Indian embassy organises curtain raiser for Startup Mahakumbh in Nepal

The Indian embassy here on Friday organised the 2nd India-Nepal Startup Connect, the curtain raiser for Startup Mahakumbh SMK 2025, a three-day event being held in New Delhi in April.

The Indian embassy here on Friday organised the 2nd India-Nepal Startup Connect, the curtain raiser for Startup Mahakumbh (SMK) 2025, a three-day event being held in New Delhi in April. Nepal's Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung was the chief guest at the programme. The event started with a round-table consisting of representatives from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Startup India, the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Kathmandu University among others.

Gurung spoke about the advances Nepal was making in embracing the latest IT technologies that created opportunities for startups. The minister elaborated on the unique and strong ties existing between Nepalese and Indian nationals in each other's country. He also encouraged Nepalese companies to participate in SMK 2025.

India's ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava highlighted how the startup culture has become mainstream among India's youth. "The growth of digital public infrastructure had catalysed this digital shift," he said.

A recent example was the interoperability between Nepal's FonePay and India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) which saw more than four lakh merchant transactions last year since its launch in March 2024, he said.

SMK will feature over 3,000 exhibitors, 10,000 startups 1,000 investors with an anticipated 50,000 plus visitors from across India and beyond.

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