Choosing Home Over High Pay, Engineers Build IT Company in Dhangadhi

Born 29 years ago in Marku village of Achham, Sandesh Bogati moved to Attariya in Kailali with his parents at the age of three. Most of his childhood memories are tied to Dhangadhi and its surrounding areas, where he also completed his school education.

While Bogati was studying in Nepal, his father—who had been deprived of formal education—was working as a labourer in Kolkata, India. Despite his own circumstances, his father dreamt that his son would pursue higher education, preferably engineering.

Guided by that aspiration, Bogati moved to Mumbai after completing Grade 10. He studied Grades 11 and 12 there before heading to Bengaluru to pursue a bachelor’s degree in IT engineering at Sri Krishna Institute of Technology. During his studies, Bogati and his friend Min Bahadur Bogati shared a common goal: to return to Nepal one day and establish an IT company in Dhangadhi.

After graduation, Sandesh worked for two years at an IT company in Mumbai, while Min Bahadur returned to Kathmandu to learn and work in digital marketing. When Sandesh joined the company in 2020, his monthly salary was Rs 50,000, which rose to Rs 80,000 by the time he left. “My friends are now earning around Rs 150,000 a month,” he said. “Had I continued working there, my salary could have reached close to Rs 200,000.”

Despite the financial prospects, Bogati chose to return to Nepal to start his own venture. He said the sense of alienation he felt while working abroad influenced his decision. “I always felt unsettled, as if I did not truly belong there,” he recalled. “So I decided to learn as much as I could and return to build something of my own.”

Meanwhile, Min Bahadur strengthened his expertise in digital marketing to support the future company. Although the firm was formally established in Nepal about two years ago, preparations had begun nearly six months earlier, including software development and project planning. With a clear roadmap, the founders brought seven laptops with them and even underwent training to repair the devices themselves if needed.

The company was launched with an initial investment of Rs 500,000, offering both software development and digital marketing services from the outset. “We went door to door—to offices, schools and hospitals—explaining how digital marketing could support their work,” Bogati said. “Digital marketing helped sustain and grow the company from the very beginning.” He credits Min Bahadur’s skills and experience for playing a key role in that growth.

Bogati said his decision to establish an IT company in Dhangadhi was deeply personal. “When I left after Grade 10, students elsewhere were already showing what they had coded, while I barely had basic computer knowledge,” he said. “That made me realise that students in Sudurpaschim also need coding education at the school level.” Despite being aware of better opportunities in Kathmandu, the founders chose Dhangadhi to contribute locally.

The company also provides free training sessions at schools. “We teach basic coding concepts that can be taught at school level but are often ignored, including simple game development,” he said. They also serve as guest lecturers at colleges, sharing IT-related knowledge free of cost. “It gives me a sense of satisfaction that I am giving something back to society,” Bogati added.

Revenue is generated through paid courses. Due to the complexity of coding, each batch is limited to five students. Bogati said he has avoided online classes, believing in-person instruction is more effective for practical learning. The company offers courses of three, six and eight months in software development, website designing and app development, covering languages such as HTML, JavaScript and Laravel.

Graduates of these courses are either absorbed into the company or placed in other IT firms, contributing to the gradual growth of skilled manpower in Sudurpaschim Province.