Digital transformation projects trapped in a cycle of loans, delays and structural uncertainty

Nepal’s push for digital transformation has long been backed by donor loans and grants, but repeated failures, institutional confusion and weak implementation continue to derail major projects.

Nepal first began its push for digital socio-economic transformation in 2007 with the drafting of an E-Governance Masterplan. Since then, donor agencies have consistently backed the government’s digitalisation drive through loans and grants. Yet the very projects envisioned as the foundation for future e-governance and economic growth have repeatedly faltered.