Tech & Startup Events in Kathmandu — Where Builders Meet

Kathmandu's tech community punches well above its weight. The valley is home to a rapidly growing startup ecosystem, a strong developer community, and some of the most active open-source contributors in South Asia. If you're a builder, designer, or founder — here's how to plug in.

This is the working guide to tech and startup events in Kathmandu: where to find them, who runs them, and how to make the most of the city as a builder.

Pulchowk Campus ecosystem

Most of Nepal's engineering talent runs through Pulchowk Campus (IOE). The campus and surrounding area in Lalitpur are the natural hub for technical events — hackathons, robotics competitions, coding sprints, and department showcases. Most are free and open to the public.

Annual highlights:

• LOCUS — Pulchowk's flagship tech festival, usually November. Hackathons, robotics demos, AI showcases, product launches.
• CIM Sales Hackathon — entrepreneurship-focused.
• Department-specific tech weeks — Computer Engineering, Electronics, Mechanical.

Worth following if you're a student, recent graduate, or interested in the next wave of Nepali engineering talent.

Co-working hubs and event hosts

The growth of remote work has produced a cluster of co-working spaces across Kathmandu — many of which host tech events.

• Karkhana (multiple branches) — creative and tech-focused, strong event programming.
• CloudFactory — Nepal's largest tech employer; occasional public events.
• The 100 (Jhamsikhel) — coworking with periodic talks and meetups.
• Rem.work HQ (Kamalpokhari) — 24/7 access, hosts founder breakfasts and product demos.
• Bidhyut — coworking and startup community space.
• Nepal Communitere (Pulchowk) — startup-friendly, hosts events, fabrication space.

Browse tech events for the current calendar.

Active community groups

Google Developer Groups (GDG Kathmandu)

Open Source Community Nepal (FOSS Nepal)

Nepal AI & ML community

Women in Tech Nepal

Product Tank Kathmandu

Designers' communities

Web3 / Blockchain

Hackathons and competitions

Annual and recurring:

• LOCUS Hackathon (Pulchowk, November) — biggest in the country.
• Khwopa Hackathon (Bhaktapur) — engineering school.
• Startup Weekend Nepal (Techstars-run, recurring) — 54 hours to build a startup from scratch.
• NepalThon — community-driven, varied themes.
• Hackjam — by Karkhana; design-thinking focus.
• Smart Energy Hackathon — sustainability-themed.

If you've been sitting on an idea, Startup Weekend is a strong forcing function.

Tech talks and conferences

• DevFest Kathmandu (annual, December) — GDG flagship.
• KU Tech Talk Series — Kathmandu University-hosted.
• Build with AI (recurring) — practical AI workshops.
• Bootcamps and intensive courses — Kathmandu now has multiple coding bootcamps with public final-presentation events.

Browse the full tech & startup events for what's on.

Founder community

• Kathmandu Founders Brunch — monthly informal meetup.
• Nepal Startup Awards — annual recognition ceremony.
• VC and angel meetings — happen quietly; usually via Karkhana or DGI introductions.
• Yuva Entrepreneurs Nepal — younger founder community.

Open-source contribution events

• Hacktoberfest Kathmandu — annual, October. Several venues participate.
• Outreachy info sessions — for students interested in stipended OSS.
• GSoC alumni talks — yearly debriefs.

Practical tips for tech-event regulars

• Free events fill fast — RSVP early; many are capped at 50–100 attendees.
• Bring your laptop — many sessions are workshops, not lectures.
• Stay for the networking — Kathmandu's tech scene is small enough that you'll meet the same people repeatedly. Build the network early.
• Follow GitHub trending Nepal — many speakers and organisers are visible there.
• Use Discord/Slack — every major community has one; that's where most coordination happens.

How tech events get organised

If you're organising or want to: most communities follow a similar pattern. Pick a co-working host. Set a topic. Open an RSVP form. Send to the relevant Slack/Discord. Run it. The infrastructure is light. The audience is engaged.

For organisers and founders: get listed

If you're organising a tech event and want it listed, submit through the organiser portal. It's free and takes 5 minutes. Your event goes live after a brief review.

Why it matters: Kata Jaam? users opt into specific categories. A "tech" event reaches everyone who's expressed interest in builder events; you don't have to chase your audience.

Related guides

• Best cafés to work from in Kathmandu — for between-event focus time.
• How to find events in Kathmandu — broader event-finding strategy.

Tech events in Kathmandu often fill up within 48 hours of announcement. Download Kata Jaam? for early notifications.