge and methods. So, I incline towards the major root cause being the lack of awareness for major ICT issues in Nepal. And, this also includes the challenges faced by women who are trying to make their mark in the IT field. But I believe where there are challenges, there are also opportunities to prove yourself. So definitely, there are a lot of opportunities in Nepal for Girls in ICT.
Q. What do you think is the reason behind the low involvement of Girls in ICT in Nepal?
A: Well, it’s definitely not because they don’t take an interest in the field. And it’s most certainly not because there are not enough opportunities. I think what separates the opportunities for girls is the ancient practices of women involving in household activities. So, people have developed a perspective of women where they are more involved in society and other activities rather than professional activities. For example, when it comes to coding and programming, it can be a long-term task. So, bound by the responsibilities towards family and society, women can’t invest enough time in learning new things in the field. This phenomenon is quite difficult to breach and this might be what’s keeping them from pursuing a career in ICT, or any other field for that matter.
Q. What type of support do you see from the Government and private organizations the development of ICT in Nepal?
A: The government is supporting the initiation of Girls in ICT for sure. Even CAN (Computer Association of Nepal) organizes several events on empowering youths and girls in ICT. And, there is a lot of support from private organizations in the academic sector as well. These organizations provide guest lectures, organize seminars and workshops in different colleges of Nepal. So, no doubt there is the active involvement of both government and private organizations for the cause.
Q. What is the situation of ICT for women in remote areas and what are we doing to empower them?
A: Obviously in Kathmandu, there is a huge improvement in the ICT sector and opportunities for girls in ICT. But, it is not the case when it comes to remote areas of Nepal. The major reason behind this is the lack of awareness in people. However, I have come to know that private organizations are initiating awareness campaigns and workshops to bridge this gap. I wrote a thesis about e-learning where I came to learn that OLE Nepal provides resources and tools to the students in Government schools in remote areas of Nepal. So, there are some organizations doing their best to bring a change. And I came to the conclusion that with more involvement of government agencies and private organizations, we can create opportunities by raising awareness.
Interview with Eeda Rijal, CEO at Sochware
Q. When did you start your Journey in ICT?
A: I would say that I started at an early age since Grade 8-9. I was enthusiastic about electronics and graduated in Electronics and Communications Engineering. I pursued my career in the field and attended training, workshops, and also worked as an MSP (Microsoft Student Partner). The Sochware team also represented Nepal in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2018 which we won.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities for Girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: Well, the tech industry always has been a gender-dominated industry for a long time. However, it is gradually changing and opportunities for women are in an increasing trend. What I truly believe is that technology has no gender and we are allowed to pursue anything that interests us. So, if we pursue our passion and work hard in the field, we are definitely going to succeed and pave the path for more girls in ICT.
Talking about the challenges, I would say that there are instances when people don’t really trust girls in technology. I have witnessed such stereotypical thinking among the people. Even when talking to clients, they prefer talking to ‘technical people’ when I am a technical person myself. So, I have to verify that I am a girl in technology in most cases. Furthermore, when it comes to education, I find myself teaching a class of 30 students and see only about 5 girls in the class.
Q. What type of support do you see for Girls and Women in ICT in Nepal?
A: Despite the challenges, the community for girls in technology in Nepal is improving drastically. It is definitely going strong and supporting more women who want to come forward in this field. So, we organize several technical community events to empower women. I, myself, am in Women Techmakers Community as a core member. We run programs for empowering girls, especially students through Microsoft’s education platform. The community support is very strong and welcoming for the newcomers in the field and also for the girls who want to pursue a career in the ICT industry.
Likewise, there is huge support from the government with the event of Girls in ICT Day every year. In fact, I participated in an app development contest in one of the events in the past and won as the 2nd runner up. There are several such initiations from the government and private organizations as well. There certainly has been an improvement and we are witnessing a growth in the number of girls in the field compared to their participation in the past 4-5 years.
