Latest Technology Trends In Nepal (2018 Edition)
When the world is experiencing Augmented reality & playing with IOTs & other Latest Technology Trends, Nepal is still behind many steps. We have just started to grow online. However, there are people in Nepal who are updated with all the latest Technology trends but The sad truth is maximum of people are still limited to Social Media Networks.
Whether you’re a tech geek or a diehard technology fan who is always after the latest gadgets & devices or an average consumer like me, you can’t help but look forward to the tech developments and trends that lie ahead.
Our generation has witnessed the largest technology & inventions than ever before. With the invention of world wide web in the late nineties, we witnessed the birth of Internet-based business & lifestyles and the world has gone crazy since then.
Be it in the field of education, Health, Transportation, communication or Entertainment; Technology has really changed the course of our life. It has not only made our lives easier by saving a ton of time but it has entirely changed our living style, choice, preferences & hobbies.
In this article, We are going to talk about the Latest Technology Trends in context of Nepal. Those include:
- E-commerce
- Internet Broadband
- Digital Wallet
- Online Ride Sharing
- Electronic Gadgets
- Gaming
- Online Business
- Electric Vehicles
- Robotics
- Artificial Intelligence
E-commerce
E-commerce business has grown dramatically over last 5 years in Nepal. Started from “send gifts to Nepal”, Nepal has more than 50 E-commerce website as of now. You can imagine the growth of online shopping in last few years.
Despite the problem of proper payment gateway & lack of awareness, E-commerce business in Nepal have managed to establish a decent presence in the recent past. Nepal has been able to attract few Multinational investors & companies as well in the respective field.
Major Challenges:
- Inefficient Delivery due to lack of street address
- Payment Service (still dependent on COD)
- Lack of Awareness (which is now increasing)
With that much said, allow me to enlist some of the topmost ecommerce venture of Nepal by 2017:
Daraz is the largest e-commerce portal in Nepal. It is backed by Rocket Internet, which is one of the biggest technology investors in Asia & Africa.
Hamro Bazar is Nepal’s first Online Classified Marketplace Shopping. It allows users to buy & sell products online for free. With over 26.80% of traffic coming from search, Hamrobazar is one of the most visited websites in Nepal.
Started in early 2017, Food mario is one of the fastest growing online food delivery portals in Nepal.
It provides a platform for both users & cook where users can order their favourite home cooked food online & cooks can sell their home cooked food. This has given hundreds of housewives an opportunity to gain a financial freedom working from their home.
Internet Broadband
With the increase in Internet users in Nepal, the broadband service has increased dramatically in last few years.
There are more than 15 ISPs in Nepal, with around 2,50,000 subscribers, and nearly 1.6 million internet users nationwide. Among these subscribers, More than 35% are corporate users. Many business & organizations rely on the Internet these days to promote & grow their business online. Besides, The popularity of Internet Marketing is increasing these days in Nepal.
Various internet service providers in Nepal include:
- WorldLink Communication Pvt Ltd
- Subisu CableNet Pvt. Ltd.
- Loop Networks pvt.Ltd.
- Infocom Pvt Ltd
- Vianet Communication
- Mercantile Communication
- Broadlink Networks and Communication Pvt Ltd
- Firstlink Communications
- Himalayan Online Service PVt Ltd
- Websurfer Nepal Pvt Ltd
- Classic Tech Pvt Ltd
- EAST LINK TECHNOLOGY PVT. LTD.
- Otel
- Techminds Network Pvt. Ltd.
- Everest Link (P) Ltd.
- Unified Communication Pvt. Ltd
- Broadband Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
However, Worldlink has been able to dominate the broadband market in Nepal.
Worldlink is the largest Internet and Network Service Provider in Nepal . It provides high speed FTTx, IPTV and Fixed Wireless Broadband Service in around 63 districts of Nepal. According to the statistics published by the Nepal Telecom Authority in Dec 2017, WorldLink has 190 thousand active consumer broadband internet accounts and more than 2000 corporate accounts along with 25 thousand IPTV Subscribers.
Digital Wallet
A Digital wallet is an online payment service that enables users to pay for the product or services online via its gateway.You can imagine it as digital money. All you need to do is sign up for a digital wallet service and then use it for all your electronic transaction.
Electronic payment has expanded its reach in last 5 years in Nepal where one had to stand for hours in queues for paying bills like electricity, telephone, broadband, & all.
