Kathmandu
The grand finale of ICT AWARD 2021, the most prestigious awards in the field of Information and Communication Technology was hosted successfully on 17th of December, 2021 at The Soaltee Hotel, Kathmandu. The best in 12 different categories received the ICT Award 2021, which was organized by Living with ICT. The selection process for the sixth edition of the ICT Awards, ICT AWARD 2021 had been underway for the past five months. Over 400 online nominations were received for this year’s awards, which were divided into 12 distinct categories.
The F1Soft ICT Award presented Manohar Kumar Bhattarai, an ICT expert, with the Pioneer ICT Award 2021. Similarly, Guna Keshari Pradhan, Nepal’s first female computer engineer bagged the Ncell Woman ICT AWARD 2021. Dipesh Pradhan, the founder of Yomari, was also honored with the Entrepreneur ICT Award. Prashant Dhungel, co-founder of GrowBydata, received the Nepali Diaspora ICT Award.
There are also awards in the fields of education and governance as part of the ICT Award. This year, the Department of Land Management and Archive received the Digital Governance ICT Award. The department has won awards in competitions with more than 30 different government agencies. Nepal Clearing House (NCHL) was also awarded by the Digital Services ICT Award. In the public sector, Kalika Manavgyan Butwal received the Digital Education ICT Award, while Rato Bangla School Patan received the Digital Education ICT Award in the private sector.
Kheti Venture has won the Huawei Startup ICT Award, one of the most prestigious categories in the competition which included public voting as well. Mikha Product was honored with the Product ICT Award. Likewise Mushoor was awarded the Rising Star Innovation ICT Award, which was created by Pulchowk Engineering students.
The award was presented to the winner by Communications and Information Technology Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, former Minister Parbat Gurung, Secretaries Dr. Baikuntha Aryal and Suresh Acharya, Honorable Member of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushpa Raman Wagle, and Dr. Ram Kumar Phuyal. The winners expressed a desire to work in a way that would keep the award dignified during the event attended by Dr. Surendra Upreti, Senior Economic Adviser to the Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor of NAST Dr. Sunil Babu Shrestha.
Various Ministries, Departments, Government Institutions, Banks and Corporations, IT, Education Sector, as well as IT Entrepreneurs and Startups, attended the event. The event, which drew over 700 people, was broadcast live on various television, online, and social media platforms.
Rastriya Banijya Bank provided up to Rs 1.5 million in concessional loans to three winners of the Startup and Innovation, Ncell provided Rs 300,000 to the winner of the Woman Icon ICT AWARD, Huawei provided Huawei Cloud service worth Rs 300,000 to five startups winners, Genese Solutions provided a free consultant to the winner, and two schools received a one-year Zoom facility. Additional prizes included attractive data packages, DishHome Internet services, e-sewa, and other affiliates.
Chief Guest Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki spoke at the event, saying that the ICT Award would aid in the development of new thinking and technology. The ICT Award, according to Karki, has aided youth working in the ICT sector in encouraging and developing their skills. Dr. Baikuntha Aryal, Secretary of Communications and Information Technology, said the ICT Award was working in various ways for digital Nepal and digital transformation, and he urged the government to be more responsible. According to Aryal, the award will motivate a new generation to work on innovation in the future.
Sunil Babu Shrestha, Vice Chancellor of NAST, said that the ICT Award is not only a venue for award distribution, but also a good model of public-private partnership. According to Parbat Gurung, former Minister of Communications and Information Technology, the ICT Award has made a significant contribution to the development of the information and communication technology sector. Dr. Pushpa Raman Wagle, a member of the National Planning Commission, believes that information and communication technology (ICT) should be used to maintain good governance in the country. He claimed that he was using awards to help transform technology. Since ICT will drive the future, more needs to be done to strengthen the digital ecosystem, as well as startups and innovations, according to Education, Science and Technology Secretary Suresh Acharya, Advisor to the Finance Minister Dr. Upreti, and others.
The Startup and Innovation Fest, Mentoring Sessions, Story Sharing Sessions, Field Visits, Presentations, and Speed Dating for previous winners and current contestants are all part of this year’s ICT Awards. The winner was chosen after four months of in-depth research and selection of seven different stages, according to Hempal Shrestha, Jury Coordinator of the ICT Awards. The award selection process included 12 jury members and 15 advisory committees.
More than 35 organizations have collaborated in the award program sponsored by F1Soft. F1Soft is the main sponsor of the ICT Award 2021, with Nepal Telecom and Genese Solutions as co-sponsors.
Huawei and DishHome Fibernet are among the powered by partners, while Ncell represents as the category sponsor and Rastriya Banijya Bank represents as the banking partner.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, National Information Technology Center (NITC), the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the Federation of Nepali Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), and others have all lent their support to the award. Other organizations included Presidential Business School, Resecurity, ApplyJob, esewa Mentor Lab, Eminence Ways, Dynamic TechnoSoft, Texas International, Nepal Bank Limited, Fuse Machines, Barcode Nepal, Nepal Entrepreneurs Hub, Hamro Patro, and Plant de Nepal.
These are the winners of F1Soft ICT Award 2021
- Huawei Startup ICT Award – Kheti Venture
- Product ICT Award – Mikha
- Rising Star ICT Award – Mushoor
- Nepal Bank Pioneer ICT Award – Manohar Kumar Bhattarai
- Ncell Woman Icon ICT Award – Guna Keshari Pradhan
- Entrepreneur ICT Award – Dipesh Pradhan, Yomari
- Nepali Diaspora ICT Award – Prashant Dhungel, GrowByData
- Digital Services ICT Award – Nepal Clearing House Limited
- Digital Services ICT Award (Public Sector) – Department of Land Management and Archive
- Digital Education ICT Award (Private Sector) – Rato Bangla School
- Digital Education ICT Award (Public Sector) – Kalika Manavgyan School
- Public Choice ICT Award – BugV
