The Tamesis
March 2, 2026
kathmandu – Political parties have rolled out ambitious promises to boost Nepal’s startup ecosystem ahead of the general election, but young entrepreneurs remain skeptical, citing years of policy delays and poor implementation.
For the first time, the government announced a Rs 50-crore fund for start-ups and innovation in the financial year 2015-16. However, it took seven years from the completion of the work process to the start of allocation of funds, and the definition of a startup was only clarified last year.
Nepal’s entrepreneurial ecosystem saw significant growth between 2016 and 2019, driven primarily by youth-led initiatives in technology, e-commerce and digital services. However, the industry has struggled due to the lack of a clear policy framework, limited government support and a series of crises, including the 2015 earthquake, the Indian trade embargo and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Youth migration has surged since the outbreak, with large numbers of men and women leaving the country for employment and higher education abroad, draining talent and energy from domestic start-ups.
After protests in September against a Gen Z-led anti-corruption campaign and a proposed social media ban that turned violent and left 77 people dead, many young voters say they want to see change as the election approaches. However, their optimism is tempered by doubts about whether political commitment can be translated into action.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), backed by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balun, has promised to immediately remove legal and technical barriers that prevent domestic startups from connecting to global markets through international payment gateways.
The party said it will eliminate rent-seeking behavior, policy corruption and artificial obstacles, and create a business environment that promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and fair competition.
RSP believes that if Nepal fails to leverage its youth-centered demographic dividend to achieve structural economic transformation in the next 10 to 15 years, the country will risk falling into a long-term low-income trap. The party has identified productivity growth, skills development, capital formation and technology-based industrialization as national goals.
To protect small investors, the RSP proposed financial literacy campaigns and a mandatory automated reporting system to ensure transparency and good governance in financial disclosures of listed companies.
CPN-UML also has a broad start-up focused agenda. The party envisions simplifying online business operations and providing young people with preferential bank loans equivalent to US$10,000 to encourage entrepreneurship. The program will promote training and services in artificial intelligence, content creation, digital marketing, application development and other IT-related fields, with the goal of guiding 100,000 young people to start their own businesses.
The party promised to simplify legal provisions and allow Nepali entrepreneurs to set up companies abroad and buy shares in foreign companies. It also promises to promote women entrepreneurship by providing concessional loans of up to Rs 20 lakh through banks and financial institutions, with business loans coming with free insurance.
The UML manifesto emphasizes on expanding skills-based and practical higher education and creating opportunities in IT, digital and remote employment areas. It promises to promote the growth of start-ups through innovation centers and incubation centers by streamlining processes, offering tax incentives and providing initial investment support.
Other commitments include promoting access to mentoring networks and venture capital, and implementing annual youth-focused industrial development programs in coordination with local governments. These include training, internships, entrepreneurial support and seed funding to promote entrepreneurship.
The Nepali Congress has proposed setting up a “Talent Acquisition Center” aimed at linking the knowledge, skills and experience of overseas youth with nation-building efforts. The party said it would create an environment that effectively mobilizes diaspora expertise and ensure easier access to capital and technology for returning immigrants who want to start businesses using skills acquired overseas.
The party is also committed to providing women and young farmers with appropriate technology, subsidies, preferential loans and digital innovation support to build a sustainable agricultural system. It promises to ensure that women, youth, small farmers and marginalized groups have access to adequate land, irrigation and modern tools, as well as concessional loans through digital systems.
Other commitments include improving market access, providing training to small farmers and expanding social security benefits, while strengthening cooperative-based savings and credit groups and community organizations.
The Communist Party of Nepal, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has promised to create a network of skilled young people capable of developing software, programs and applications for foreign companies. The party proposes plans to promote technology development and exports, as well as government investment in technology entrepreneurship.
There are also plans to establish a network of young people who have returned from overseas to work and encourage them to start collective or private enterprises. The party has pledged to provide seed funding, interest subsidies, insurance discounts and technical support for these initiatives.
In order to promote collective entrepreneurship, it is proposed that if more than 10 young people jointly start a business, the government will provide investment participation or subsidies of up to 50% of the total investment. Over the next five years, it aims to engage at least 5,000 young people in such ventures.
Despite the broad pledge, young entrepreneurs said similar pledges had been made in the past with limited follow-up.
“If the manifesto is prepared after in-depth research and analysis and political parties have a clear roadmap for implementation, then we are hopeful,” said Juna Matema, executive committee member of Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum.
She noted that while political parties often make big promises in their manifestos, implementation often stalls. All parties also need to focus on supporting and retaining existing startups, rather than just announcing new schemes, she added.
Entrepreneurs say the fact that many young people decide to leave the country immediately after completing higher education reflects a deep systemic failure.
Surakchya Adhikari, executive committee member of the Kathmandu chapter of Nepal Youth Entrepreneurs Forum, said some work has been done in the past but not at the pace required in the rapidly changing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“There are a lot of problems with implementation,” Adhikari said. “For example, when I went to renew my company, officials told me that I would have to pay a renewal fee, even though the government stipulates that there should be no fees for company registration and renewal.”
She added that the next government must ensure that the bureaucracy operates efficiently and transparently so that entrepreneurs are not frustrated by administrative hurdles.
