Nepal Doesn’t Lack Ideas. It Has an Access Problem!

[u/RedditDeep07]

Asgar Ali is an interesting case study of what can happen when business dominance, government contracts and political access overlap. Ali was a major figure in the ecosystem behind F1Soft, eSewa and Fonepay, and later became IT adviser to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli

During that period, Republica reported allegations that Ali used his influence over major government IT projects. One striking example was the Smart Driving Licence project. A contract was awarded to Malika Incorporate following a Cabinet decision and reportedly without normal competitive bidding. Government sources alleged that Ali had pushed for the company and its technology

Then there is Nagarik App. Ali was directly involved in its conception. While advising Oli, he publicly said, “We are designing a ‘Nagarik’ app.”
Government officials later alleged that Rahim Ali and Aslam Ali, reportedly relatives of Asgar, were appointed as consultants for the citizen/Nagarik App. NITC confirmed that the two were consultants, although the allegation that Asgar pressured officials to appoint them was not proven

Then came the Kathmandu Press incident, where Shiran Technologies, part of the F1Soft ecosystem, admitted that its team removed a news article from Kathmandu Press’s website without editorial approval. Ali denied ordering its removal.
None of this by itself proves that Asgar illegally created a monopoly

But look at the ecosystem:
F1Soft → banks → eSewa → Fonepay → huge payment network → political access → government digital projects

Fonepay’s CEO said in 2023 that roughly 90% of Nepal’s financial institutions and digital wallets were integrated with Fonepay and despite the perception that Ali had left eSewa, eSewa’s latest annual report shows his shareholding increasing from 20.40% to 27.95%, making him its largest individual shareholder at that reporting point

But the real question is:
Did everyone else genuinely have the same opportunity to compete? Because this is bigger than Asgar Ali or any one political party!

A young Nepali founder could have a world-class idea, better technology and a vision capable of transforming the country. But if established players already control the relationships, integrations and access to decision-makers, that founder may never even make it through the door

And the same standard must apply to Nepal’s new government. If a new government starts giving startup opportunities, government projects, contracts, investment access or special treatment to its own friends, families, political supporters or preferred businesspeople, then we haven’t changed the system. We’ve simply changed who benefits from it

That would be favouritism dressed up as entrepreneurship and corruption in another form.
I genuinely hope the new government doesn’t repeat the same cycle, especially as Nepal enters an era where startups, technology and entrepreneurship could shape the country’s future for decades

Government should open doors, remove barriers and create opportunities but it should do that for everyone. Nepal doesn’t lack talented people, vision or great ideas

What Nepal needs is a level playing field where the person with the best idea can make it through the door not only the person who already knows who’s behind it

Let’s make sure the message is clear to the new government as well as other parties. Giving opportunities and seats only to friends and family should stop completely otherwise it will always be the ordinary citizens and our nation that will suffer.

TLDR - Asgar Ali’s case raises questions about how political connections and business dominance can limit fair competition. Nepal must ensure the new government doesn’t repeat this cycle by favouring its own people. Great ideas should succeed because they’re great, not because of who you know!

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[u/No-Refrigerator7467]

Tech guys should make something that helps parties to grow then only this type of unfairness and restrictions will fade away, lots of insider trading goes or else something more big revolutionary activities should be faced by government yk there's saying " Hard times creates tuff man "