Private Equity in Nepal: Top Firms in 2026

Key Facts

• SEBON has granted Specialized Investment Fund (SIF) licenses to approximately 12 fund managers as of early 2024. This establishes a regulated framework for private equity and venture capital activity in Nepal.
• Dolma Impact Fund leads the market by disclosed assets under management, with more than $100 million deployed across two fund vintages. Its portfolio company Fusemachines completed Nepal's first Nasdaq listing in 2025.
• All known fund managers are headquartered in Kathmandu, which concentrates virtually the entire deal flow and LP capital base for the sector.
• Impact investing is the dominant strategy. The majority of active Nepal PE/VC funds carry explicit ESG or social mandates, backed by development finance institutions including IFC, FCDO, and British International Investment.
• Individual fund sizes range from NPR 500 million to NPR 20 billion in fundraising. The aggregate across named active and pipeline funds exceeds NPR 40 billion.
• Business Oxygen has completed 5 portfolio exits and Team Ventures has recorded 4, giving these two firms the strongest documented exit track records in the market.
• The minimum investment threshold for foreign limited partners is NPR 50 million (approximately USD 420,000) per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2019.

Nepal PE/VC Market Overview

Private equity in Nepal operates within a regulatory structure established by the Specialized Investment Fund Rules 2019 (SIF Rules 2075). These rules empower SEBON to license and supervise fund managers providing growth capital to companies outside the public markets. The market is nascent by regional standards: Business Oxygen became Nepal's first onshore PE fund with foreign investment in 2012, and Dolma Impact Fund raised the country's first internationally backed impact funds from 2014. SEBON introduced formal SIF licensing in 2017 and codified the rules in 2019, bringing structure to what had been an informal segment of alternative investments.

The defining feature of Nepal's PE landscape is its focus on the "missing middle": small and medium enterprises that generate revenues and employment but cannot access bank credit due to insufficient collateral. Most licensed fund managers explicitly target this segment using growth equity, quasi-equity, and structured equity instruments rather than traditional leveraged buyouts. This impact orientation has attracted development finance institutions as anchor limited partners. Several funds now carry international credibility that domestic capital markets alone could not provide.

Kathmandu hosts every active fund manager, and the city's startup ecosystem is the primary source of deal flow. Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) serves as the primary exit route, alongside strategic sales and secondary transactions, so fund managers must plan exit pathways carefully from initial investment. Regulatory friction between the SIF Rules and the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2019 creates additional complexity for foreign-backed funds. SEBON approvals sometimes extend over several months.

Nepal PE/VC Firms: Comparison Table

The table below covers active and pipeline-stage fund managers with disclosed fund sizes. Firms without publicly available AUM data are excluded from the AUM column. Funds are sorted by disclosed fund size (largest to smallest where available).

Most fund managers do not disclose AUM publicly. When AUM data is unavailable, the fund size at fundraising is cited as the most reliable proxy for capital scale.

Top Picks by Investment Strategy

Largest Disclosed AUM: Dolma Impact Fund, with more than $100 million deployed across Fund I and Fund II, holds the strongest internationally audited track record in the market, backed by IFC and British International Investment.

Biggest Fundraise in Pipeline: Alpha Plus Ventures is targeting NPR 20 billion, the largest single fund raise announced in Nepal's PE/VC sector, with an explicit focus on undervalued and distressed companies.

Growth Equity Leader: NIBL Equity Partners targets mature businesses with positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), making it the most selective growth-stage fund by entry criteria. Its anchor investor is Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited.

Top Clean Energy Investor: LS Capital's Laxmi Sustainable Energy Fund (NPR 1 billion, active) is the only fund in the market dedicated exclusively to hydropower, solar, and wind investments.

Most Active Exit Track Record: Business Oxygen (5 exits) edges out Team Ventures (4 exits) on completed realizations, a meaningful distinction in a market where exits remain rare.

Strongest PPP Model: National Fund Management operates under a public-private partnership structure with the Employees Provident Fund Nepal as lead promoter, alongside Himalayan Bank, Sanima Bank, and Agricultural Development Bank.

Permanent Capital Specialist: True North Associates is the only domestic fund manager structured as a permanent capital vehicle, allowing it to hold investments beyond standard 5-to-15-year fund tenures.

