Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 25: Lasse Laaksonen, President and CEO of Inbiton Oy, Finland has emphasized that Nepal should prepare itself to reap the benefit of the next information technology (IT) boom.

“Nepal should cautiously wait for the next IT boom to benefit from it and it should ready itself accordingly”, he suggested.

He said that Nepal is laying stress on training manpower. Of course, skilled manpower is necessary to establish IT industry, but training alone does not work. It should be coupled with practice. Attention should be given to this aspect, he added.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, he said that Nepal has a greater potential of emerging as an IT industry hub thanks to cheaper cost, work efficiency and quick delivery of goods and services.

“In fact Nepali products are cheaper than the Indian ones and they are better in quality also. So Nepal has a potential of becoming a hub for IT industry,” he added.

However, Nepal should focus on project management skill and the products should have better finishing touch or in other words they should be stylish and elegant. Speaking about the role of the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), he said it should highlight the problems and potentials of IT development.

He also suggested the government to make it mandatory to purchase local services, software and hardware, but their quality should be controlled. It will help stem the flow of hard-earned foreign currency and help establish and grow the local industries.

He also expressed the views that Nepal needs to hire expatriate consultants, as it is cheaper to establish offices in Nepal than other countries.

Inbiton Oy is one of the few foreign investors in the IT industry of Nepal. The company, which operates with the name of Communication Asia Pvt Ltd, a joint venture with Nepali entrepreneurs, produces and develops tailor-made software.