infrastructure in short-span of time will also allow Nepal to attract potential FDI sources in different sector early-on. The main focus and responsibility for government would be to expand the infrastructure outside the urban centers, as private players may find it economically unviable due to longer gestation period. Digital Nepal and Employment Opportunities ICT infrastructure and internet-based economy will boost Nepal’s job market across different verticals. Some of the fast-growing verticals directly impacted by ICT in Nepali economy are e-Commerce, telecom, IT-BPO, banking and finance. Digital Nepal project is expected to help grow Nepal’s GDP by 3.2% at the end of initial implementation period. Telecom and e-commerce are already proving to be early job facilitator across different levels. This is likely to be driven by:  Growth of Service sector Internet economy can boost the employment opportunities in service sector and hence, increase the GDP contribution per capita labor employed. Countries like India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines have experienced exponential growth with help of service sector. In Nepal, per capita service sector contribution to GDP is more than seven-times compared to agriculture23. Ecommerce studies in India and China have highlighted that for each direct job created, there are three jobs created in allied and indirect form.24 Nepal’s service economy can potentially absorb close to 1.3 million additional workforce in 5 years, most of which would be diverted from agriculture. 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 5.42 4.90 4.90 4000 5.22 5.12 3000 3.00 2000 2.00 1.00 0.00 6000 5000 5.09 5.02 4.96 6.48 6.40 6.07 5.74 0.00 2018 0.46 2019 0.98 0.71 2020 1.28 1.26 1000 0 2021 2022 GDP Impact , US$ million Number of jobs. in million Employment Growth in Services- GDP Impact 2023 Employment in Service Emloyment in Services with Digital Nepal Additional Jobs ( in mn) Additional GDP Contribution (in US$ million)  MSMEs leveraging ICT and internet technology ICT evolution has been a major factor in equalizing the playing-field for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. It has substantially lowered the entry-barriers compared to conventional business models, while providing a larger market audience. This 23 24 World Bank Data, 2017 Impact of e-commerce on employment in India, Dec 2016, KPMG 30