Online nomination ICT Award 2020 starts

The online nomination (application) for the fifth edition of the ICT Award – a prestigious award in the information technology field in Nepal – has started from today. The online application for the ICT Award 2020, organised by ‘Living with ICT’ in collaboration with various government and private organisations, will be open till July 31, according to a press note issued by Living with ICT.
The ICT award has been delayed for some time this year due to the crisis and impact caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the press note reads, adding that the award ceremony, which is held on August 17 every year, will be delayed for some time this year. “Final date of the award will be announced after looking at the favourable time and situation after the deadline for online application is over.”
This year, ICT Award will be organised in 11 different categories, according to the organiser. The Innovation Driven Crisis Response ICT Award and the Woman Icon ICT Award categories have been added this year, it said, adding that Startup ICT Award, Product ICT Award, Rising Student ICT Award are the awards categories related to innovations and startups. “Likewise, Pioneer ICT Award, Nepali Diaspora ICT Award, ICT Entrepreneur Award and Media Person ICT Award are given to individuals.”
The Digital Governance ICT Award and Digital Education ICT Award are given to government organisations. The ICT Award – which started in 2016 – has so far honoured more than 30 individuals, organisations, companies and products in various categories, claimed the organiser.
Last year, the Startup ICT Award was received by E-Digital Nepal and the Product ICT Award was received by Mediflow Systems and Services. Similarly, the Rising Student ICT Award was received by Raktadan-Blood Donation Project. Likewise, Mahabir Pun was felicitated with the Pioneer Award, Dr Sameer Maskey with Nepali Diaspora Award, and Amit Agrawal with ICT Entrepreneur Award. The Digital Governance Award was received by the Public Service Commission and the Digital Education Award was received by the Nepal Open University (NOU). The Public Choice Award went to Kitabyatra and the Media Person ICT Award went to Bijay Timalsina.
This year, there are 12 jury members and 10 more jury advisory members to make the selection process of the award systematic and easy. The selection process will take place at different stages. Online and SMS voting will also be conducted by selecting the best 5 from different stages in startup, product, student project and innovation, while in other genres, the jury group will conduct the selection process at different stages.

MFIs to get licence of digital payment service provider

The central bank has allowed microfinance institutions (MFIs) to provide payment service through electronic means, payment cards and mobile wallet digital payment service, if they have atlest 20 branches, and safe system. With the new circular, all class – from ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ to ‘D’ – financial institutions can work as payment service provider.
According to a circular issued today by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the paid-up capital of class ‘D’ financial institutions must be Rs 100 million, must have worked with no less than 20,000 borrowers and depositors through at least 20 branches to be eligible for the licence.
However, the information technology used by them must be reliable and should have been using online system to submit required data to the central bank, the circular reads, adding that the MFIs must submit the minutes of the decision of its board of directors along with IT policy. "MFIs must also submit product manual and user manual with applications to obtain the licence of payment service provider."
The MFIs wishing to work as digital payment service provider should have identified risks like market and system risks, the central bank adds. "It also should have an agreement with a telecommunication service provider for the digital payment."
The circular also reads that they can get the license for becoming payment service providers (PSP), if they have online network connectivity between head office and the branches, which is a must. The MFIs must have short message system (SMS) facility for clients, for which they have to get approval from the central bank.
The payment service providers are those institutions that carry out domestic money transfer business or pay bills of both goods and services or provide payment related services or provide payment activities through electronic means.
Of the total 65 microfinance development banks in the country, only Nirdhan Utthan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Chhimek Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha meet the paid-up capital requirements to get the PSP license as of the end of last fiscal year.

Global mobile ad market to touch $32bn

The global market for mobile advertising is projected to reach $32 billion by the year 2017, driven by the rising ownership of mobile phones, increasing use of sophisticated mobile devices including smartphones, and availability of high bandwidth, high speed data networks, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts.
The potential for growth is particularly high in the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America due to the large population base with significantly high penetration of mobile devices.
Japan, Asia-Pacific, and the United States dominate the global mobile advertising space. Messaging represents the largest segment in the global mobile advertising, while the search segment is set to witness fastest growth through 2017.
SMS is the most primitive and the most cost-effective means of mobile advertising, as almost every mobile user in the world has access to SMS service.
Familiarity with SMS also grants advertisers an opportunity to bridge digital and traditional campaigns such as offering SMS codes in order to obtain more information. Japan represents the single largest market for messaging.