Startup World Cup
Nepal Regional 2021

Biggest Startup competition in Nepal

Minister, Ministry of Finance

Mr. Bishnu Poudel

Bishnu Prasad Paudel is a Nepalese politician, and the current General Secretary of Nepal Communist Party. He is the current Minister of Finance and also the current Member of Parliament from Rupandehi constituency no. 2. Mr Poudel won the election with a margin of 22,000 votes in the parliamentary election of 2017.

Minister, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies

Lekhraj Bhatta

Lekhraj Bhatta is the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Government of Nepal. He also served as Minister for Labour and Transport in First Dahal cabinet. In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election he was elected from the Kailali-5 constituency, winning 17979 votes. Again he served as Member of constituent Assembly in 2013 from Kailali-5. He is Member of House of Representatives elected from kailali-5.

Education Minister, Ministry of Education

Krishna Gopal Shrestha

Krishna Gopal Shrestha is a Nepali communist politician, Minister of Education, Science and Technology and a member of the House of Representatives of the federal parliament of Nepal.

Vice-Chariman, National Planning Comission

Professor Doctor Puspa Raj Kandel

Prof. Dr. Kandel is currently serving as the vice chairman of National Planning Commission. He has a PhD in taxation and is also a lecturer teaching management at Tribhuvan University. Kandel is also chairman of CPN-UML Central Accounting Commission.

Chief Secretary

Mr. Shanker Das Birangi

Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi assumed the responsibility of the 25th Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal on 1st October, 2020. Mr. Bairagi had been in the position of the Foreign Secretary since October 2015 and even prior to that, he had been the Acting/Officiating Foreign Secretary since February 2014, making it his seven years of service in that important position. He possesses over three decades of experience working as a civil servant. Mr. Bairagi was Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva as well as international organizations based in Vienna and Rome from February 2012 to November 2013. During the same period, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nepal to the Swiss Confederation with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Italy. As Nepal’s Ambassador to WTO, Mr. Bairagi was entrusted with the responsibility of the Coordinator of the Consultative Group of the Least Developed Countries in 2013 and successfully steered the Group during the crucial negotiations on the outcome of WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference (known as Bali Package). He also led the LDC Group in Geneva during the 13th UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) held in Doha in 2012. During his tenure as Ambassador/Permanent Representative, Mr. Bairagi led the Nepali delegations to the UN Human Rights Council, World Health Assembly, Annual Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Secretary, Ministry of ICT

Mr. Hari Prasad Basyal

Governor, NRB

Maha Prasad Adhikari

Maha Prasad Adhikari is the Governor at Nepal Rastriya Bank. He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer at Inverstment Board Nepal. Mr. Adhikari has a strong backgroung in Finance and Investment with more than 30 years of experience in the particular field.

Secretary, Commerce & Supplies

Dinesh Bhattarai

Secretary, Industry

Arjun Prasad Pokharel

CEO, Investment Board Nepal

Sushil Bhatta

Mr. Sushil Bhatta has more than 17 years of professional experience in managing infrastructure projects, financial institutions and development organizations. Prior to the OIBN, Mr. Bhatta was a Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC). He has wider expertise and experience in project planning & development, contract management, project execution, business development and financial sectors.

IT Expert to The Prime Minister

Asgar Ali

Mr. Asgar Ali is the IT expert to the Office of the prime minister of Nepal. He is also known as one of the most Successful Startup in the country. Mr. Ali is also the President/CEO at eSewa Fonepay Pvt. Ltd, which is Nepal's First and largest Mobile Wallet and Online Payment Gateway. Mr. Ali is an IT Passionate with over 17 years of experience, including software product design, materialisation, roll out plan execution, business operations and strategy.

Vice president, NYC

Mr. Madhab Prasad Dhungel

Madhab Prasad Dhungel is the Executive Vice Chairperson of the National Youth Council, an autonomous government organization under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, since 2016. Nepal received the Future Policy Award, 2019 (Bronze) as recognition of youth friendly policies in place, where Mr Dhungel played constructive and decisive role. . He has been a Central Committee Member of Nepal Communist Party, the present ruling party of Nepal, since 2014. He was awarded with the World Youth Prize, 2018 from International Youth Committee. He holds master’s degrees in Sociology and Political Science, and has been undertaking his PhD research on Socialist Education System in the context of Nepal He dreams of preparing skilled and entrepreneurial youth for prosperous Nepal.

