How real is the dream of earning high from IT in Nepal?

General Secretary of the Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa, recently made a statement suggesting that youths in Nepal can earn Rs 200,000 to 300,000 per month by working remotely in the IT sector. While his comment drew massive criticisms online, it’s worth noting that his statements were neither entirely baseless nor entirely practical in Nepal’s current context. 

In this article, we’ll break down how Nepali youth currently stand in the IT industry, the actual potential of remote work, the skills and experience required to achieve such income levels, challenges they face, and the reforms that are needed to make such aspirations more realistic.

Former education minister, Sumana Shrestha, also shared her thoughts with more logical commentary in a recent interview. She has been an advocate of this industry even before she became a minister. While Thapa’s insights were pragmatic about global trends, the dreams he portrayed to the youths of Nepal seemed overambitious. Given Nepal’s current infrastructure and education system in the IT sector, it’s early to forecast that youths have a genuine platform for such income sources. The current infrastructure and scenario in Nepal are hardly laying  any foundations to withhold Thapa’s expectation.If government were to make a concrete plan to promote IT industry in Nepal, allocating budgets, investing in training and education, Thapa’s statement would have made more sense

The path to Rs 200,000-300,000

For an IT enthusiast in Nepal to earn Rs 200,000–300,000 per month, the journey starts with the smallest of steps. There are certainly individuals earning that amount or more, but their journeys are filled with years of learning, internships, low-paying jobs, and freelancing work. 

To earn that income remotely, a person typically needs a solid portfolio, technical expertise, and work experience. This usually starts with internships in local IT companies. Once the internship period is over, they begin with the smallest amount of salaries, which is somewhere between Rs 17,000 and 35,000 per month.

The challenging part for businesses and employees is the reliance on international clients. Most IT firms in Nepal rely on international clients, particularly those seeking low-cost outsourcing. While this creates opportunities, it also means job security is fragile. Many IT professionals frequently rotate  between companies due to job dissatisfaction, payment delays, and limited growth opportunities. As a result, the companies in Nepal are sourced by middlemen, sometimes even taking commissions up to 60 percent. 

After gaining some experience, many attempt to go freelance. But even here, earning over Rs 100,000 per month is rare, especially without a strong international client base or specialization in high-demand skills like AI, blockchain, or cybersecurity. Gaining these skills while remaining in Nepal is challenging. Even self-learning has not been encouraging as the Nepal government has made no such attempts to incorporate these technologies into the system.

Therefore, earning Rs 200,000–300,000 through freelance IT jobs with over reliance on international clients seems ahead of time for Nepali IT professionals. Even with a rich portfolio and strong skill set, breaking past the Rs 300,000 earning threshold as a freelancer is far from common.

Barriers to digital income: Payments, policies and platforms

Nepali freelancers and digital entrepreneurs face another critical challenge: an unregulated and restricted payment ecosystem. Platforms like PayPal are not fully functional in Nepal, limiting access to smooth global transactions and delaying payments. Receiving as well making payments is challenging despite the dollar card service as there are transactional limitations.

Not just for IT professionals, the payment policies and platforms have been bothering various business owners and digital users. It keeps the international brands from trusting the Nepali professionals given the difficult scenario for platforms. Amrit Thapa, founder and content creator at Misguided Nepal, noted that if platforms like Facebook allowed monetization in Nepal, independent content creators could make a comfortable living without having to diversify their portfolio and seek professional jobs, potentially growing the income by fivefold or even more.

Education: The foundation is weak

Perhaps the biggest hurdle lies in Nepal’s education system, especially in the IT field. IT graduates often leave university with minimal practical exposure and outdated syllabus that don’t match global demand. As a result, many choose to self-learn through YouTube, online courses, or bootcamps.

It leaves youth to cope up with the fierce competitions with professionals from countries like India, Philippines or Ukraine. However, most of the IT professionals learn through internships or on-the-job training.Youths and  even teenagers are interested in this sector, as news of Nepalis being rewarded for identifying bugs in the security systems of platforms like Google, Open AI Facebook etc. are shared online.It proves the immense possibility that Nepali minds hold in this sector.But the earnings are not justifying and valuing their effort and time inside the country.

Yes, it’s possible—but it’s not simple

The dream of earning Rs 200,000–300,000 remotely in IT is not entirely impossible. But it’s not an overnight success story, and it’s certainly not accessible to everyone without effort, infrastructure, and support.

There are inspiring examples of Nepali youths earning more than $2,000/month as freelancers or remote employees. But they often come from urban centers with stable internet, mentorship access, and years of trial and error.

If Nepal truly wants to tap into the digital goldmine, reforms are needed from the national to local level. Right type of investment and transparent advocacy is necessary from the representatives and the business owners. Modernizing IT education with updated curriculum, digital infrastructure expansion and legalization of global payment gateways can be undertaken. Also, the tax incentives for tech startups should not be overlooked.

Dhiraj Thapa

BBA Graduate, Pokhara University