UAE positive about investing in Nepal’s startup sector - myRepublica - The New York Times Partner, Latest news of Nepal in English, Latest News Articles

A delegation led by Shova Gyawali, chairperson of Startup Summit Nepal 2026, met with UAE Ambassador to Nepal Abdullah Saeed Mubarak Jarwan Alshamsi at the UAE Embassy in Kathmandu to discuss ways to attract investment from the United Arab Emirates into Nepal’s startup and industrial sectors. The talks focused on promoting entrepreneurship, improving the investment environment, connecting UAE investors with Nepali startups and expanding a province- and university-level campaign into a national and international investment platform.

"Nepal could attract greater investment from the UAE by creating a conducive environment for entrepreneurs seeking to establish startups and businesses in the country," Ambassador Alshamsi said, urging a systematic approach to identifying commercially viable business ideas and investment-ready projects.

Ambassador Alshamsi also stressed the importance of skills development and orientation in technology fields. "The need to prioritize orientation, skills development and training in information technology, technical fields and other technology-driven sectors" was highlighted as essential to developing a skilled workforce able to support technology-based entrepreneurship and to prepare viable projects that can draw international capital.

Details of the meeting and summit campaign

Shova Gyawali outlined Startup Summit Nepal 2026’s strategy to broaden entrepreneurship support beyond Kathmandu by taking its campaign to all seven provinces and to universities across the country. The campaign has already begun with programs at Tribhuvan University and will provide practical guidance on business-plan development, sources of investment, market management, technology adoption and the operational aspects of running an enterprise.

"We will initially conduct programs in different provinces and universities to provide students, young people and aspiring entrepreneurs with comprehensive knowledge about startups. This initiative has already begun with Tribhuvan University," Gyawali said. She emphasized that the summit's objective is to help transform promising ideas into investment-ready projects and to connect them with investors both in Nepal and abroad.

• Meeting venue: UAE Embassy, Kathmandu
• Delegation led by: Shova Gyawali, Chairperson, Startup Summit Nepal 2026
• Key attendees: Eng. Umesh Kumar Gupta (keynote speaker), Director Basudev Neupane, Director Narayan Prasad Oli
• Initial campaign rollout: provincial and university-level programs, starting with Tribhuvan University

Gyawali warned that many Nepali startups struggle to scale due to limited access to capital, technology, markets, skills and mentorship. "Anyone wishing to start a business needs practical knowledge on how to transform an idea into a viable enterprise, raise investment and establish the business in the market," she said, arguing that programs focused solely on the capital would be insufficient to foster a nationwide entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Outlook

Both sides expressed intent to deepen economic cooperation: the UAE envoy encouraged identifying and packaging investment-ready projects, while the summit team pledged to build practical capacity across provinces and universities. Gyawali said the summit aims not merely to convene a conference but to create a platform that supports entrepreneurs from ideation through to securing investment.

Realising increased UAE investment will require coordinated action from government, the private sector, universities, financial institutions and international investors to close gaps in capital, technology and mentorship. If the province- and university-level campaign successfully produces investable projects, Nepal could present a clearer pipeline of opportunities to UAE investors seeking new markets and technology-driven ventures.