Secretary (Industry), Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies

Mr. Chandra Kumar Ghimire

Mr. Chandra Kumar Ghimire is the policy researcher in the field of trade, transit, industry and investment. He is a long experienced civil servant who was successfully terminated in January 2021 from the position of Secretary for Industry at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies. He had a career in the civil service spanning 31 plus years, including five years in the capacity of Secretary of Government of Nepal. Mr. Ghimire has been decorated with numerous meritorious awards and accolades, including the prestigious Suprabal Jana Sewashri Medal, a state medal of highest order conferred by the President of Nepal, for his remarkable contribution to the public services. He has represented Nepal in various negotiations as well as international and national forums. Furthermore, he has represented the LDCs of Asian and Pacific region in Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a global mechanism related to WTO, Geneva, during 2010-2012. Mr. Ghimire has an M.Phil. in Public Policy from University of Bergen, Norway. He is a Gold Medalist (summa cum laude) from Tribhuvan University in Master of Public Administration. He has attended a host of training programs and courses, including, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA, and University of York, UK, where he was a Chevening Fellow.

Ambassador of Finland

Mr. Pertti Anttinen

Pertti Anttinen is an ambassador of Finland to Nepal. He has worked as Finland's Ambassador to Lusaka, Zambia. He has also served in Finland's Embassies in Pretoria, Dublin and Ankara. At the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Anttinen has held different positions in the Department for Africa and the Middle East and in the Department for the Middle East. Anttinen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture and forestry. He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1991.

Marketing Manager at Pegasus Tech Ventures and Startup World Cup.

Janice Mok oversees Marketing at Pegasus Tech Ventures and Startup World Cup. Janice started her career in various tech and beauty startups, leading the marketing and content efforts. She led the design of web and mobile apps for corporate tech clients in Silicon Valley. During her time in the beauty industry, Janice also served at the Creative Director and produced Warner Brothers Wonder Woman. She took part in its product launch through conception and to execution. She was also involved in public relations working with high-profile online influencers for strategic business partnerships and product collaborations. At Pegasus and Startup World Cup, she is the creator who drives the storytelling and targeted messaging to create engaging content. With years of experience in branding and marketing industry, leading campaigns locally, nationally, and internationally, she stays committed to translating high level ideas and objectives into cutting edge of design. Janice holds a BA. in communications and graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors from San Jose State University.

Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures.

Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Mentor

Bill Reichert serves as the Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures managing investments in the US. He has helped manage Pegasus investments in AI, robotics, quantum computing, neuromorphics, space, and other sectors. He is also the Chief Evangelist for Startup World Cup, a platform that connects and supports startup ecosystems all over the world. Bill started his investment career as the co-founder and Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has served on the boards of many startups. He also has over 20 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur and operating executive. Prior to Garage, Bill was a co-founder or senior executive in several venture-backed technology companies, including Trademark Software, The Learning Company, and Academic Systems. Earlier in his career, Bill worked at McKinsey & Company, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., and the World Bank. He has authored and co-authored several articles and speeches on entrepreneurship, venture capital, international trade, and monetary policy. Bill holds a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He has been on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught Venture Finance. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and is a former Chairman of the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley. He is a Beachheads Advisor for New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and is also an Advisor to the Women’s Startup Lab, Nordic Innovation House, and the Korea Innovation Center.

Julian Mixon.

Mergers & Acquisitions | Venture Capital

“Julian Mixon is a finance and investment professional in South Africa. He is a Chartered Accountant and also holds the CGMA designation as a member of CIMA. He currently is an Investment Principal at Naspers Foundry, a South Africa-focused start-up funding initiative that helps talented and ambitious South African technology entrepreneurs develop and grow businesses that improve people’s daily lives. Julian has a post-graduate degree in both Accounting and Financial Management with over 15 years’ work experience and has spent the last decade working across a variety of M&A roles prior to joining Naspers in 2020. In the past he has sat on a number of Boards of investee and related companies and currently serves as both a Trustee and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of a non-profit organisation in South Africa.”