Best for MSME Investment-Readiness: Nabil Investment Banking focuses on preparing micro, small, and medium enterprises for equity raising rather than deploying fund capital directly, filling a pre-investment advisory gap.

Top Nepal PE/VC Firms in Detail

Dolma Impact Fund

Nepal's most internationally recognized impact fund has deployed more than $100 million across two fund vintages. IFC, British International Investment, and FMO count among its limited partners. Dolma's investment thesis combines financial return with measurable social and environmental outcomes, positioning it as a strategic partner rather than a passive capital provider. Its most notable proof point arrived in 2025: portfolio company Fusemachines, an AI firm, completed a Nasdaq listing. This was the first time a Nepal-headquartered company had listed on the US exchange, demonstrating that international exit pathways from Nepal are achievable. Foreign limited partners evaluating Nepal for the first time often anchor their research around Dolma, because its DFI backers have already applied institutional due diligence to the market.

Business Oxygen (BO2)

The pioneer of onshore PE investing with foreign capital in Nepal, BO2 built its identity around climate-focused quasi-equity for SMEs that banks refuse to finance due to collateral gaps. The fund's limited partners include IFC, FCDO, Climate Investment Funds, and WLC Ventures, giving it a credibility signal that few domestic funds can match. With 5 completed exits as of 2024, BO2 holds the strongest realized track record in the market. Its quasi-equity structures blend equity characteristics with debt-like repayment features. BO2 designed these specifically for Nepali SMEs that cannot yet support full equity governance requirements, making it the primary capital provider for businesses one step below standard private equity eligibility.

Global Equity Fund (GEF)

The first domestic institutional PE/VC fund manager to receive a SEBON license under SIF Regulation 2075, GEF draws its anchor capital from Laxmi Bank, Prime Life Insurance, Everest Insurance, and Laxmi Corp. Its Laxmi Impact Growth Fund I targets NPR 2 billion to back 8-10 mid-cap SMEs facing scaling challenges across education, tourism, IT, healthcare, agriculture, and clean energy. GEF has moved beyond the fundraising stage into active portfolio management, with more than NPR 35 million deployed, 30 businesses supported, and an investment in Tattva Farms. Domestic founders seeking a PE partner with strong institutional roots and sector-agnostic flexibility are well-matched to GEF's operational model.

Avasar Equity

Four commercial banks, Siddhartha Bank, Sanima Bank, Kumari Bank, and Nepal Bank, promoted Avasar Equity and secured approval for the Avasar Equity Diversified Fund at over NPR 4.5 billion. This makes it one of the largest approved fund pools in Nepal's PE market. Its bank-consortium backing gives investee companies access to a broader network of financial relationships beyond capital alone. The fund takes a sector-agnostic approach across industries and focuses on connecting portfolio companies to the resources they need to reach their maximum potential. Founders seeking both capital and institutional network access from a single investor relationship are the primary target profile.

National Fund Management

The only fund manager in Nepal operating under an explicit public-private partnership model, National Fund counts the Employees Provident Fund Nepal as a leading promoter. Himalayan Bank, Machhapuchchhre Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, and several non-resident Nepali investors also participate. It targets a NPR 7 billion fund spanning private equity, venture capital, hedge fund strategies, and distressed asset management, making it the most strategy-diverse manager in the market. The EPF anchor signals institutional-grade governance requirements, giving international co-investors a familiar due diligence reference point. Pension funds and bilateral organizations evaluating multi-strategy Nepal exposure will find National Fund's PPP structure the closest domestic analogue to a conventional fund-of-funds entry point.

True North Associates (TNA)

True North's defining characteristic is structural rather than sectoral: it operates as Nepal's only domestic permanent capital vehicle with a PE/VC investment philosophy. By removing the fixed exit timeline that constrains conventional close-ended funds (which must wind up within 5-15 years under SIF Rules), TNA can hold positions through full business cycles and structure exits based on company readiness rather than fund maturity pressure. Its portfolio includes multiple rounds in Foodmandu, the food-tech platform that also attracted investment from Team Ventures, Dolma Impact Fund, and Himalayan Capital in a partial secondary. Founders building for long-term value rather than a near-term IPO timeline are the strongest fit for TNA's patient capital model.

