Open Knowledge Foundation Nepal

At the 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦, they signed up to teach digital skills. They left with something they didn't expect: a deep understanding of what it takes to run a real business in a growing city, and where the gaps are.

Volunteers spent eighteen days embedded inside local enterprises in Dhangadhi, not just setting up pages and listings, but building content, teaching digital safety, and walking entrepreneurs through every step until they actually understood.

At the end, they brought their findings to the local government and youth groups to plan what comes next. That handoff matters. It's what turns a programme into something that lasts.

They came from different backgrounds, beauty parlours, spice shops, fish farming, and general stores. Some had never thought about putting their business online. Some were already posting but didn't know there was a better way.⁣
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𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 gave them two days of training and weeks of hands-on support from local youth volunteers. By the end, every mentored business had a page, a Google Maps listing, and a clearer picture of what it means to operate safely in digital spaces, from setting up digital payments and promoting products online, to understanding cybersecurity, recognising scams, and knowing their rights as digital sellers under Nepal's evolving e-commerce laws.⁣
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For the women in the group, that last part mattered most, knowing how to protect themselves and their customers while building a public presence online.⁣
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The basics are in place. The confidence is there. What comes next is theirs to build. 🌱⁣
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AI systems weren't built with Nepal in mind — and Nepali voices are paying the price.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬. The result? Nepali content gets flagged, filtered, and silenced.



cc Pulitzer Center

Nepal's 𝐄-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟖𝟏 requires every business selling online to register, display their details, and meet consumer protection standards. That's a good thing.⁣
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But for a small business owner, the process to actually comply involves multiple government offices, legal documentation, and a national portal that assumes a level of support most micro-entrepreneurs simply don't have access to.⁣
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The law is theoretically open to everyone. The system behind it isn't.⁣
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Here are three changes that would close that gap. 👉⁣
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𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 in Dhangadhi set out to bring micro-entrepreneurs in Dhangadhi online. It did. But getting connected revealed a problem we didn't set out to solve.

𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥'𝐬 𝐄-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟖𝟏 creates obligations that most small businesses don't know exist, and a compliance pathway they can't navigate alone.

Swipe to see what we observed. 👉

Nepal's digital commerce law was 20 years old. A new one just arrived. 📜

The E-Commerce Act 2081 (2025) now covers every digital seller — including those selling on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 बाट बेच्नु? अब दर्ता अनिवार्य छ। 🛒

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰:
→ Registration is mandatory — no exceptions for social media sellers ✅
→ Micro-enterprises don't need a full e-commerce platform — but registration is still required 📋
→ Non-compliance? Up to Rs 1,00,000 fine ⚠️

In our Dhangadhi sessions, people kept asking: "𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?"

Now there's a law. But most sellers still don't know it exists. 🔍

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞? 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚? 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭? 📱

You have legal recourse in Nepal — most people just don't know how to use it.

This guide walks you through exactly what to do: 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒚𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒄𝒕 2063, what evidence to collect, and three ways to file your complaint, including from outside Kathmandu.

If you use digital tools to earn a living, this is essential reading.

ठगिएको छ? हैरानी भएको छ? कानून तपाईंको पक्षमा छ — जान्नुस् कसरी प्रयोग गर्ने।

𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐭.



cc CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Accountability Lab

𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲. 🌐

We just wrapped up three months in Dhangadhi — and here is what happened.

20 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝. 9 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 18 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. 3 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 — they sat inside local businesses, understood how a growing city really works, and then brought those findings to local government.

Ward Representative Jugram Chaudhary showed up to the closing showcase. That matters.

Facebook बाट बेच्ने, Google मा देखिने — यो मात्र व्यापार होइन, यो सहभागिता हो।

Nepal has $90M in incoming digital investment. The E-Commerce Act 2081 now places obligations on every informal seller. The Digital Nepal Framework 2.0 has ambitions for every municipality. None of it works if the people it's designed for are still waiting to be included.

𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐢 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.

They had smartphones. They used the internet every day. But no one had ever told them: 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐.

This is what we discovered when Open Knowledge Nepal went to Dhangadhi — and it completely reframed how we think about digital inclusion. The barrier was not connectivity. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞.

What does it take to move someone from scrolling to doing?

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭: https://oknp.org/blogs/when-access-isnt-enough-digital-inclusion-lessons-from-dhangadhi



cc CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Accountability Lab Nepal

𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝? 📱

Platforms make thousands of invisible decisions about what you see and what gets hidden. In Nepal, where social media is the primary space for news and civic debate, that matters enormously.

Our latest explainer series, 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑨𝒍𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒎𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆: 𝑭𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑽𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑵𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒍, breaks down how automated content moderation shapes what Nepali users see, say, and participate in online. When algorithms shape public information in Nepal, it's not just a tech issue — 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞.

Supported by Pulitzer Center

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐢 🚀⁣
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On April 3, we brought together entrepreneurs, youth volunteers, and local government to reflect on the completion of 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐬, following the training and mentorship phase.⁣
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From creating their first online presence to engaging real customers, entrepreneurs shared how their Digital Roadmaps are turning into action.⁣

cc⁣ Accountability Lab Nepal, Accountability Lab, Nikesh Balami

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