Q. What is the situation of ICT for women in remote areas and what are we doing to empower them?
A: We can see active participation from women in major cities like Kathmandu, Butwal, Pokhara, etc. However, the number is much lower in remote areas. In fact, I have an interesting story about an incident in Damak. I visited Damak a few months back to provide Computer related training. What I found was a growth in the number of girls in classes possibly due to the inclusion of Engineering-oriented courses in Grade 8-9 by the Nepal Government. So, more girl students were participating in technology which is unlike major cities in Nepal. I was facilitating to train around 50 students out of which, 20-25 were girls. Moreover, I found there computational skills and problem-solving skills remarkably high. However, these girls were affected by the traditional notion of girls not participating in technical fields.
To change this, we need to bring more women in the field as role models for aspiring girls in ICT. Not just us, their families also have a huge role to play. Their families have to show support and encourage them to participate not only in the medical field or public health but also in the technical field.
Interview with Ratna Tara Baidya, Senior Vice President at CAN Federation
Q. When did you start your Journey in ICT?
A: It has been a very long journey (laughs). I started my journey in 1985 after completing my Masters in English Literature. I applied for a one-year training along with 3 other girls. Luckily two of us passed examinations and joined a job in DSI (Data Systems International) itself. I worked as a computer programmer at DSI from 1985 to 1991. I started as a program developer when there was no basic provision of learning C programming. We had to program in an 8MB hard disk which seemed like huge storage in those days, can you imagine? After 1991, I started to involve more in training institutes and projects. In 1994, I joined Nepal Bangladesh Bank and worked there for 25 years as the IT Department chief.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities for Girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: I believe the challenges today are far less complicated with palm-to-palm technology. So, if somebody is interested to learn, they can easily get access to the resources and information. A growing challenge for girls in today’s technology is also cyber threats. There is a lack of information regarding the proper use of social media and online platforms. However, most girls are aware of the pros and cons of technology as compared to the situation in the past.
Talking about the opportunities, I think every sector is dependent on technology. So, there is a wide range of opportunities for girls who are passionate about the ICT sector for sure.
Q. How can we empower girls in ICT and increase their involvement in the sector?
A: Firstly, there is a huge misconception about girls being restricted to household activities and society. This traditional belief still prevails in society due to which girls are not getting the support and platform to grow. However, there is a significant change in this trend with more people and families getting awareness. We are witnessing more involvement of girls in Engineering and other technology sectors.
There is a committee in CAN called “Women in IT” which has been contributing to raise awareness and empower women to involve more in ICT. The committee has organized events, campaigns, and workshops in schools and colleges. Definitely, it’s challenging, but not difficult. Our message remains to encourage them to face the challenges with our support. Similarly, there are other communities that support girls in ICT and empower newcomers in the field. It will take some time but surely we can achieve the growth that we are expecting.
Finally, what I have to add is we are experiencing the use of technology the most during the lockdown. So, my request to all the girls and women is that take note of how important and necessary this field is and follow your passion. Don’t hesitate to accept challenges and adapt to the ever-changing technology.
Interview with Sarita Neupane, the Program Coordinator at Padmashree International College
Q. When did you start your Journey in ICT?
A: I did my Bachelor’s in Computer Science from ASCOL in 2004 and MSc. IT from NCIT. I entered the market in late 2009 and started working as a lecturer in Computer Science and IT at St. Xavier’s College. I have been an academician since the start of my career in ICT.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities for Girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: Compared to the past, students and parents have become more aware of the opportunities in technology. As a result, there are lesser challenges than before. However, I believe married women face more challenges to balance a career in technology or any field. It is difficult to dedicate full time to work when there is a responsibility towards family and children. But this hasn’t stopped most women to pursue their career in ICT. Being a girl in ICT myself, I have seen such women and I take this challenge as an opportunity. The challenges may come from the family members who may be unaware of the roles and responsibilities required in the career field.
