Asia | October 28, 2019

U.K.’s CDC Group invests $12 million in Nepalese internet provider WorldLink

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, October 28 – Nearly 80% of the 28 million people living in Nepal have access to the internet. But internet penetration in rural areas remains low.

U.K. development finance institution is investing in WorldLink, Nepal’s largest private internet service provider, to support its expansion in remote parts of the country. (Most of WorldLink’s network is fiber-based.)

CDC said its investment is meant to foster Nepal’s advancement on U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 9 (inclusive and resilient infrastructure and industry). “We firmly believe in the power of connectivity to help bring communities out of poverty,” CDC’s Srini Nagarajan said in a statement.

The commitment is CDC’s first-ever equity investment in Nepal and its second investment in Nepal this year, following a $15 million loan to commercial bank NMB Bank.