Komal Yousaf

IBM Global Business Service (Consulting Wing)

Komal is an IT expert and has a broad Spectrum IT experience in Quality and Test Management, Project Management, Service Management /Business Consultancy for cross Industrial Project (Telecom, HealthCare, Automobile, FMCG, Software Development Projects) on various Local, Regional and Global Project during my 15 years experience at IBM Delivery Teams for various key accounts. Besides that Komal keeps interest in mentoring, and has been on Judges Panel for various Universities Final Year projects, Industrial Exhibits, Key Note Speaker, Training and guest Lectures to universities students.

Retail Industry Leader

Middle East (Gulf & Levant) at IBM

Adnan Siddiqui has been in corporate and professional leadership positions for about two decades. He is not only a business professional but also equally involved in community uplifting and social development efforts. As a growth-driven professional with 20 years of expertise in C-level business development, revenue growth and consultative selling, he has developed multiple territories & business units. After spending almost 8 years of his early career as a software engineer, Adnan moved into territory sales managing some of Pakistan’s largest Financial Services and Distribution sector organizations. In the later part of his career in Pakistan he moved to Islamabad and worked with Government, Armed Forces and Telecommunication sectors. Adnan became Country Sales Manage for IBM Pakistan & Afghanistan in 2009 and later Country General Manager. Adnan moved to UAE in 2013 to establish Smarter Commerce business unit and since then he had been involved with the Retail Industry in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey region. Currently Adnan is leading the Retail Industry business of IBM in Middle East. One of Adnan’s passions is helping youngsters become successful. He achieved corporate CSR award for his work with Academia in Pakistan. Adnan has been working with several startups in advisory capacity one being hysabkytab.com. Currently he is a mentor and advisor at Center for Global Innovators (CGI) as well as judge for Startup World Cup, 2020 Pakistan and Nepal regionals. Adnan Siddiqui has a Bachelor of Computer Science from NUCES-FAST. He also has an MBA from IBA, Karachi and another recent one from Anglia Ruskin University, UK, majoring in Marketing Design Innovation. Adnan is also a graduate of a two-year IBM Executive program in Strategic Management from London Business School. Adnan is also a certified board director by Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance.

Dennis Kibirev

Founder and CEO of FrontierFunder

Dennis is the founder and CEO of FrontierFunder, a platform that connects emerging market startups with global capital. He has over 15 years’ international experience gained at funded startups, scale-ups and multinationals (Unilever, Suntory and Freelancer.com). This includes launching and scaling digital and physical products, as well as services - both as an employee and co-founder. He was previously an Entrepreneur Residence for the Swiss government’s startup program in Vietnam, and currently acts as an advisor for accelerators and venture funds in North America, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Africa & Latin America. Dennis is on the global jury panel for Startup World Cup and regularly speaks at international startup-related events.

IT Expert to The Prime Minister

Asgar Ali

Mr Asgar Ali is the President/CEO at eSewa Fonepay Pvt. Ltd,which is Nepal's First and largest Mobile Wallet and Online Payment Gateway. Mr Ali is an IT Passionate with over 17 years of experience, including software product design, materialization ,roll out plan execution, business operations and strategy. He also currently works with the Prime Minister as his IT expert.

Shekhar Golchha

President, FNCCI

Shekhar Golchha is Director, the Golchha Organization. He holds a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Delhi University, and a degree in Business Administration from Webster University in the UK. He joined the Golchha Organization, set up by his grandfather Ram Lal Golchha, 14 years ago. Recently he has been appointed as the President of FNCCI (Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce & Industries). Today he is considered a major entrepreneur, employing more than 300, and overseeing a business worth NRs 1 billion annually. He is Managing Director, Him Electronics, Hansraj Hulaschand, and Hulas Investments. Mr. Golchha is also the director of Hester Nepal Pvt. Ltd., Neoteric Nepal Pvt. Ltd., and Eastern Sugar Mills Ltd.

Satish K. More

President, CNI

Mr. Satish More is the President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). He is also the Chairman of Lucky Group and Director of Hongshi-Shivam Cement Company. One of the founding members of the Lucky Group, Mr. More has been instrumental in the group’s diversification towards manufacturing. A charismatic individual with the energy of the youth, he works fearlessly. Mr. More has previously served as the President of Nepal Foreign Trade Association.

