New York : The Consulate General of Nepal in New York organized an interaction with Nepali and Nepali-origin US tech professionals and innovators on Friday on the theme of promoting Nepal as an emerging tech hub.

The event, entitled Tech Forward: Uniting Diaspora Talent to Power Nepal’s Digital Leap, was organized in partnership with Genese Solution, a UK-based value IT consulting and cybersecurity firm on Friday (29th August).

The event aimed at introducing the new Consul General of Nepal in New York to the Nepalese professional diaspora and explore the possibilities to establish open communication, encourage collaborative engagement, and set the tone for future tech- and impact-driven initiatives.

Addressing the meeting, Consul General of Nepal in New York Mr Dadhiram Bhandari said that they had organized the event to open a dialogue for ideas and suggestions to strengthen Nepali diaspora engagement and professional opportunities to contribute to the Nepali economy and a robust Nepal-US commercial partnership.

“The IT services export has brought us a historic moment in place of labour export. It has also provided an opportunity for Nepali diaspora to contribute to the motherland,” said Mr Bhandari adding, “Innovation and adoption are taking place in Nepal. The govt is making big reforms, has introduced AI policy and is in the process of updating Digital Nepal Framework 2.0.”

Consul General Mr Bhandari informed that there is no cap on FDI in IT sector and the government was giving a number of incentives to IT companies and professionals.

“Nepali diaspora has the wealth of knowledge, expertise and willingness to help motherland. For the US, this sector can unlock robust partnership. The mandate of the consulate is to promote Nepal’s IT potential. I will join hands with diaspora community,” he added.

Making a presentation on the theme ‘Diaspora Lens: Driving Nepal’s Digital Future,” Founder and CEO of Genese Solution said that Genese Solution has been working closely with Nepali missions abroad and has helped Nepali embassies in London, Madrid, Dhaka, New Delhi, Tokyo and Canberra to showcase Nepal as a tech destination.

“Nepali diaspora can play the role of a bridge between global expertise and local needs,” said Phuyal, who is also an AWS Ambassador. “This is the right time. Nepal government is embracing policy change and looks diaspora as its partner. Nepal is going to set up a large IT Park as part of Special Economic Zone, which could open up opportunities for Nepali as well as diaspora professionals and companies.”

Saying that Genese Solution was now operating in 10 countries, Mr Phuyal called upon Nepali tech professionals to share a challenge from their domain, nominate diaspora champions to lead clusters and collaborate for execution on the ground in Nepal. “Grom global enterprises to SMEs, from corporates to startups, if we work together, we can power Nepal’s digital leap,” he added.

That Nepal should focus on developing skills, culture, tech and infrastructure. “We need partnerships among bureaucracy, industry and academia to promote Nepal’s digital future,”

Mr Prasanna Dhungel – Managing Partner- GrowbyData, shared his experience of launching a company in the US and exploring market opportunities. “We started with Nepali talents and earned trust of our clients over time. “ If you have the right kind of culture and manage people well, it’s doable,” he added. He said tech companies should aim at providing value to the clients as well as the community.

Mr Anish Joshi, head of tech at Fusemachines Inc, a US-based company, said that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. “We have immense talent in Nepal. There is a need of proper training and providing exposure to them to the global market,” he added.

Panelists said that Nepal should identify our soft power and use that to open doors for Nepali talents and diaspora. Saying that Nepal could contribute to the global stage despite being a new comer in the tech sector, they suggested that Nepal should focus on developing skills, culture, tech and infrastructure. They also called for partnerships among bureaucracy, industry and academia to promote Nepal’s digital future.

The panel discussion was followed by Q n A. Ms Sujita Basnet of Genese Solution conducted the hybrid event and moderated the panel discussion.

Consul General Mr Bhandari thanked all the panelists and participants and said the Nepali Consulate in New York will organise similar interactions in the future as well.