Another challenge is the mindset of students. There is very low participation of girls in technical courses and the admission in the college where I work is not even 33%. In fact, I was a single girl in my class while studying both Bachelors and Masters. So, I had to fight my way in the market and get to the position I am currently at.
Q. What type of support do you see for the development of ICT in Nepal?
A: There is a lot of support from the private organizations for the betterment of girls in ICT. But I don’t think there are enough initiations from the government to empower girls and draw their attention towards the ICT sector in Nepal.
Q. What is the situation of ICT for women in remote areas and what are we doing to empower them?
A: I have been involved in the academics field since the start of my career. And yes, I understand the challenges in remote areas outside the valley. In fact, I get called more often for guest lectures as a role model for girl students who are completely new in the field. These girls need motivation and proper guidance to excel in the field and obviously, I wish to lead by example. And, I wish to see more and more girls in this field. Moreover, my aim stands to empower and bring more girls in technology so that they don’t have to go through what I did as a single girl student in my class. I believe that together, girls gain more confidence and have a better chance to excel if provided with awareness and resources.
Meet Mina Aryal, Founder at ICTFrame
Mina Aryal completed her MBS from Tribhuvan University in 2011. Since then, she had a keen interest in technology, especially in the blogging field. She attained WordPress and other ICT training and thus, wanted to contribute to the field. Looking at the situation of blogging challenges and lack of proper platforms in Nepal, she founded ICT Frame Magazine in 2014 (Regd. November 2016).
ICT Frame is the first woman-led online magazine in Nepal that provides ICT related news in Nepali and English languages.
Final Thought
With challenges, there are certainly a lot of opportunities as well. It might depend on person to person on how they see it. But, it is for sure that if communities, government, and private organizations work together, they can empower a lot of girls to involve more in the ICT sector.
If you get the chance to do it yourself, don’t hesitate or hold back. Girls in ICT is certainly a pressing topic and people need to talk about it more.
Have anything to add? Please let us know in the comments!
Today is Girls in ICT Day. The day is celebrated every fourth Thursday of April. Various organizations and agencies conduct multiple programs on this day. We, too, tried to know the situation of girls in the Nepalese ICT sector. So, we asked a few questions to some people involved in ICT.
Pratima Adhikari:
This name doesn’t need any introduction among Nepali tech audiences. If you’re a tech enthusiast and follow Nepali tech portals, we believe you know her. She’s a video editor and presenter at Gadgetbyte. She’s actively working in the tech sector since 2017. Here’s how she answered our questions.
Q. How’s the presence of girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: It’s growing. Girls are much larger in number in the tech industry these days in Nepal and all over the world. Though we don’t see a lot of girls presenting in tech videos and such, there are a lot of girls working for the tech industry. Some are AI engineers; some are developers, etc. Overall I would say it’s growing at a good pace.
Q. What are the challenges for girls in the Tech sector?
A: These days, I don’t think there are a lot of challenges. However, there still exists a notion that girls are better off being in the management sector or doctors or nurses. Still, on today’s date, ICT has proven to be an equally fulfilling industry with the growth of Internet penetration. However, there are still some people who think tech is a guy’s job, but they will change with time.
On a personal level, though, my family and friends have been very supportive of me joining this industry even though I come from a management background.
But in general, its basically family norms and values add pressure.
Q. What can be done for the easy access of more girls to the tech sector?
A:
I always believe that if you don’t work for yourself, none else will. So, in the beginning, girls who want to join tech should take a stand for themselves.
Awareness can play a vital role. When a student is done with their SEE exams, colleges need to give proper direction to students rather than just providing emphasis on high-grade students to go for science studies. There needs to be an equal flow of information.
Society needs to be more open and supportive of girls choosing IT.
On a government level, maybe IT students (girls) could get some sort of benefits.