President, Nepal Chamber of Commerce

Rajendra Malla

Rajendra malla is the president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce. He is a well renowned businessman. He represents various companies like Asiatic International Trading Pvt. Ltd., Prabhu Insurance Co. Ltd., Manag Air Pvt.Ltd, Bhaktapur Tiles & Brick Industry Pvt.Ltd, Kantipur Engineering College Pvt.Ltd, Sophan Multiple Company Pvt.Ltd., Tirula Resort Pvt.Ltd., Mailung Khola Hydro Power Ltd. His line of business focuses on Industry, Trading, Insurance, Education, Airlines.

Anil Keshary Shah

CEO, Nabil Bank

Anil Shah's career started as a teller in 1991, where he made Rs. 3,500 per month. As if that wasn't insulting enough to his "ivy-leagueish" education from George Washington University and FMS Delhi, he was repeatedly told by friends and family that he was making a mistake. Having been born to diplomat parents but wanting to try something new, he says "People told me it would take ten lifetimes to make the money invested in my education. But I have always wanted to get out of my comfort zone."

Rupesh K. Shrestha

Assistant Professor, Kathmandu University

Rupesh has broad experience as an Assistant Professor and visiting faculty of more than nine years of progressive professional experience in design, implementation and supervision of education, training, and research projects in the field of entrepreneurship and marketing at the graduate level. He is the chief architect for the Idea Studio Lab Based Incubation Curriculum. His specific areas of expertise include New Venture Creation, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Consumer Behavior, Product and Brand Management, and teach these courses to MBA students at Kathmandu University School of Management. His research interests are in entrepreneurial development models, entrepreneurial ecosystems, consumer behavior, and branding. He is currently involved in entrepreneurship education programmes with Oulu University, Finland; and MIT, USA. He finished his MPhil in Management and eMBA from Kathmandu University School of Management and his BSc from University of Nebraska at Kearney. He is also a founder member of Nepal AgriBusiness Innovation Center and director in different social organizations and startup companies. He also coaches and mentors startup companies on a regular basis. He is also involved with different companies and institutions as investor, advisor, mentor, and a board member.

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 Nepalese media entrepreneur, chairman of world trade group Nepal and founder of Business TV Nepal. He has appeared as speaker in international programs. He has given speech about "Asia as Modern Power Center" in Russia, & about "Future of Shopaholic" in Thailand. He has been awarded "Kalam Ke Sipahi (Soldier of Pen)"by All India Newspaper Association for his contributions to media sector. He has received Most Ambitious CEO Award presented by CEO Club Network at UAE & Global Strategic Leader Award at Malaysia. He is also a renown international motivational speaker and manages several enterprises including the Business Television.

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.

Dr. Sunil Singh Sijapati

Startup Ecosystem expert

Doctor in Business Administration from USA, worked as an insurance professional in Nepal before going overseas for MBA. Worked as financial advisor business advisor and management consultant in USA and Canada. He is very enthusiastic for financial technology and e-commerce integration. Ten year of experience in management consulting and corporate advising.
Doctor of Business Administration- California, USA (E-commerce)
Master of Economic - Florida, USA- (General)
Master of Business Administration- Florida, USA- (Consumer Behaviour and E-commerce)
Managing Partner- Revive Management Nepal
Co-Founder- Sajilo Meds
Co-Founder- Sajilo Meals
Experience
Management consulting- focused on retail re-engineering and e-commerce integration
Experienced in business research & strategic adaptation and digital transformation

Dr. Bachchu Kailash Kaini

Academic in Health Care Management

Bachu has been working as a senior healthcare manager and an academic in leadership, operations management, clinical governance and quality improvement in healthcare in the UK. He has gained a wide range of experience in these fields in acute hospitals, community and primary care settings. He has also managed large scale projects and team in various healthcare organisations in the past. He is an experienced lecturer in healthcare management. He has designed courses and teaching materials for post graduate and undergraduate courses. He also published three books in healthcare management and numerous articles in various journals and papers. He is also a blogger and passionate individual in literary.
Sr Hospital Manager & Academic
Leadership, Strategic & Operations Management
Quality Improvement
Managing Partner- Revive Management Nepal
Clinical Governance and Academic in Health Care Management

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.

