● ● Take leadership in driving 5G adoption in South Asia Establish a nationwide fiber network Facilitate Development of a Robust Financial Ecosystem Digital payments and financial transactions conducted through smartphones and mobile devices are now a vital cog in modern financial infrastructure. A strong digital finance ecosystem can facilitate the evolution of new business models and digital start-ups, generating new job opportunities and enabling faster economic growth. Digital financial services also have the potential to encourage financial inclusion by allowing previously unbanked population access to these services. Nepal has an underdeveloped financial ecosystem with low penetration of digital financial services. As a result, facilitating the development of a robust financial ecosystem needs to be a priority of the government. Possible actions in this direction include: ● ● Promoting digital payments Attracting investments in fintech by encouraging the growth of start-ups and telecom companies that offer services to drive financial inclusion Entrepreneurship/PPP The Digital Nepal program would require significant investments, which the government alone cannot provide. Public-private partnerships and foreign investments need to play a major role in Digital Nepal by bringing technological expertise and capital infusion for sustainability and scalability of the program. The government should initiate necessary policy interventions to encourage private sector participation in the Digital Nepal program. It could consider taking the following steps to improve the ease of doing business in priority areas: Private Sector Participation Possible actions include: ● ● ● Rolling out a digitally streamlined PPP application system for mobilizing private investment in Digital Nepal Offering tax holidays for investments in critical areas (e.g., companies focusing on Smart Health in remote rural areas can be given a three-year tax holiday) Providing a startup accelerator program to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in tackling key challenges and generating large-scale job opportunities Foreign Investments Foreign investment can help Nepal leverage skills and insights from similar initiatives undertaken by foreign investors in other parts of the world. Possible actions to attract foreign investments include: ● ● Fast-tracking FDI applications for Digital Nepal initiatives through a single window system Increasing FDI limits and easier repatriation of funds (e.g., 100% FDI for Digital Nepal initiatives) Talent and Skills Development Digital Nepal program aims to open up opportunities for socioeconomic growth by addressing challenges in various sectors and enabling Nepal to enter an era of high economic growth. Investment in enhancing the digital skills of the Nepalese is critical to reap the real benefits of the Digital Nepal program. Possible actions include: ● ● Investing in digital education Training public servants in digital skills 24