The grand finale of the 10th inDrive ICT Award (25) has been held at the Plaza in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, on Friday, December 19, 2025. During the event, the organizers of the prestigious tech fair, Living with ICT and ICT Foundation Nepal, conferred awards to the recipients in 17 different categories.
The opening ceremony’s chief guest was the communication minister Jagdish Kharel, while the closing ceremony’s chief guest was the Industry, Commerce, and Supplies minister Anil Kumar Sinha. Likewise, the event was graced with the presence of chiefs from various constitutional commissions, Vice-Chair Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha of the National Planning Commission, and Chief Secretary Samunraj Aryal.
Additionally, Senior officials from various ministries, departments, and agencies of the Government of Nepal, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and more than 1,500 distinguished personalities from the ICT sector at home and abroad also attended the program. Himalaya Television broadcast the grand finale live.
According to the organizer, this year, the ICT Award received over 750 online nominations for the top recognition. To honor them with the recognition, a selection process was conducted over four months. For the selection process, there was an 18-member jury and a 16-member advisory committee. Like in recent years, this year too, startups from abroad also participated in the awards.
Table of contents
ICT Award 2025 winners
Individual Category
This year, the Nepali Diaspora ICT Award was conferred to Dinesh Silwal, while the entrepreneur ICT Award went to Bibhushan Bista. Likewise, the Pioneer ICT Award went to Dr. Allen Baulochan Tuladhar, while the Professional Excellence ICT Award went to Ramkrishna Pariyar. Munni Rajbhandari was presented with the popular Woman Icon ICT Award.
Institutional Category
In institutional categories, the Social Security Fund won the Digital Governance ICT Award. NMB Bank won the Digital Services ICT Award (Enterprise Sector), and Ambition Guru grabbed the Digital Services ICT Award in the New Sector. Similarly, Narayani Secondary School, Chitwan, won the Digital Education ICT Award in the Public Sector category while Kopila Valley School, Surkhet, won the same prize in the Private Sector category.
Startup and innovation Category
In the startup and innovation categories, Arkbo Technologies Pvt. Ltd. won the inDrive Startup ICT Award 2025. QuickCCA won the Product ICT Award while MindBridge won the Rising Star Innovation ICT Award.
Kataho grabbed the Social Innovation ICT Award, and Trip Turbo Pvt. Ltd. won the Pubic Choice ICT Award (Hamro Pay). Further, Vayudrishti bagged the Jury Mention ICT Award. The ICT Award 2025 for the South Asia Startup ICT Award went to PriyoShop, Bangladesh.
Outstanding startups from seven provinces
Similarly, outstanding startups from all seven provinces were honored with the Province Startup ICT Recognition 2025. This edition, these award winners are Medicab Technologies Pvt. Ltd. from Koshi Province; Janaki Soft International Pvt. Ltd. from Madhesh Province; Cloud Mandap Pvt. Ltd. from Bagmati Province; Brand Builder Pvt. Ltd. from Gandaki Province; Golden Technosoft IT Solution from Lumbini Province; Everest Wireless Network Pvt. Ltd. from Karnali Province; and Busy Infotex Pvt. Ltd. from Sudurpashchim Province.
Razan Lamsal, founder and chairperson of the ICT Award, in his welcome speech, said that for a decade now, the organization has been working to “identify, connect and build an ecosystem for those striving to create impact within the country.”
He further stated that the government is the main driver of ICT development, and emphasized the need for greater encouragement of the private sector.
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Minister Kharel lauds ICT Sector’s importance
During the opening ceremony, communications minister Jagdish Kharel said that the current interim government established an AI Council and an AI Center in just three months. He added that the government is now working on issuing a digital roadmap. He also stressed that the country cannot move forward ignoring the ICT sector and urged the selection of leadership that is capable of extending the vision of Digital Nepal in future elections.
Likewise, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Anil Kumar Sinha stated that ICT has become indispensable for competitive and sustainable industrial development and that the ICT Award program supports the growth of the ICT industry and promotes it internationally.
Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha noted that ICT has been prioritized in the 16th Plan and said Nepal can compete globally in the ICT sector compared to other sectors. Similarly, Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Radhika Aryal stated that information technology has become a key foundation for national development, good governance, and social transformation.
Mark Tully, Asia–Pacific Director of inDrive, said inDrive has been continuously supporting the development of Nepal’s technology ecosystem and that programs like the ICT Award empower innovators and help showcase their capabilities. Guru Prasad Paudel, spokesperson for Nepal Rastra Bank, highlighted the contribution of ICT Foundation Nepal and said the Bank is emphasizing tech-friendly services, the digital economy, and digital literacy.
What did the winners receive?
The ICT Award 2025 winners s received trophies and certificates from ministers, secretaries, and senior officials from government and non-government sectors. Winners also received software licenses from Tigg, USD 5,000 worth of AWS credits from IT Global, and attractive gifts from Studio Home. The Rising Star Innovation category winner also received an AI scholarship from Sunway College.
The grand finale featured musical and comedy performances by Hemant Sharma, Rachana Rimal, Prabhat Lama, and others.
The organizing institution Living with ICT is also the Nepal partner for international awards such as the Aurora Tech Award, Underdog Award, and WSA Award. Winners and finalists will get opportunities to participate in international competitions, with some already having won international awards.
For the pre-event campaign, Startup and Idea Fest, training and mentoring, industry visits, field visits, speed dating, presentations, and a special television series on Himalaya Television were conducted. Also, a public voting was carried out in the Startup, Product, and Rising Star categories, with winners selected through a combination of jury decisions and public votes. Jury members also paid field visits to ensure a qualitative selection process.
ICT Award 2025: Full list Rewind
- inDrive Startup ICT Award: Arkbo Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
- Product ICT Award: QuickCCA
- Rising Star ICT Award: MindBridge
- Social Innovation ICT Award: Kataho
- Hamro Pay Public Choice ICT Award: Trip Turbo Pvt. Ltd.
- Jury Mention ICT Award: Vayudrishti
- Woman Icon ICT Award: Munni Rajbhandari
- Pioneer ICT Award: Dr. Allen Baulochan Tuladhar
- Entrepreneur ICT Award: Bibhushan Bista
- Nepali Diaspora ICT Award: Dinesh Silwal
- Professional Excellence ICT Award: Ramkrishna Pariyar
- Digital Education ICT Award (Private Sector): Kopila Valley School, Surkhet
- Digital Education ICT Award (Public Sector): Narayani Secondary School, Chitwan
- Digital Services ICT Award (Enterprise Sector): NMB Bank
- Digital Services ICT Award (Neo Sector): Ambition Guru
- Digital Governance ICT Award: Social Security Fund
- South Asia Startup ICT Award: PriyoShop, Bangladesh
- Outstanding Provincial Startups (Koshi to Sudurpashchim): Medicab Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; Janaki Soft International Pvt. Ltd.; Cloud Mandap Pvt. Ltd.; Brand Builder Pvt. Ltd.; Golden Technosoft IT Solution; Everest Wireless Network Pvt. Ltd.; Busy Infotex Pvt. Ltd.
For the ICT Award 2025, inDrive was the title sponsor. NepalPay QR and AI communication platform TingTing were associate partners. Sasto Tickets, Model Institute of Technology, and Kathmandu Model College were key collaborators. Likewise, support and cooperation were provided by institutions, including the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Industrial Enterprise Development Institute, Nepal Telecommunications Authority, Hamro Pay, Nabil Bank, Re-Security, Aadim College, Fusemachines, NAS IT, and others.
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Great event! Just a note. The ICT Award was held on Friday, 19th December 2025. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Thanks. Noted and updated.