Startup World Cup
Nepal Regional 2025

Prime Minister of Nepal

Yonathan Vincent

Yonathan is an investor specializing in Southeast Asian opportunities, bringing deep expertise in due diligence, M&A advisory, and comprehensive market research. He plays a pivotal role in Business Development, identifying and cultivating high-potential investment prospects. Additionally, Yonathan provides strategic support for the Startup World Cup, fostering innovation and growth. Prior to his current focus on investment, he honed his analytical skills through a B.S. in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Analytics from Asia Pacific University.

Anil Keshary Shah

Banking Expert, Former CEO of Nabil Bank

Anil Keshari Shah is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Nabil Bank, Nepal. He has earlier served as the CEO at Mega Bank Ltd., Head of Consumer Banking & Chief Operating Officer at Standard Chartered Bank Limited (Nepal) and Financial Analyst at ICIMOD. He has held leadership positions at the Nepal Investment Board, the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All Nepal Football Association, Lincoln School and the Nepal Banker’s Association. Among other accolades, he received the “Top CEO” award in 2007, 2006 and 2005, as recognized by The Boss Business Excellence Awards.

Joseph Silvanus

Managing Director, Dolma Consulting, Nepal

Joseph heads Dolma Consulting, the advisory arm of Dolma Group, and Dolma Himalayan Energy, the renewables energy platform. He uses his deep insights and experience in Nepal to support the growth of Banking & Financial Institutions, Small and Medium enterprises, and Corporates in their tryst to become efficient and access capital markets. His wide canvas of engagements spans from driving investment into start-ups, creating blended finance structures, PPP opportunities, financing river conservation programs and deepening capital markets. His newly opened NBFC in India will provide a prosperity platform for various credit and payment eco-systems. Joseph is a career banker having worked 27 years with ANZ Grindlays and thereafter with Standard Chartered Bank across various geographies. For the last eight years he was CEO Standard Chartered Bank in Nepal with additional governance responsibility of Afghanistan and Bhutan. He has deep working knowledge of financial markets in emerging markets, driving sovereign engagement around ratings advisory, public policy guidance and development of capital markets. He played a pivotal role working with Multilateral/ Bilateral agencies, Development Finance and socially responsible Investors, for directing specific program based support towards entities in ASEAN and South Asia. Joseph is recognized for his passion in creating funding vehicles for the microfinance sector and raising all-round stakeholder engagement & awareness for BOTP economics. His earlier stint as Country Head for Afghanistan, perhaps best portrays his values and commitment towards supporting development aid & reconstruction efforts. He practices transformational leadership, involving changing of mindset's, amply demonstrated in resurgence of the bank's franchise in Nepal. A TEDx speaker, he regularly shares best practise with regulators & Nepali entrepreneurship on risk management principles and corporate governance techniques. A proponent of free trade & investment as an engine of growth, he propagates best practice in International Trade & Investment flows through policy advocacy.

Dr. Shambhu Pokharel

Chairman, World Trade Group Nepal

Dr. Shambhu Pokharel is the Chairman of Startup Hub Nepal and also the chairman of STARTUP WORLD CUP NEPAL. In Nepal he is well known innovation activitist and Startup Movement Initiator. As a Media Entrepreneur He has served more than two decades with tangible change driven movements. He is the Sole Owner and Chairman of Business TV Nepal.
He is also the GLOBAL CEO of CEO CLUB GLOBAL. Dr. Pokharel Holds Wide range of knowledge on International Relations, Diplomacy, Startup and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Economic Ecosystem, International Economics, Supply Chain Ecosystem and Brand Building. Recipient of More Than Dozen International Award, Dr. Pokharel has been pivotal to drive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Developing Countries and Emerging Cities. Dr. Pokharel is also an architect of the NEW GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM. NEW GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM is the concept of transformation of developing countries into developed one with the help of Policy deviation. Dr. Pokharel is also the Founder and CEO of FRANCHISE GLOBAL, a Global Franchise exchange platform; Founder of Startup Hub Global (Global Startup Incubation Center planned to expand into 100 countries). Besides that, Dr. Pokharel is the Global Steering Committee Member of WORLD SOCIAL INNOVATION FORUM, Chairman of CENTER FOR DIPLOMATIC DIALOGUE and International Board of Director of IBM TV-USA. He is also the chairman of World Trade Group Nepal.