Dim Prasad Poudel

Managing Director, Nepal Airlines

Dim Prasad Poudel is the Managing Director of Nepal Airlines. A Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) holder from nation’s largest University, Tribhuwan University, Central Campus and having studied Chartered Certified Accounting from ACCA-UK. As a financial and management expert served more than 200 Institutions, NGOs and INGOs in Nepal and abroad. He was the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of BATAS organization, Kathmandu, September 2015. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Cancer Hospital & Research Center, December 2012.

Sushil Pokharel

Chairman, Sushmit energy

Sushil Pokharel is a seasoned entrepreneur, venture capitalist and leader. He is focused in new business development, operational management, project management, startups, business strategy, strategic planning, team building, radio and broadcasting technology. He is passionate about Renewable Energy, Social Development, Venture Capital and Information Technology. His major objective is to encourage and inspire young entrepreneurs of Nepal towards the right path in contributing to the society through business and to create an entrepreneurship infrastructure which will support startups from idea. development stage to market entry, investment and acceleration.

Founder/Director, Exseed Space

Mahesh Murthy

Mahesh Murthy has helped launch Amazon.com, a few dozen startups, a few hundred brands and now, a few satellites.
Mahesh has worked on the management, investor and ad agency sides of businesses.
As a marketer, Mahesh has:
- worked on Amazon, Yahoo, Pepsi, Nike, Microsoft, Unilever across the US, China, Europe and India
- helped launch MTV in India and then ran its rival Channel V.
- founded marketing and ad firm Pinstorm.
- written ads and directed commercials that have won loads of advertising and marketing awards
As an investor, Mahesh has:
- run 3 venture funds and is now on his 4th.
- his funds have had investors (LPs) like Google, Motorola and pension funds from Denmark, Netherlands and the UK
- his investees include Red Bus, CarWale, Doolally, Career Launcher, Chumbak, Voonik, SabKa Dentist and Satellize (earlier Exseed Space)
- his funds won India's "Best VC of the Year". Twice.
Mahesh is on Twitter at @MaheshMurthy

Karma Bhutia

Startup Ecosystem expert

Karma Bhutia - is an Entrepreneur, Speaker, Mentor, StartUp Enthusiast with interest in Data Science, (ML, AI) & Robotics. He is Mentor at Sikkim Manipal University Technology Business Incubator and Faster Capital a venture capital fund based in Dubai. Karma is also a Founder of iShippo, Demi, NiKo.ai and co-founder of Gotem.io a crypto assetstartup based in Taiwan. He co-founded SourceN – a successful software consulting firm; which was acquired by HolidayIQ & Qwikcilver. Karma has patents to his name & was featured by Forbes in 2016. He is a recipient of “NICT” award for innovation & outstanding contribution in Information Technology. He is an eNorthEast awardee for eGovernance & citizen service delivery, mBillionth-2015 awardee for Mobile Governance and Manthan-2015 awardee.

Shameem Ahsan

Chairman, World Social Innovation Forum; General Partner, Pegasus Tech Ventures

Shameem Ahsan is a VC & PE Investor, Co-Author – Startup Kingdom, Startup ecosystem builder and Policy Expert. He has been helping founders create social impact by converging business, tech, and innovation to solve socio economic problems in emerging economies. He has played a pivotal role in the implementation of major policy changes related to the ICT sector in last one decade. Shameem is a General Partner of Pegasus Tech Ventures, a US$ 1.6 billion fund. Located in Silicon Valley, USA, Pegasus Tech Ventures provides funding to innovative startups around the world. With more than a dozen multi-million-dollar funds under management, Pegasus Tech Ventures focuses its investment in IT, Health IT, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Robotics, Big Data, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, FinTech and Next Generation Technologies. Pegasus has invested in over 180 startups in the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia which includes include SpaceX, Airbnb, DoorDash, Robinhood, 23andMe, SoFi, Bird, Vicarious, Genius, H2O.ai, Affectiva, Color. He is Chairman of Venture Capital & Private Equity Association of Bangladesh (VCPEAB). He is founder and President of TiE Dhaka.