Launched by F1 Soft International, eSewa is the first online payment gateway of Nepal.
Today, Many others electronic payment system has been established in Nepal despite the poor government regulation & lack of awareness among citizens.
Features
- Sending & receiving Money
- Payment of Utility Bills
- Purchase of Movie & Air tickets
- Purchase of recharge & calling cards
- Payment of school & college bills
- Payment of Internet, Electricity,& water bills
- Subscription of Newspaper & magazines
- Payment of credit card bills
- Payment for online shopping
Some of the Top digital wallets in Nepal include:
eSewa is the first & largest online payment service provider of Nepal. Currently, eSewa has the largest number of Merchant partners like APCA Nepal, Bhatbhateni online, Big Movies, Broadlink, Bus Nepal, Ncell, NTC, Qfx cinemas & more..
Khalti is the largest growing digital wallet in Nepal. Backed by Janaki Technology, Khalti was launched on jan 26, 2017.
Khalti has been one of the four winners of Google Business Group Storytelling Contest 2017.
With 4.2 rating (similar to eSewa) on Playstore, Khalti was the highest downloaded applications from Nepal last year.
Online Ridesharing
As the name suggests, the Online ride-sharing app enables you to book a ride in a convenient & price-friendly manner.
In a country where fuel is so short and unmanaged, where meter-taxis hardly run in meter, where syndicate business runs the empire, Online ride sharing has still managed to dominate its presence in Nepali Market.
The concept of ride sharing was initiated unofficially during the 2015 blockade when people were inspired by the carpooling system. This gave rise to a totally new concept in Nepali market and gave birth to Tootle; a bike ride-sharing app that connects bikers & users.
Since then, the number of online ride-sharing businesses have been established in Nepal, especially in Kathmandu Valley.
Some of the Top Applications include:
Tootle is a bike sharing app that enables a user to hail a bike ride between 8 am to 8 pm in Kathmandu valley.
It provides a platform for two-wheeler owners and people who need rides to connect and share the ride.
In order to use this application as a client, one has to download Tootle app from Google Play store or Appstore and signup.
To use this service as a Tootle partner, one has to fill a form of requirements including the upload of a valid driving license at their official website and then download Tootle partner app from Google Play store to signup.
Onver Smart Taxi is an online taxi reservation system. You can Reserve a taxi or cab using mobile app ONVER. It provides the service wherever you are.
Rated 3.7 in Google play store, it is still in growing period & committed to delivering a quality service to its customers.
Electronic gadgets
When you talk about the latest technology trends in Nepal, Electronic gadgets cannot stay behind. With the rise of Internet & telecommunication technology, The use of electronic gadgets has increased enormously. There was a time when a very limited number of people carried mobile in the country but the scenario has totally changed in Nepal.
The smartphone penetration in Nepal is more than 55% which means that more than 1 in 2 people in Nepal carry Smartphone which is higher than average global smartphone penetration.
The main reason behind this is the availability of cheap smartphones in the country and number of Nepalese people residing abroad.
As of 2018, Huawei is the best selling smartphone in Nepal. However, Xiomi & Gionee have also managed to make a pretty decent number of sales in the Nepali market last year.
Apart from Mobile phones, some of other latest trending Electronic gadgets include:
- Laptop
- Smartwatchh
- LED Tv
- Speakers & Home Theater
- VR
- Power Bank
- Camera
- Headphones & many more…..
Gaming
Now, Online Gaming is the latest technology trends in Nepal. Despite the poor internet speed, online gaming has really grown very fast in Nepal. In last few years, Online games have really substituted video games among Nepalese youths. The Gaming company has been successfully established and expanding in Nepal.
With 4.4 rating on Google play store, Ludo Neo-classic is the most loved & downloaded online game from Nepal.It has a google play rank of 123 and is popular among different American & European countries.However, It is most loved in France where it has a national rank of #67 in play store.
Apart from it, some of the top online Nepali games include:
- KTM Racer VR
- Baagh Chaal
- Marriage Card Game
- Nepali Babu Adventure
- Haku Run & many more…
Online Business
With the rise of internet users & broadband connectivity, the trend of Online business has increased in Nepal in the past few years. Nepalese youth have shown promising interest in the online market in Nepal.