Team Ventures

Team Ventures recorded 4 exits by early 2024 across an industry-agnostic mandate covering energy, technology, real estate, manufacturing, agro-infrastructure, and electric vehicles. Its Foodmandu investment, which included a Series B round and a subsequent partial exit to Himalayan Capital via secondary sale, is the most frequently cited deal in Nepal's VC ecosystem. The firm also invested in Dalle Restaurant and Incessant Rain, demonstrating appetite for consumer businesses that purely impact-driven funds typically avoid. Entrepreneurs in sectors outside the standard hydropower-agriculture-fintech cluster have few institutional options with comparable breadth.

NIBL Equity Partners

NIMB Ace Capital manages NIBL Equity Partners, with Nepal Investment Mega Bank as anchor investor. The fund applies the most explicit entry criteria of any Nepal PE vehicle: target companies must have operated for at least three years and show positive EBITDA with a clear path to net profitability. These standards filter out early-stage ventures and position NIBL as a pre-IPO growth partner rather than a venture backer. ESG integration is formalized in its decision-making processes, and its commitment to women-led business support distinguishes it from sector-agnostic peers. Established businesses in agriculture and food production, seeking structured growth capital and a NEPSE listing pathway, are the strongest fit for this fund.

LS Capital (Laxmi Sunrise Capital)

LS Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Laxmi Sunrise Bank and a signatory to the Operating Principles for Impact Management, launched Nepal's first dedicated clean energy PE fund. The Laxmi Sustainable Energy Fund, sized at NPR 1 billion, is currently active and deploying capital into hydroelectricity, solar, and wind projects. Nepal's hydropower potential ranks among the highest in Asia. LS Capital's single-sector focus gives it deeper deal origination networks in energy infrastructure than any generalist fund can build. Institutional investors with renewable energy mandates, including development finance institutions, will find LS Capital the most specialized counterpart for clean energy co-investment in Nepal.

Investment Trends Shaping Nepal's PE/VC Sector

The Missing Middle as Core Market Thesis

The majority of Nepal's PE/VC fund managers have built their investment theses around financing SMEs that generate real revenues but cannot access bank credit because they lack the collateral that Nepali banking regulations require. This structural gap means PE capital is not competing with bank debt; it is filling a financing vacuum. Business Oxygen, One to Watch, and Global Equity Fund all anchor their mandates here explicitly. SEBON's SIF Rules are specifically designed to enable this class of investment through quasi-equity instruments not available to conventional bank products.

Impact Investing as the Market Default

ESG and impact mandates characterize the majority of active Nepal PE funds, reflecting the development finance capital that seeded the market in its early years. Six active fund managers embed impact metrics into their investment frameworks: Business Oxygen (climate focus, IFC/FCDO limited partners), Dolma (impact fund, BII/IFC limited partners), Global Equity Fund (sector-agnostic impact), Cweda Equity Fund (societal impact), NIBL Equity Partners (ESG-integrated), and LS Capital (sustainable energy). At the 2023 CNIYEF Startup Fest, multiple PE/VC firms collectively committed NPR 240.5 million to startups. This signals that impact-aligned deal flow is now organized at an ecosystem level.

Technology and Clean Energy as Exit-Ready Sectors

The Fusemachines Nasdaq listing in 2025 demonstrated that Nepal-origin technology companies can access international capital markets, which materially changes exit pathway assumptions for tech-focused funds. Clean energy projects, particularly hydropower, offer a separate exit route through NEPSE listing: 75 real-sector firms registered for IPO in a single year, indicating that the public market is becoming a viable realization mechanism for infrastructure assets. Two sector-specific exit pathways now exist: international listing for technology companies and NEPSE IPO for energy assets.

Regulatory Development and Remaining Friction

The SIF Rules 2019 created a formal licensing regime that replaced ad hoc fund structures, improving investor protection and SEBON oversight. A misalignment between SIF Rules and the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2019 continues to create friction for foreign-backed funds, with SEBON approval processes sometimes extending over several months. The minimum foreign investment threshold of NPR 50 million (approximately USD 420,000) and the Nepal Rastra Bank approval requirement for profit repatriation add procedural layers that purely domestic funds do not face. Industry bodies including the Nepal Private Equity Association (NPEA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) are actively engaged in policy advocacy to streamline these requirements.

