KATHMANDU: Nepal’s digital economy is expanding beyond fintech and digital payments into areas such as content creation, the gig economy and algorithms, experts said.
Speaking at a discussion on the digital economy organised by the Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the National Assembly, expert Ramakanta Pandey said the impact of the digital economy has become increasingly visible in the Nepali market.
Pandey said the activities of content creators and influencers have begun to influence the economy, while advances in digital technology are creating new types of businesses and employment opportunities.
“Until yesterday, we viewed fintech and digital money alone as the digital economy. We have now moved beyond that framework,” he said.
Expert Dinesh Bista said Nepal has good prospects in the digital economy but needs further improvements in digital infrastructure, 5G networks and the legal framework.
He stressed the need for appropriate legal provisions to facilitate the development of digital public infrastructure.
“There needs to be clear legal provisions on whether data held by a school or hospital can be accessed by another agency,” Bista said.
He gave access to land ownership records as an example, saying banks currently ask borrowers to submit land ownership certificates when applying for loans.
“If the land ownership records are held by the concerned government agency, there should be a system through which the bank can obtain the information directly from that agency instead of asking citizens to provide it,” he said.
Bista also highlighted the company registration process, saying thousands of companies are registered every year and information often has to be verified and exchanged among different government agencies through multiple stages.
He said establishing a data exchange platform could significantly reduce the time required for services such as company registration.
“If we can introduce a data exchange platform, we can save the time required for company registration,” he said.
Bista also referred to international practices concerning personal data protection and stressed the need to make relevant agencies accountable for unauthorised use or leakage of citizens’ personal information.
Participants at the discussion emphasised that Nepal needs to prioritise data security, data exchange among government agencies, digital governance and an appropriate legal framework alongside technological development and digital infrastructure to expand the digital economy.
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