Anil Keshary Shah

Banking Expert, Former CEO of Nabil Bank

Anil Keshari Shah is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Nabil Bank, Nepal. He has earlier served as the CEO at Mega Bank Ltd., Head of Consumer Banking & Chief Operating Officer at Standard Chartered Bank Limited (Nepal) and Financial Analyst at ICIMOD. He has held leadership positions at the Nepal Investment Board, the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All Nepal Football Association, Lincoln School and the Nepal Banker’s Association. Among other accolades, he received the “Top CEO” award in 2007, 2006 and 2005, as recognized by The Boss Business Excellence Awards.

Santosh Koirala

President, Nepal Bankers' Association

Anil Shah ko Profile pani haldeu na: Anil Keshari Shah is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Nabil Bank, Nepal. He has earlier served as the CEO at Mega Bank Ltd., Head of Consumer Banking & Chief Operating Officer at Standard Chartered Bank Limited (Nepal) and Financial Analyst at ICIMOD. He has held leadership positions at the Nepal Investment Board, the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All Nepal Football Association, Lincoln School and the Nepal Banker’s Association. Among other accolades, he received the “Top CEO” award in 2007, 2006 and 2005, as recognized by The Boss Business Excellence Awards.

Siddhant pandey

Chairman, Nepal Private Equity Association

Ganesh Shah

Former Environment Minister

Ganesh Shah is a Nepalese politician and ex-Minister for Environment, Science and Technology. He is also one of the senior most leader of the Communist Party of Nepal and until recently was the General Secretary of the party Communist Party of Nepal.

Ekanath Khatiwada

Mr Ekanath Khatiwada is an International practitioner on Start up and private sector development perticularly in Africa and Asia.,currently he serves as a BODs for pokhara WASH Industries, MUNAA Krishi Limited, Africa Ventures . These are the newly start ups in Nepal by Nepali Diasporas.He is also a BOD for NRNA Foundation

Former Ambassador to Japan.

Dr. Bishnu Hari Nepal

Former Ambassador of Nepal to Japan,
Visiting Professor, and Theorist and Practitioner of International Relations, Peace, Conflict Security and Development Studies;
Expert Member of Foreign Policy Draft Sub-committee, Nepal Parliament-2068VS,
ED, CeDiD-Center for Diplomatic Dialogue, Nepal

Bikash Gurung

President of RAN

Bikash Gurung is the president of Robotics Association of Nepal RAN.

Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal

Director/Promoter Group

Mr Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal represents the Board of Directors from the Promoter Group. He has more than 25 years of experience in banking, insurance & infrastructure industry and has served in through various committes like Audit commmittee, Investment committee & Employee welfare committee. He has been on the Boards of directors for various companies like Citizen Investment Trust ( A Govt Owned Financial Institution), Rastriya Beema Sansthan, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khannepani Ltd. & NMB Bank Ltd.

Binayak Shah

HAN president

Binayak Shah has been unanimously elected as the president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) by the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association on Friday, April 28. Shah is the proprietor of Airport Hotel and is also associated with the Economic Chamber Nepal and Summit Group of Hotels and Resorts. He was HAN's first vice-president until the AGM elected a new committee under his leadership.

Prahlad Giri

DY Director, NRB

Binayak Shah has been unanimously elected as the president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) by the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association on Friday, April 28. Shah is the proprietor of Airport Hotel and is also associated with the Economic Chamber Nepal and Summit Group of Hotels and Resorts. He was HAN's first vice-president until the AGM elected a new committee under his leadership.

Amit Agrawal

Co-Founder, Khalti Digital Wallet

Lokraj Sharma

Chairman. Social Entrepreneurship Council, NRN(Denmark)

Mr. Lok Raj Sharma is an intelligent, hard-worker and innovative person. He is originally from Jumla, Nepal and working as an entrepreneur in several organizations since few years. He has excellent performance in his educational and social sector. He got the number one excellent student record in International Business Academy from 2008-2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has Masters Degree in International Business Management from University of UK, Diploma in leadership from Denmark and Diploma in Civil Engineering from IOE, Nepal. Currently he is working as a board of director in Reewire International ApS which is a fintech company running in 16 country beside that he is operating the International Trading IVS, Itoffer.dk and Woolliving.com in Denmark. In Nepal he is working as a Managing director of Nepal Payment Solution Pvt. Ltd. Which is in a mission of becoming service and payment hub in Nepal. Board of director in Builder 360 Nepal, a construction and real estate company, board of director in Nepal investment fund Ltd, Founder and board of director of Nrn lagubitta bittiye santha ltd.(D grade Bank). Chairperson in Lower Mid Rawa Khola Hydro Pvt. Ltd. He is leading and representing Nepalese entrepreneur in Scandinavia and Asian region. He is working as a convenor for social entrepreneurship development sub Committee in the global organization NRNA. He is a Founder president of Ropni Youth Club, Nepal.