Q. What do you see the challenges of tech blogging in Nepal? (not specified to girls)
A: There are lots of difficulties of tech blogging in Nepal. Some of them are;
1. Lack of first-hand information sources. Our sources are international tech media.
2. I think, in Nepal, there aren’t a lot of core tech-centric audience as well. The number of such viewers is rising, though.
3. Tech blogging is not a mainstream profession. The few ones who are doing it, not all, are just doing that. Most of them are doing it as a hobby or part-time job. That happens because the tech companies mostly do not keep tech media on priority. Tech companies are just mass centric, so they prefer traditional media for information flow.
Q. What do you want to say on today’s day, ‘Girls in ICT Day’?
A: I just want to say (to girls) that things have changed. There is no need to be skeptical regarding how the tech industry will treat you because, from my experience, it is very welcoming and has a good future for all. Also, since tech keeps on getting better, opportunities keep getting better. Also, we should be the ones to bring change.
Sashya Paudel:
Sashya is a content writer at Gadgets in Nepal. We asked the same questions to her too. Here’s what she replied.
Q. How’s the presence of girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: In the context of Nepal, there aren’t as many girls as guys, but the people and the environment are very supportive.
Q. What are the challenges for girls in the Tech sector?
A: There are a lot of challenges because you ultimately have to work twice as hard to prove yourself in this field due to the stereotypes, but as you do, the hard work pays off, and people do appreciate you for your talents and creativity.
Q. What can be done for the easy access of more girls to the tech sector?
A: Well, communication is a must because there are girls who need a job, and there are vacancies too, but they do not know about them. And girls should be given equal opportunities and paid equally as guys in the field.
Also, I would love to add that all they should be given is also a chance to prove themselves.
Q. What do you see the challenges of tech blogging in Nepal? (not specified to girls)
A: Tech bloggers do have to face a lot of challenges because I have seen a lot of talented people who are driven to this field, and they also have very admirable creativity, but we don’t get the kind of learning that we want.
We always want to have the opportunity of learning from the best, and we are focused continuously toward taking the initiative, but we hardly get to be the voice.
Q. What do you want to say on today’s day, ‘Girls in ICT Day’?
A: I am very honored for this opportunity, and I also would like to thank the men in this field who support girls in this field. Also, I would like to tell all the girls to go for it. We as girls have so many dreams, so many places we want to go, so many heights we want to achieve, but there are always going to be some kind of obstacles, but all we have to do is focus on our goals and follow our hearts and believe in our voices.
Sumi Prajapati:
Sumi Prajapati is the content manager at ICT Byte. Check out her replies to the same questions.
Q. How’s the presence of girls in ICT in the context of Nepal?
A: In the context of Nepal, if we look at the present, the involvement of girls has increased compared to before.
Different events, webinars, and support from various NGOs and INGOs have helped them for self-belief and confidence.
On the other hand, although they’re involved, very few numbers of girls are only active in frontline positions.
What are the challenges for girls in the Tech sector?
-For me, It’s not that challenging as my family has been supportive since childhood. They have always supported me with my interests and the path I have chosen.
Generally, I have seen for girls, its hard at the initial level to pave their path and prove themselves when they enter the professional world. Once you get involved with the right opportunity, people will start to appreciate your talent, and it’s easy.
Another main challenge can be the self believe upon themselves and the environment they get in the tech industry.
2. What can be done for the easy access of more girls to the tech sector?
Well, I would say opportunity is the one to make more involvement of girls. They should be given more opportunities to prove themselves. If not better, they are equal, so they should be given more chances.
I would like to add one more thing: Family and society play an important role in their involvement. So society must think of them as equally competitive and capable as everymen.
So more flow of information and awareness is a must in our Nepali society.
3. What do you see the challenges of tech blogging in Nepal? (not specified to girls)
There are lots of challenges. Mentioning some of them:
-We have very few numbers of tech-specific audience. Even if we get some, it’s a challenge for us to keep them engaged.
-The Tech industry and digitalization in Nepal are still growing. So, it’s challenging to maintain sustainability and uniqueness.