Bank-Subsidiary Fund Managers Entering the Market

A second wave of fund managers consists of merchant banking subsidiaries of established commercial banks. Four bank-affiliated managers have obtained SIF licenses: NIC ASIA Capital (subsidiary of NIC ASIA Bank), NMB Capital (subsidiary of NMB Bank), NIMB Ace Capital, and Nabil Investment Banking. These managers bring institutional capital and existing corporate client relationships to deal sourcing, though their investment mandates are still in early stages of activation. Their entry increases competition for quality deal flow in Kathmandu while expanding the total capital available to Nepali companies across a wider range of ticket sizes.

How to Evaluate Nepal PE/VC Firms

Start by verifying SEBON licensing status. Any fund manager without a current SIF license, or operating only under the Companies Act without a fund management registration, falls outside the regulated framework and lacks the investor protections that SIF Rules mandate. SEBON maintains a public register of licensed fund managers, and confirming a firm's standing takes a matter of minutes.

Exits are the most objective performance signal in Nepal's pre-IRR market. Business Oxygen's 5 completed exits and Team Ventures' 4 exits stand out because most fund managers here have yet to demonstrate a full investment cycle. For limited partners allocating to newer fund managers, anchor investor quality functions as a proxy for institutional due diligence. IFC backing (as in Business Oxygen) and EPF anchor positions (as in National Fund) indicate that the fund has passed scrutiny from sophisticated global or institutional domestic investors.

Fund tenure and remaining deployment period are critical structural factors. SIF Rules cap fund duration at 15 years, and a fund approaching the end of its tenure with unrealized investments faces compressed exit timelines. Review the fund constitution for targeted sector, hurdle rate, performance fee (carried interest) structure, and winding-up provisions before committing capital. Foreign investors also need to assess repatriation provisions carefully, as profit outflows require Nepal Rastra Bank approval and the administrative process should be mapped before any capital commitment.

Which Firm Fits Your Needs?

Founders seeking growth equity above NPR 50 million with tolerance for board-level governance involvement should evaluate Dolma Impact Fund, Avasar Equity, and National Fund Management first. These three offer the largest capital pools among actively deploying or pipeline-stage fund managers, and their institutional anchors provide network effects beyond capital alone. Companies with positive EBITDA and a concrete NEPSE IPO timeline are well-suited for NIBL Equity Partners, which structures investments explicitly around pre-IPO value creation.

For SMEs that cannot meet standard PE entry criteria, particularly those without three years of operating history or clean collateral for bank debt, Business Oxygen's quasi-equity structures and One to Watch's missing-middle mandate represent the most accessible entry points into institutional growth capital. Clean energy developers, hydropower project sponsors, and infrastructure businesses have a more direct route through LS Capital, whose Laxmi Sustainable Energy Fund is the only dedicated energy PE vehicle currently active.

Limited partners building diversified alternatives exposure to Nepal should anchor their assessment on DFI-backed funds. The involvement of IFC, FCDO, BII, and FMO in Dolma Impact Fund and Business Oxygen indicates that international-standard due diligence has already been applied to those fund managers. Non-resident Nepalis (NRNs) are explicitly recognized as eligible investors under SIF Rules and can participate with a minimum unit purchase of NPR 5 million, making the smaller active funds a practical entry point for diaspora capital seeking Nepal exposure.

Methodology

This article covers private equity in Nepal based on data compiled from SEBON public disclosures, fund manager publications, Nepal Private Equity Association membership records, and regulatory filings as of early 2024 to early 2026. Firms are included based on documented SEBON SIF licensing or confirmed operational status. Fund sizes reflect either SEBON-approved figures or publicly disclosed fundraising targets where approvals were pending at time of writing. AUM figures for individual Dolma Impact Fund vintages are not publicly disclosed; the combined figure of more than $100 million is sourced from fund manager communications. No fund performance data (IRR, multiple on invested capital) is publicly available for any Nepal PE/VC manager, and this article does not project or impute return figures. Firm profiles are restricted to organizations appearing in the data set; no firms from general market knowledge have been added. The Nepal Private Equity Association (NPEA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) are the primary industry bodies tracking this sector, and their member rosters provide the most current view of active fund managers.