CDC backs Nepalese internet service provider

The UK development finance institution (DFI) entered Nepal earlier this year through NMB Bank. It provided $15 million in the form of a three-year loan aimed at helping the bank grow its lending to small businesses. This followed a series of reforms aimed at encouraging foreign investment in Nepal and increasing the amount of capital available to private companies.

Founded in 1995, WorldLink started out providing email services over a dial-up link to the US. From there, it progressed to dedicated leased-line internet and direct satellite uplink, which bypassed local state-owned network operators. The company now has its own leased fiber backbone, buying bandwidth from international transit locations and connecting with internet exchanges. It also partners with the likes of Google and Facebook to host their servers locally.

WorldLink’s fiber backbone stretches for 8,000 kilometers, serving 63 districts and supporting the provision of high-speed internet up to 100 megabits per second and HD internet protocol TV services. CDC’s capital will help accelerate expansion and enable the hiring of more than 1,000 new staff, taking total headcount past 4,000.

“We firmly believe in the power of connectivity to help bring communities out of poverty. Advancing the internet to MSMEs [micro, small and medium-sized enterprises] across Nepal gives them access to global trade and markets. It also brings families into contact in Nepal and overseas,” Srini Nagarajan, managing director and head of Asia at CDC, said in a statement.

In July, CDC made its first direct equity investment in Myanmar, backing local internet service provider Frontiir. The company has similar expansion plans to WorldLink. The DFI expects to invest $1.7 billion over the next three years in India and its neighboring South Asian countries. This includes a plan to double its exposure in Bangladesh.

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• Topics
• Technology
• Expansion
• South Asia
• Nepal
• CDC Group
• Growth capital