-Another can be a lack of a source of information. Generally, we had to take a reference from international media.
4. What do you want to say on today’s day, ‘Girls in ICT Day’?
Girls in ICT day is worth a celebration to appreciate all the inspiring female tech leaders. It feels good when a female gets equal appreciation and opportunities concerning boys. No offense, I would like to say Girls believe in yourself, we are equally competitive and better than we think. Lastly, I would like to thank all inspiring female leaders and welcome to the new ones.
Recharging your mobile phone using digital methods may be easier than you expect. There are many digital services using which you can recharge your mobile phone. There are some mobile banking which can be used to recharge your mobile phones digitally. Beside mobile banking, there are these digital wallets, like E-Sewa, Khalti, IME Pay which can be used to recharge your phone.
For you to recharge using a digital wallet, make sure that you have signed up and have logged in to your respective digital wallet.
Using Khalti
For Khalti, you can use the web version (Khalti.com)as well as a mobile application.
All you need to do is follow the steps mentioned below:
Tap on the Top-Up icon on the Utility payments section present in the home screen.
Enter your mobile number then the recharge amount.
Select the payment option as a wallet.
Submit to complete the process.
Your mobile will be recharged soon after you have submitted the request.
Using E-sewa
For E-sewa as well you can either use the web version (www.esewa.com.np)or mobile application.
Steps to recharge using E-sewa
Click on the Topup button on the home screen.
Enter your mobile number and amount to be recharged.
Proceed to complete the process
Renter your 4 digit MPIN.
Your mobile will be recharged soon after you have submitted the request.
Using IME PAY
Tap on the Mobile icon on the home screen.
Enter your mobile number and amount to be recharged.
Enter 4 digit MPIN
Tap Confirm to complete the process
Your mobile will be recharged soon after you have confirmed the request.
Using these digital wallets you can recharge your mobile phone. It has made us not use physical recharge cards and reduce the use of cash. At the time of the pandemic, these things can contribute to the spread of viruses. We should promote using these services to try to minimize use to physical cards and money transactions.
Maybe nowadays, people are telling you about how digital wallets have helped them recharge during the time of lockdown. Previously it did not just recharge but about staying home and booking movie tickets, airline tickets. The digital wallet can help you pay your Internet bills, electricity bills while staying at home. In short, digital wallets can be necessary for you at any time.
But maybe you don’t know how to get started using a digital wallet. And you are tired of hearing all the good things about it, and you are willing to start your digital wallet journey. Well, you have to load funds in your account right.
After you have finished signing up your account, you can load funds in many ways. Khalti provides you eight options to Load Fund in your account. One of them is loading funds using your ATM card. But to load your fund using a DEBIT card, you must have your Khalti Account KYC verified. If your KYC is not confirmed, you can contact Khalti to verify your account.
Following are the step by step methods to load funds in your Khalti account using your VISA/Master/Amex Card.
Step 1: After you have clicked on the “Load Fund” option that you can find on your home screen, select “VISA/Master/Amex Card” option.
Step 2: Then, choose the card/bank option, which is suitable for you/ maybe the card you have.
Step 3: After that, you have to enter the amount you want to load.
Step 4: The next step is to enter your card number, which is mentioned in your DEBIT/CREDIT card.
Step 5: Then, you have to mention the Cardholder’s name(IN CAPS) and Expiry date.
Step 6: Enter your CVV security code, which is of 3 digits from your backside of the card.
Step 7: Then, you need to enter your Email address and click on “Ok.”
Step 8: And the final step is to enter the OTP i.e., One-time password that is received in SMS of your registered mobile number.
Terms and Condition:
Using these steps, you can load funds in your Khalti account. But there are few Terms and Conditions you might want to check on.
Are you using an online platform for online payment in Nepal? The concept of digital payment is emerging and making our lives convenient. Digital wallets and platforms are making our smartphones smarter.
