9th Edition of the Indrive ICT Award Successfully Organised; 22 Entities Bag Awards

The 9th Edition of the ICT Award was successfully held on 20 December 2024 where 17 companies and five individuals bagged an award over 15 categories.

The event was broadcast live on Kantipur TV HD, Hamro Patro, and the ICT Award Facebook page as well as the YouTube channel. Over 1,000 dignitaries attended the grand event held at the Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu.

Honourable Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung was the chief guest and inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp using digital technology.

Addressing the event, Minister Subba said, “We declare an IT decade but fail to allocate sufficient budgets for its implementation. Nepal still lacks an IT park. The state must focus on infrastructure development and policy reforms to create a conducive environment for the private sector.”

Other notable figures such as the Chief Minister of Karnali Province Yam Lal Kandel, Chairperson of the ICT Award Razan Lamsal, Chair of the Education, Health, and ICT Committee of the House of Representative Ambar Bahadur Thapa, and the vice-chair of the National Planning Commission, Prof. Shivaraj Adhikari also joined the stage to express their thoughts.

The winners were presented the awards after a rigorous selection process and a multiple-day voting programme for select categories. This year, over 800 online nominations across 14 categories were submitted. A panel of 14 national and three international experts conducted over 25 meetings to complete the selection process.

Furthermore, the pre-event activities included startup meetups in all seven provinces, two-day Startup and Idea Fest, boot camps, mentoring sessions, industry visits, field visits, speed dating, and presentations.

Esteemed guests Minister Subba, Chief Minister Kandel, and Vice-chair of National Planning Commission Adhikari presented the awards to the winners.

Talking of the winners, here is the list of all those who took home an award:

Winners of Indrive ICT Award 2024

1. 1. Indrive Startup ICT Award: Crimson Tech
   2. Asia Foundation Social Innovation ICT Award: GeoKrishi
   3. Product ICT Award: API Management System (APIMS)
   4. Rising Star ICT Award: SpeakUp Nepal
   5. Hamro Pay Public Choice ICT Award: Zapp Services
   6. South Asia Startup ICT Award: Hyphen SCS (India)
   7. Pioneer ICT Award: Prof. Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma (Founder, Kathmandu University)
   8. Ncell Women Icon ICT Award: Bandana Sharma (Head of Digital Banking and Card Division, Nepal Bank)
   9. Professional Excellence ICT Award: Dr. Bishesh Khanal (Founder, NAMICA)
   10. Entrepreneur ICT Award: Manohar Adhikari (Founder, Foodmandu)
   11. Nepali Diaspora ICT Award: Nami Baral (Co-founder, Neural Company)
   12. Digital Governance ICT Award: Supreme Court
   13. Digital Services ICT Award: IME Pay
   14. Digital Education ICT Award
       • Private Sector: LRI School, Kathmandu
       • Public Sector: Sukuna Secondary School, Morang
   15. Province-Level Startup ICT Recognitions:
       • Koshi Province: Delta Tech Pvt. Ltd.
       • Madhesh Province: Tejas Tech Pvt. Ltd.
       • Bagmati Province: Aviyantrik Karmashala Pvt. Ltd.
       • Gandaki Province: Akash Digital Pvt. Ltd.
       • Lumbini Province: Ninja Infosys Pvt. Ltd.
       • Karnali Province: Business Online Services Pvt. Ltd.
       • Sudurpaschim Province: Far West Infotech & Research Center

The ceremony also recognised other startups from different countries that made it into the Top 5. Meanwhile, additional highlights included musical performances by artists Mahesh Kafle and Asmita Adhikari.

Living with ICT organises this award annually and has been regarded as Nepal’s largest award in the information and communication technology sector since its inception in 2016. Popular brands and institutions like Indrive, Ncell Foundation, NepalPay QR, Genese, and Zoom filled the supporting role for the award this year.

Likewise, The Asia Foundation, Smart-en Technology, and Fortinet were Innovation, Powered by, and Security partners respectively. Government bodies and agencies like the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Department of Information Technology, and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority also collaborated on the 9^th edition of the ICT Award 2024.

(Press Release)