Some of the trendy online Business in Nepal includes:
- Data Entry
- Web development
- Internet Marketing
- Facebook store
- Online Food delivery
- Online service
- Online Events
Electric Vehicles
The electric vehicle is one of the latest trends in Nepal. The total number of electric vehicles has surpassed 25,000 according to the electric vehicle association of Nepal(EVAN). Some big players like Volvo & Volkswagen are likely to manufacture thousands of electric vehicle by 2020.
The first major reform for EVs in a long time was drafted in 2015 during Prime Minister Sushil Koirala’s government.
While the trend of the electric vehicle started out as an alternative vehicle for fuel crisis, it has a potentiality to grow big in coming few years. For a small country like Nepal where an average person doesn’t ride more than 40 km a day & the problem of fuel is never ending thing, the electric vehicle can be really of great use.
The electric vehicles are getting popular among people living in Metro cities like Kathmandu & Pokhara. Even Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is taking the initiative to promote electric vehicles for competent management of the surplus power in Nepal.
“The power utility is planning to first install charging stations in Kathmandu Valley & other major cities and gradually expanding to other areas after the flow of electric vehicles increases”, says Prabal Adhikari, spokesperson for NEA.
Advantages
- Lower taxes
- Eco-Friendly
- No Fuel Dependency
- Budget Friendly
You can get all ranges of electric vehicles ranging from scooters to Bikes & Cars in Nepal. Some of the best choices for four wheeler includes:
- Reva e20 plus: Runs 140 km on a full charge
- Soul Ev: 80 Kms Mileage on a full charge
- BYD E6: 400 Kms on a full charge
Robotics
When it comes to latest technology trends in Nepal, the list would not end without mentioning Robotics. With the combined effort of Tech enthusiasts, students, professors, researchers, & engineers, Robot Association Of Nepal (RAN) has been quite successfully initiating, organizing & implementing robotics related projects & learnings in Nepal. It has played a wonderful role in educating & influencing school & college students towards the Robotic technology by providing training & workshops at various schools & colleges in various parts of the country.
Apart from RAN, one of the most proactive robotic institutions in Nepal is Karkhana, a for-profit robotic organization which aims to develop Robots that can teach subjects like Math, science, Technology & engineering to school level students. Along with making learning a fun, this company focuses on equipping the Nepalese kids to compete in this increasingly technology driven world.
Educational Robot Karkhana Rover — a video capturing robot -which is part of the curriculum, won the local level NASA Space Apps Challenge in April this year.
A few days back in March, Sofia, The first Humanoid Robot from Saudi Arabia was taken to Kathmandu, Nepal for an exhibition.
Artificial Intelligence
Talking about the latest technology trends in Nepal, Artificial Intelligence is definitely one of its Kind.
AI is still in infancy period but was able to take over many jobs in the Industry. Today, AI is used everywhere from your Facebook Newsfeed & Advanced Ad targeting to Robotics Technology. While Uber is excited about its latest driverless cars and Amazon likely to deliver products via Drone, You can imagine the future & scope of AI.
As far as our country is concerned, Nepalese youths have done pretty good work in the field of Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.
Fusemachines Nepal has established itself as a pioneer company in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nepal. The company excites to provide a platform to IT scholars with a keen interest in revolutionizing the AI industry in Nepal.
AIDev Nepal is a facebook group where Nepalese researchers & developers talk discuss & exchange knowledge on things concerned with AI (NLP, Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning), etc.
Apart from that some of the company that are working on AI products include:
Fusemachines is a Nepali AI software company established with the mission to make Artificial Intelligence accessible to everyone through education, software & services.
They create intelligent software solutions that transform brands, grow businesses and make people’s lives easier.
Fusemachines are successfully running AI Fellowship program, a one-year fellowship program that turns maths/programming students into Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning engineers. The program has been successfully implementing in Nepal, US, Rwanda and the Dominican republic.
They provide robotics and AI service for your business. It has a great vertical integration of software and hardware expertise which includes computer vision, natural language processing, autonomous navigation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, fabrication, robotics.
Some of the AI services from Paaila Technology include:
- Query Answering System
- Nepali Tecct to speech
- Recommendation System
Few of the world-class Robots by Paaila Technology includes:
- Pari (Humanoid Robot)
- Room Service Robot
- Waiter Robot
Conclusions
So, These were the top 10 Latest Technology Trends In Nepal. In the next article, we will talk about future tech trends in Nepal.
Let us know your thoughts on these Latest Technology Trends and comment your suggestions in the comment box below. Your advice/suggestions would be highly appreciated.
Originally published at webpreneurshub.com on April 20, 2018.
