High-Demand IT Skills in Nepal

High-Demand IT Skills in Nepal

Nepal was once known mainly as a country that exported manpower (labour). Over the past decade, this image has changed. Nepal has now become an emerging IT hub in South Asia that exports brainpower (intellectual capacity).

According to a report published in 2023 by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Nepal earns more than 500 million US dollars annually by exporting IT services. By the end of 2025, this figure is estimated to have increased further.

In cities such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal and Chitwan, hundreds of outsourcing companies and startups have opened. Along with companies like Leapfrog, Kodavatar, Cotiviti, Fusemachines and Verisk, the number of freelancers working independently through platforms such as Upwork and Toptal has reached into the hundreds of thousands.

In such a competitive market, a degree in Computer Engineering alone does not guarantee employment. The market looks for specific skills. Below is a detailed analysis of five key technical skills that employers in Nepal’s IT market seek the most and that typically receive higher pay.

1. Full Stack Development (MERN/Next.js)

Web development is the backbone of Nepal’s outsourcing industry. However, knowing only HTML and CSS is no longer enough to get a job. Companies look for professionals who can handle both the front end and the back end of a website.

Why is there demand?

Most clients of Nepali IT companies are small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, Australia and Europe. Instead of hiring separate frontend and backend developers, they prefer to hire a single competent full stack developer. This reduces cost and speeds up delivery.

Technologies you must learn

At present, the most in-demand tech stack in Nepal is based on JavaScript:

• MERN Stack: MongoDB (database), Express.js (backend framework), React.js (frontend library) and Node.js (runtime environment).

• Next.js: By 2025, demand has grown strongly not only for React but also for Next.js. It delivers good results in terms of SEO and performance.

• Python (Django/FastAPI): Besides JavaScript, there is also high demand for those who know Python frameworks such as Django or FastAPI on the backend.

Career and salary in Nepal

A junior full stack developer can earn around 30,000 to 50,000 Nepali rupees per month at the start. Those with more than three years of experience are earning more than 200,000 rupees per month while working from Nepal.

2. Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering (AI, ML & Data Engineering)

AI was once regarded as a technology of the future. It has now become a present-day necessity. In Nepal, companies like Fusemachines have invested heavily in AI education and employment. After the arrival of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, the demand for AI integration in almost every type of software has increased.

Main responsibilities

• Data Engineering: Organising the data of large companies, building data pipelines and making data ready for analysis.

• Machine Learning (ML): Designing algorithms that allow computers to learn from data.

• NLP (Natural Language Processing): Building software that understands or translates the Nepali language, such as Nepali voice typing tools and chatbots.

Required skills

• Python: Python has become almost essential for AI.

• Libraries: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Pandas, NumPy and Scikit-learn.

• Maths: Strong understanding of statistics and linear algebra.

Opportunities in Nepal

In Nepal, the use of AI is growing in health tech, fintech and agriculture. The salary of AI engineers is generally 20–30 percent higher than that of typical software engineers.

3. DevOps and Cloud Computing

In the past, software development and running that software on servers (operations) were treated as separate tasks. Now, the DevOps culture that connects these two areas has become established in Nepal. Most companies no longer maintain their own server rooms; they use cloud services instead.

Why is there demand?

Scalability is a major concern in international projects. Companies need cloud engineers to ensure that a website continues to function smoothly whether it has 10 users or 1 million users at the same time.

What you must learn

• Cloud Providers: AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the most widely used in Nepal. Knowledge of Google Cloud and Azure is also beneficial.

• Containerization: Docker and Kubernetes. This is currently a highly sought-after skill.

• CI/CD Pipelines: Building automated systems so that code, once written, is automatically tested and deployed to servers (for example, using Jenkins or GitHub Actions).

Career prospects

This field requires some experience. Those who have already spent one to two years writing code can build an excellent career by shifting into DevOps. Companies in Nepal find it difficult to hire good DevOps engineers, so the bargaining power for skilled professionals in this area is high.

4. Mobile App Development (Flutter)

In Nepal, the number of smartphone users (based on SIM cards) exceeds the total population. Services such as Pathao, eSewa, Hamro Patro and the government’s Nagarik app are all based on mobile platforms.

The age of cross-platform development

In the past, one had to learn Java for Android and Swift for iPhone. By 2025, however, Nepali companies are more interested in developers who know Flutter or React Native.

Flutter, a technology from Google, allows developers to create apps for both Android and iPhone from a single codebase. This saves companies both time and money.

Required skills

• Dart Language: Dart is required for working with Flutter.

• State Management: Knowledge of tools such as Bloc, Provider or Riverpod.

• API Integration: The ability to connect apps to servers.

If you have a strong portfolio, for example two to four apps published on the Play Store, it is easier to get a job as a mobile app developer even without a formal degree.

5. Cybersecurity

As digital payments (such as Fonepay and Connect IPS) and government services have moved online in Nepal, the risk of hacking and data theft has increased sharply. Banks and financial institutions are required by Nepal Rastra Bank to conduct IT audits. As a result, demand for cybersecurity specialists in Nepal is rising rapidly.

Main roles

• Ethical Hacker / Penetration Tester: With the company’s permission, attempting to hack systems to find vulnerabilities.

• Security Analyst: Monitoring networks and systems.

• Compliance Officer: Implementing security policies in line with standards set by Nepal Rastra Bank or international frameworks.

Required skills and certifications

• Networking: Knowledge at approximately CCNA level.

• Linux: Familiarity with Linux operating systems such as Kali Linux.

• Certifications: Certifications have significant value in this field, including CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), CompTIA Security+ and CISSP.

This field carries a high level of responsibility, but it also offers comparable respect and income.

Special Tip: The Role of Soft Skills

The five skills described above are technical skills (hard skills). To succeed in Nepal’s IT sector, another skill is essential: communication skills in English.

Around 90 percent of IT companies in Nepal work with foreign clients. No matter how good your code is, if you cannot communicate clearly in English with American or European clients, write emails effectively or present your ideas in meetings, your career may stall at a certain point. Therefore, building command over the English language alongside coding is essential.

Conclusion

• Set a clear goal: Choose one field from the five areas above. If you try to do everything at once, it becomes difficult to develop expertise in any single area.

• Use available learning resources: Take courses from platforms such as YouTube, Coursera and Udemy, or from Nepali IT training centres such as Broadway, Deerwalk and IT Training Nepal.

• Build projects: Watching videos alone does not lead to real coding skills. Create your own projects and publish them on GitHub. Employers look more at your GitHub profile than at your certificates.

• Network actively: Stay active on LinkedIn and attend IT meetups.

Nepal’s IT market is full of opportunities. With the right skills, a continuous learning attitude and patience, the compulsion to go abroad does not apply in the IT field. You can build a global-level career while living in Nepal by starting to learn and practise these skills today.