12th August 2025, Kathmandu
Kisan Savings and Credit Cooperative Limited (Kisan Saccos) is making waves in Nepal’s cooperative sector with the launch of its pioneering Digital Business Development Service (BDS) on the Kisan Smart App.
Kisan Saccos Digital BDS app
This innovative service, a first for cooperatives in Nepal, empowers members to promote their products, skills, and aspirations by directly connecting them to markets through technology.
Established 31 years ago by 25 visionary members, Kisan Saccos has blossomed into a formidable collective movement, boasting approximately 100,000 members today. What began as a local initiative supporting rural farmers, small entrepreneurs, and homemakers has evolved into one of Nepal’s exemplary cooperatives.
A pioneer in cooperative unification, Kisan Saccos now serves 25 unified cooperatives, managing a robust capital of 4 billion and an extensive service network. Its commitment to excellence is further evidenced by earning the prestigious ACCESS Bronze Brand Certification from the Asia-Pacific quality accreditation body, ACCESS, five times.
Digital BDS: Bridging the Gap Between Producers and Markets
The newly introduced Digital BDS represents a significant leap forward. Business Development Service (BDS) traditionally focuses on enhancing members’ skills, managing product markets, and promoting entrepreneurship. While the concept of BDD (Business Development Division) has been adopted by some institutions in Nepal, Kisan Saccos stands alone as the first to seamlessly integrate it into a mobile application in a fully digital format.
Members can now effortlessly register their diverse products—from delicious pickles and handcrafted clothing to fresh yogurt, ghee, and intricate arts and crafts—directly on the app. The “Local Product” section allows for comprehensive listings, including product names, vivid images, competitive prices, and essential contact details. This streamlined process enables other members and customers to browse offerings and connect directly with producers, effectively creating a vibrant online marketplace. Furthermore, these products are also prominently showcased on the Kisan Saccos website, KISAN.ORG.NP, broadening their reach.
Empowering Women and Fostering Economic Self-Reliance
Beyond merely facilitating commerce, this groundbreaking service is designed to foster self-reliance and significantly boost economic empowerment, particularly for the cooperative’s 25,000 women members and their families. Many of these women meticulously produce high-quality goods from their homes, but often face significant hurdles in accessing broader markets. With Digital BDS, the market is now literally at their fingertips, transforming their entrepreneurial journey.
A Comprehensive Suite of Digital Services
The Kisan Smart App offers a much wider array of functionalities beyond the innovative BDS. It encompasses essential services such as mobile banking, seamless fund transfers, convenient wallet loading, and efficient missed call banking. Members can also effortlessly manage utility bill payments for internet, TV, telephone, electricity, and water. The app supports QR-based transactions, provides vital insurance information, facilitates remittance services, and enables convenient bus and flight bookings. Enhanced user convenience is a priority, with voice notifications for all transaction details. For those preferring a web interface, Kisan Saccos’ online banking services are seamlessly accessible through SMART.KISAN.ORG.NP. The app, a collaborative effort with software companies Mo-Fin and Synergytech, is meticulously designed to deliver comprehensive cooperative services directly into members’ hands.
A New Era for Cooperatives: Vision and Future
Kisan Saccos Chairman Bhojraj Paudel articulates the significance of Digital BDS not merely as a technological tool, but as the dawn of a new era. He passionately emphasizes that cooperatives transcend the traditional role of financial institutions, embodying shared journeys that carry the dreams and aspirations of entire communities. Digital BDS is a crucial stride in this journey, empowering members to showcase their skills and products on a potentially global scale.
To ensure widespread adoption, members can easily register for the free e-passbook app, granting them access to Digital BDS. The cooperative is committed to supporting its members through regular tech education programs, and informative BDS-related podcasts are readily available on YouTube and various social media platforms.
In an era marked by a prevailing trust crisis within Nepal’s cooperative sector, where some cooperatives face criticism for failing to return members’ funds, Kisan Saccos stands as a beacon of transparency, innovation, and unwavering member-centric services.
The cooperative has ambitious plans to expand this service through strategic collaborations with local governments, various organizations, provincial authorities, and key partners. The ultimate goal is to commercialize members’ skills, crafts, and products, thereby fostering prosperity for members and ensuring the sustainability of the cooperative model.
CEO Sanjayraj Timilsina envisions a transformative future where service centers evolve into dynamic business promotion units, significantly enhancing local production and expanding access to national markets.
While many cooperatives in Nepal have adapted similar BDD services, Kisan Saccos distinguishes itself by being the first to deliver a systematic, institutionalized, and truly data-driven BDS through a mobile application.
This pioneering effort paves the way for Nepali cooperatives to confidently enter the digital market era. Beyond the commercial benefits, this service profoundly boosts the confidence of rural members, empowering them with the tools of technology, fostering trust, and instilling a sense of respect.
Recognizing the evolving demands of the younger generation, who seek smart services, seamless digital access, and diverse entrepreneurial opportunities beyond conventional savings and loans, Kisan Saccos has proactively responded by introducing this trailblazing digital cooperative BDS service, as highlighted by Board Member and IT subcommittee coordinator Nar Bahadur Thapa (Naresh).
This groundbreaking initiative is poised to counteract any negativity within the cooperative sector, fostering greater collaboration among cooperatives, government entities, private sectors, and communities.
By simplifying the journey from members’ homes to thriving markets, Digital BDS is a significant step towards realizing the vision of a truly digital Nepal, proving unequivocally that cooperatives can be smart, digital, and fully capable of globalizing local products.
For more: Kisan Saccos Digital BDS app