Ekanath Khatiwada

Mr Ekanath Khatiwada is an International practitioner on Start up and private sector development perticularly in Africa and Asia.,currently he serves as a BODs for pokhara WASH Industries, MUNAA Krishi Limited, Africa Ventures . These are the newly start ups in Nepal by Nepali Diasporas.He is also a BOD for NRNA Foundation

Dr. Rajib Subba

ICT Expert

Dr. Rajib Subba, Ph.D. from University of Hawaii at Manoa is Former Police High rank Officer in Nepal Police and heading the ICT Division in the organization. He retired from Deputy Inspector General with service of 19 years in Nepal police force. Dr. Subba teaches Organizational Leadership and Management Information System. In addition, as a Visiting Associate Professor, he teaches at University of Agder, Norway. Dr. Subba brings more than twenty years of professional experience in Police communication and information technology. He conducts interdisciplinary research that investigates interplay between physical-virtual world particularly focused to online convergence behaviors, new media, crisis management and cybersecurity. His international experience includes United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Shidler College of Business and ITC/UNTAD-Geneva. His significant training portfolio includes APCSS-Hawaii, US Naval Post Graduate School, US Army Pacific Command, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone – Japan, and First Research Institute – China.

Dr. Aasif Ali Siddiqui

CEO of Artelir Inc

Dr. Aasif Ali Siddiqui is a highly accomplished leader with over 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, including 17 years in the Middle East. He currently serves as the Managing Director of AK Group, a leading provider of pharmaceutical, aesthetic, and medical equipment in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In addition to his role at AK Group, Dr. Siddiqui is the Founder and CEO of Artelir Inc., a digital healthcare company incorporated in Delaware, USA. The company expanded its presence by opening a subsidiary, Artelir DMCC, on April 19, 2020, headquartered in Dubai. Artelir's flagship product, Health Interface (HI), is a dynamic healthtech platform offering a suite of apps and a wide range of products and services to patients, healthcare providers, and medical professionals.

Dr. Manish Thapa

Managing Director, Global Equity Fund

Dr. Manish Thapa is the Founding Managing Partner of Global Equity Fund, a local institutional Private Equity and Venture Capital Fund based in Nepal. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Laxmi Bank. He is nominated as an Expert Member of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) - Binational & NRN Coordination Forum and an Expert Member of the StartUp Committee of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI).
Besides his exposure to the financial sector, he is an academic and currently serves as Visiting Professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Institute of International Relations - Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw and the Department of Conflict, Peace and Development Studies at Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He was Head and Professor of Peace and Security Studies at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies United Nation mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica (2015-2018). He is one of the founding members of the Department of Conflict, Peace & Development Studies at Tribhuvan University Nepal (2007-2015). He has served as Research Fellow in several universities and institutes in Europe and North America.
Manish was a Brown International Advanced Research Institute Fellow at Brown University (2011), Robert McNamara Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Peace & Conflict Research at Uppsala University (2009-2010), McGill – Echenberg Human Rights Fellow at McGill University (2010), Kroc Visiting Research Fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, USA (2008-2009) and Sauvé Research Fellow at McGill University (2006-2007).
He is co-chair of the Internal Conflicts Commission at the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) and a Council Member of the Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association (APPRA). He has published numerous books, journal articles, and book chapters with leading publishers and journals. His recent publications are Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies, (Chief Editor), Palgrave Macmillan, 2019; Internal Conflicts & Peacebuilding Challenges (KW Publishers: 2015); India in the Contemporary World (Routledge, 2014).

Sujit Shrestha

COO, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal

Mr. Sujit Shrestha is Chief Technology & Operations Officer for Standard Chartered Bank Nepal. Professional experience of 24 years. Led Technology for over 12 years before moving into Banking Operations and Governance role. Experienced in delivering large and complex technology projects in a global enterprise with culturally diverse and geographically distributed teams. Domain knowledge and expertise on Core Banking Systems, Payments Systems Integration, ERP, Cloud/Data Center, Cyber Security, Digital Channels, Workflow and Process Automation, API and Data Analytics. Driving improvement culture across the organisation using methodologies like Agile, Human Centered Design and LEAN. Mr. Shrestha has Participated in various national and international conferences as speaker and panelist. He presents himself as a banker with Technology at heart enabling Business to transform.