Nepal’s leading internet service provider WorldLink has brought in nearly Rs 2 billion in investment from two foreign companies. In a press conference the private ISP announced that it brought around Rs 1.98 billion in investment from the UK Government’s development finance institution and impact investor British International Investment (BII) and Dolma Impact Fund II. It’s the largest-ever investment to date in Nepal’s internet industry.
The company shared that it brought in ($8.4 million) Rs 1.08 billion from BII and ($6.9 million) Rs 90 crore from Dolma Impact Fund. The new pool of investment will help the company further its telecom services while also generating more employment opportunities. It is not the first time that the British investor has injected its funds into the leading ISP. In 2019, BII invested Rs 1 billion, 35 crores in WorldLink.
Dileep Agrawal, the Chairman and Managing Director of WorldLink extended his graduate at the investment and shared the company’s ambition. He said, “This is the outcome of our dedication for 27 years and trust in the telecom sector. We are not only feeling proud, but we are committed to ensuring that we do not let our investors’ trust turn down”.
“The wholeheartedness shown by BII and DIF II furthers our aim to transform WorldLink into an international-level company. This will lead to us becoming role models for other companies by inspiring them. The partnership has additionally motivated our aim to ‘connect anytime and anywhere’ and provided added excitement to speed up the further expansion of the network,” he added.
The capital coming from BII and DIF II will be instrumental for WorldLink’s further internet expansion works. It will allow WorldLink to provide consistent internet service to more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and households. The company has stressed service expansion in rural areas to achieve blanket coverage throughout the country. Quality broadband will empower the development of enterprises and also help connect them with the market abroad.
Recently, it started fiber internet service in Jumla, a far-flung region in Karnali Province. WorldLink provides high-speed fiber internet services and an IPTV service ‘NetTV’. The Company says it has over two million ports capacity.
Likewise, the investment will be helpful in creating more job opportunities as well. WorldLlink said it will help generate 1,000 new job opportunities at the company. Likewise, the funds will also help it provide skill-enhancement training for its employees. Currently, 5,500 employees are working at WorldLink. Likewise, the ISP says it will also coordinate various training programs for workers serving in different capacities.
With the latest round of investment, the total foreign investment in WorldLink has reached Rs 3 billion, 33 crores.