However, the question still remains if the transactions will go cashless in the near future. The remarkable emergence of digital platforms like eSewa and Khalti can turn it into reality for sure. These two online payment gateways have dominated the Nepali app market. With the pros and cons of both, people are confused about which one to use. Therefore, without wasting any time, let’s check out two of the best digital payment platforms in Nepal.
Introduction to eSewa
eSewa logo
Nepal’s first online payment gateway, eSewa, has been operational since 2009. It is licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). Developed and operated by F1Soft, this platform provides several online payment services. Its services include utility payments, mobile top-up, payment of internet bills, e-banking, etc.
Moreover, it is incredibly easy to register and create an eSewa account. All you need to do is download the mobile eSewa app and register using your mobile number. As a matter of fact, your mobile number will be your eSewa ID. After your account is created, you can load funds from your bank account to your eSewa wallet. Then, simply perform transactions on the go.
Khalti is another popular name in the digital payment world. The word Khalti literally translates to Wallet, so yes, it is a digital wallet. It was launched in January 2017 and received the PSP license from Nepal Rastra Bank recently in 2019.
The platform is operated and owned by Sparrow Pay Pvt. Ltd and provides similar services as eSewa. However, it has created an impact on its customers.
– Merchants, service providers and retail outlets can Send/receive payments
– Electricity Bill
– Internet Bill
– Landline Bill
– Airline and bus ticket
– Electricity/Water
– Mobile Top Up
– TV Subscription
– DEMAT account opening + renew
– Credit Card Bill
– School/College Fees
– Insurance Premium
– EMI Payment
– Movie Ticket
– Hotel Booking
– Voting
– Donation
– Kaspersky Antivirus
– Merchants, service providers and retail outlets can Send/receive payments
Mobile App Availability
Both for Android & iOS
Both for Android & iOS
No. of Associate Bank
43+
40+
Registration
Free
Free
Security
128-bit VeriSign SSL certificate secured
SSL certificate secured
Global and Nepal Alexa Ranking
Global – 35,487
Nepal – 66
(Rank may change)
Global – 115,284
Nepal – 133
(Rank may change)
Refer and Earn
No
Yes
User Interface
Average
Better
App Downloads
1M+ (Play Store)
500k+ (Play Store)
App Rating
4.7 (Play Store)
3.7 (App Store)
4.1 (Play Store)
4.2 (App Store)
App Rank (Finance)
#2 (Top Free)
#1 (Top Free)
Scan & Pay
Yes
Yes
Which Online Platform Should You Choose?
Personally, I would say Khalti has a slightly better user interface. The heavier UI makes its app size larger than that of eSewa. Although eSewa’s UI is easy to navigate as well, it just doesn’t match up the rich UI of the Khalti app.
Both eSewa and Khalti have secured platforms. eSewa is secured by a 128-bit VeriSign SSL certificate while the latter has an SSL Certificate.
Both of these platforms provide similar services. It is for sure that eSewa has a huge market due to its long history. Users trust this platform and already a huge number of banks and merchants associated with it. Meanwhile, Khalti being relatively new is trying to grab the attention of more users. But, it has already made an impact in the Nepali market with over 500k+ downloads already. Within a short span of time, it has become a tough competitor of eSewa.
Having said that, eSewa obviously being the first online payment gateway in Nepal has partnered with dozens of companies, banks, and websites. It has a huge share in the digital payment market. On the other hand, Khalti is yet to join hands with the best in business. However, it has been luring more audiences with its latest offers and promotions. It still has a lot to do as a new addition to digital wallets in the country.
Personally, I enjoyed using Khalti’s mobile app but I experienced some bugs with the biometric system of Khalti. I couldn’t make transactions with my fingerprint scan which is odd. Other than that, both platforms are doing good in the market. The aspect of rivalry between them is healthy and users can expect the addition of more services as the rivalry goes on.
Which do you prefer? Please let us know in the comments!
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