Tech leaders in Koshi Province unveil roadmap to make Biratnagar regional IT hub

KATHMANDU: Tech leaders in Koshi Province unveiled a strategic roadmap on Wednesday aimed at shifting Nepal’s IT momentum beyond the capital and building Biratnagar into a regional technology hub.

The document, titled Biratnagar Regional IT Hub, was launched by CAN Federation Koshi Province together with the Federation of Computer Association Nepal (CAN Federation) chapters of Morang, Sunsari and Udayapur. The initiative, promoted under the banner Kathmandu 2 Biratnagar Digital Corridor to Make Koshi Regional IT Hub, was presented under the leadership of Chairperson Sandesh Rai with keynote remarks from IT industry leader Chiranjibi Adhikari.

CAN Federation Secretary Thakur Kumar Shrestha praised the plan and pledged close cooperation with provincial authorities. “We will definitely implement this roadmap in deep collaboration with the Koshi Province Government,” he said.

Speaking at the programme, Digital Decentralisation Dialogue, held in Itahari, Sunsari district, Sandesh Rai said the region already holds natural advantages for an IT centre and pledged broad stakeholder engagement. “We are fully ready to coordinate and cooperate with each and every stakeholder in this region to make this vision a reality,” he said.

Local chapter leaders highlighted priorities that go beyond training and events to focus on market-ready products and exportable software. CAN Federation Morang President Sumit Kumar Shah said, “We must fiercely promote our local talent pool and local tech startups in this region through targeted policy and active advocacy.” CAN Federation Sunsari President Lokendra Prasad Dhakal added, “Promoting local-level IT entrepreneurs is the absolute key to building a sustainable, thriving tech ecosystem in Nepal.” CAN Federation Udayapur President Rajan Acharya called for a strong ICT foundation in the province: “We have to establish a robust ICT Foundation in the Koshi Region to successfully achieve the decentralised 'Digital Nepal' concept.”

The roadmap highlights Biratnagar’s strategic advantages, including proximity to public-sector demand, an existing industrial base with needs for ERP, automation and cybersecurity, and a potential corridor linking Biratnagar, Itahari and Dharan. Planners also point to border-region trade as a source of immediate use cases for logistics, compliance and data analytics.

Priority technology domains named in the plan include health-tech and agri-tech solutions, local cybersecurity services, and AI-enabled public services aimed at turning municipal data into automated governance tools. The document emphasises producing “Nepal Made Software” capable of scaling to international markets.

To retain talent locally, the roadmap proposes high-tier coding bootcamps, structured college-to-company internships, shared workspaces and founder seed grants. Organisers said these measures are intended to enable young professionals to learn, work and build companies within Koshi Province.

CAN Federation officials said the period following the post-Budget 2026/27 offers a regulatory window for action. The immediate 0–100 days agenda includes forming a taskforce and mapping IT companies, with plans for comprehensive multi-stakeholder consultations to move the initiative into implementation.