Jenni Risku

Founder, Women in Tech

Jenni is a business kickstarter and entrepreneur with 10+ years of hands-on business development experience across Europe and Asia. Currently she is focused to empower people and companies with technology, and to create opportunities that serve this ecosystem in Asia. She has led go-to-market teams and business expansions (reporting to C-level or main shareholders) and focused on diversification of existing businesses via partnerships and/or equity investments. She has worked in various industries from e-commerce/online start-ups, events, cross-border investments between China and Europe (PE, M&A) and China trade (FMCG exports from Europe to China). Her passion is global business & start-ups. She has lived in five and supported fifteen countries so far, usually as the first person on the ground to get things started. She believes leadership should mean to lead with a strong vision, context and a sense of impact in order to empower people and teams. She is an impact driven entrepreneur, who focuses on building profitable, “do-good” businesses.

James Tan

Chairman, Action Community for Entrepreneurship (The National Voice for Singapore Startup Ecosystem)

James Tan is Managing Partner at Quest Ventures, a top venture capital fund in Asia. Prior to this, James was co-founder and COO of 55tuan, a NASDAQ listed e-commerce group that grew to more than 200 cities and 5,000 employees across China. As the first Singaporean and one of the rarefied few foreigners to found a public listed internet company in China, and for his investments in the next generation of entrepreneurs, James was recognized as an outstanding overseas Chinese by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China. For his outstanding global contributions, James received the Alumni Award from the University of South Australia. James currently serves as advisor, board member or trustee on the Action Community for Entrepreneurship, Applied Innovation Institute, Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia, Beijing CYL Joint Committee on Entrepreneurship Development, National Research Foundation CGAP Fund, Social Impact Catalyst, Sports Excellence Business, and Vietnam Angel Network. James has been guest speaker at China-focused and entrepreneurship events such as ITB Berlin, Private Equity Insights, Stanford-PARC Digital Cities, SWITCH, and World Islamic Economic Forum. He is an advisor or mentor at Chinaccelerator, Founder Institute, and PSA unboXed. He has guest lectured at Fudan, IE, Tsinghua, and UC Berkeley.

Kurt Davis

Author, "Finding Soul: From Silicon Valley to Africa"

Kurt is a global entrepreneur and a business leader in technology from Silicon Valley and Asia for 20 years. He is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Kakuma Ventures and his expertise is the intersection of finance, business development/partnerships, and international work (Asia, Europe, and Africa), BD specialist, and financier. He was the first business hire at Boku.com and built that operation globally for 7 years. The company (Boku.com) went IPO in London in November 2017. He did over 100 deals with telecom and digital media companies including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Softbank, Alibaba, Vodafone, and more. He also has 6 years’ experience in venture capital investing. World exploration and social impact is a passion of his. He has traveled to 80 countries. Most recently, he traveled Africa where he taught at business accelerators, and started a micro-finance non-profit in a refugee camp at Kakuma, Kenya.

Salabh Mittal

CEO, School for Social Entrepreneurs India

Anh Pham

Chief Partner Officer, Regional Commercial Director, SEA New Markets at Microsoft

Shane Shin

Co-Founding Partner, Shorooq parters

As Shorooq's Co-Founding Partner, Shane is a hands-on investor and entrepreneur. His experience in creating, building and growing tech companies help daring and passionate founders realize their dream vision and find success. He co-leads the investment decisions, sourcing, fundraising, portfolio management, exit strategy and team building. Shane is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with Summa Cum Laude, Joseph Wharton Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar Honors. He has built his career as an investment professional, investment banker and entrepreneur in the US prior to founding Shorooq Partners in Abu Dhabi.

Kimmo Paajanen

CEO, Project Manager, Ecosystem Leader, Teacher for Professional Pedagogy

Over 25 years of experience in education, digital media and ICT. An experienced Project Manager in education export and international project management in both private and public sectors. Also, a responsible business developer in Allied ICT Finland collaboration network. Leadership merits from acting several years as a CEO and partner in a private software company engaged in both domestic and international sectors international business.

Deputy Governer, NRB

Bam Bahadur Mishra

Bam Bahadur Mishra is a Deputy Governer at Nepal Rastra Bank based in Kathmandu, Central Region. He also served as Director of Nepal Rastriya Bank. Previously, Bam was a Board Member at Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank.

