SewaDit Wins Nepal’s Largest All-Female Hackathon

SewaDit, a team from Butwal, was declared the winner of Nepal’s largest all-female hackathon on Friday, July 11.

The team of Roshni Neupane, Aakritee Parajuli, and Supriya Shrestha developed an innovative digital platform that tracks unpaid care work through a task-based point system, verification tools, and monthly reports. The platform aims to make invisible labour visible, promoting recognition, support, and economic inclusion for women.

The event was organised by Shequal Foundation in partnership with the EU–UN Empowered Women Prosperous Nepal (EWPN) programme, under the theme “Hacking for Empowered Women.”

The hackathon brought together 16 all-female teams (48 participants) from across Nepal to create tech solutions addressing issues such as unpaid care work, access to financial services, digital literacy, gender-responsive healthcare, and cultural preservation.

Held from July 9 to 11, the event featured coding, problem-solving sessions, mentorship by 20 industry experts, and final pitches by six selected teams.

Healing Hands, a team from Jhapa, was named first runner-up for its platform Care Bridge, which connects female caregiving students with households seeking care support. The system matches users based on skills and availability while maintaining a verifiable Care Portfolio to document experience and offer practical training, community engagement, and professional recognition. Team members were Aiswarya Pokharel, Ayushma Pokhrel, and Hemkala Thapa.

June, the second runner-up from Kathmandu, developed HeritEdge, a personalised, gamified cultural storytelling platform. The solution empowers local artists and engages youth through AR and AI-driven experiences, with support for regional languages to enhance user immersion. Team members included Kritika Acharya, Astha Ghimire, and Simran Gurung.

The judging panel included representatives from government, development agencies, and the private sector: Mukesh Regmi (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology), Bhawani Rana (Former President, FNCCI), Aashish Dhakal (Global Equity Fund), Pramila Acharya Rijal (South Asian Women Development Forum), Mona Sherpa (Care Nepal), Tripti Rai (Oxfam), Rajendra Luitel (IFC), Salina Nakarmi (F1Soft), Pranisha Shrestha (NMB Bank), and media personality Sahana Bajracharya.

EU Ambassador to Nepal Veronique Lorenzo highlighted the importance of digital innovation for economic growth and women’s empowerment, stressing the need for accessible, affordable technology for marginalised communities.

UN Women Nepal Country Representative Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco said the hackathon was about rewriting the rules and closing the gender digital divide.

Shequal Foundation Co-Managing Directors Melisha Ghimire and Astha Sharma described the hackathon as a movement to place young women at the centre of innovation, leadership, and impact.

SewaDit, a team from Butwal, was declared the winner of Nepal’s largest all-female hackathon on Friday, July 11.

The event was organised by Shequal Foundation in partnership with the EU–UN Empowered Women Prosperous Nepal (EWPN) programme, under the theme “Hacking for Empowered Women.”

Held from July 9 to 11, the event featured coding, problem-solving sessions, mentorship by 20 industry experts, and final pitches by six selected teams.

UN Women Nepal Country Representative Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco said the hackathon was about rewriting the rules and closing the gender digital divide.

Shequal Foundation Co-Managing Directors Melisha Ghimire and Astha Sharma described the hackathon as a movement to place young women at the centre of innovation, leadership, and impact.