Co Founder at Nepal Entrepreneurs’ Hub

Hempal Shrestha

Mr. Hempal Shrestha is an Interdisciplinary Consulting Researcher with over 18 years of experience in Nepal, South Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and America. Hempal specializes in IT strategy, Knowledge Management, and Intellectual Property. His undertakings primarily emphasized fusing the business process digitization (automation) or business process re-engineering (digitalization) with the business goals and compliance requirements. He has comprehensively consulted on extensive issues related to ICTs, technology and development, education and training, capacity development and change management, knowledge management and knowledge sharing, legal and policy compliances for multiple IT products, services, software, and solutions. Hempal graduated with double degrees in Science (BSc.) and Law (LLB) and holds his Masters in Computer Applications (MCA).

Corporate Account Orchestration at Microsoft

Deependra Bajracharya

Deependra Raj Bajracharya, Account Executive at Microsoft. representing Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, and Myanmar has been serving to the ICT market of Nepal since 1994. He has started his IT carrier with Local publishing business at a town called Chitwan. He has worked as a Communication Director for Global Net P. Ltd., Chitwan which was business partner for Mercantile Groups, Kathmandu on Internet Service provider (ISP) as a Point of presence (POP). He has been in relation with Microsoft as “Partner Account Manager” and as” General Manager” since 2007 through its appointed strategic partner as Market Development Partner (MDP Nepal, later known as Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal-MIC Nepal) in Nepal till the year June 2011. Microsoft since 2011, to enhance its customer experience, to look after government affairs and to promote the sales of Microsoft products and service, is to have a direct presence in Nepal in the leadership of Deependra. The journey continued until August 2020 on various roles in Microsoft such as, “Partner Development Manager” for Nepal until 2016 and then territory expanded to the countries of Bhutan and Laos as “Business Development Manager “ until August 2020. At present Mr. Deependra Raj Bajracharya, represents Microsoft worldwide inside Sales team in capacity of “Account Executive” for the territory of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

Managing director for Dolma Impact Fund I & II

Bidhyabaridhi Sigdel is managing director for Dolma Impact Fund I & II, Dolma is the first international private equity fund dedicated to invest in Nepal. Dolma has a portfolio of 9 companies in Nepal with the fund size of USD 77 million across two funds. Dolma is a DFI funded endeavor and is recently announced its initial close on second fund of USD 40 million. Bidhya, a Chartered Accountant, has been in professional finance and accounting in both India and Nepal for more than 15 years, including latest six years in the Nepal banking sector before Dolma. He joined Dolma before first close in 2014. Bidhya has worked with multinational accounting firms in India and Nepal before. Bidhya holds an MBA from Kathmandu University School of Management. He has also completed Accelerated Development Program on Leadership from London Business School. Bidhya is a certified corporate director from Institute of Directors, India. He represents as a non-executive director at various portfolio companies for Dolma Impact Fund. Bidhya was also a member of the board of Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd, a government owned commercial bank. He is a council member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, the regulator for accounting practice, reporting and education in Nepal. Bidhya has also received number of trainings in private equity, governance and compliance. He has also delivered a number of lectures in various platforms on private equity, business valuation organized by ICAN, ACAN and other such organisations.

Nirajan Kandel

Deputy CEO, Reliance Life Insurance Limited

Mr. Nirajan Kandel has been in the Financial Services Industry for about 14 years. Before joining Reliance Life Insurance as Deputy CEO, he has been in banking for 12 years. Mr. Nirajan joined reliance life from its inception day. He has spent 8 years at Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited. During his career at Standard Chartered, he has worked in different capacities from Business Planning Manager to Branch Manager. When he left the bank, he was part of the Wealth Management unit and he has been instrumental in leveraging wealth management unit of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal. While working as Branch Manager, he was given additional responsibility to drive digital channel for the entire country as “Country Digital Champion”. He was also one of the high performers at SCB. Mr. Nirajan has worked at Citizens Bank International Limited and Siddhartha Bank Limited before joining SCB. He has headed Remittance unit of the bank, worked in Corporate Banking as Relationship Manager and also led one of the branches as a Branch Manager. His initial banking career started from Siddhartha Bank in 2006. Mr. Nirajan has published numerous articles on banking, wealth management, leadership, and SME funding. He is also one of the trainers at the National Banking Institute (NBI). He holds a professional qualification, ACCA and Master’s in Business.

Prahlad Giri

Deputy Director at Nepal Rastra Bank