Magh Issue, 2082
January flew by, and hopefully the year’s started well for you, whether that meant planning your New Year Resolutions or just easing back into your routines.
As we get into the swing of things, our monthly Pitstop is also going through a “New Year, New Me” phase. We’re trying out a new format starting this month, with the same updates and stories, just laid out in a new way.
We’d love to hear what you think about it!
Precision Navigation for Voters
In a thoughtful move to support democratic participation, Galli Maps, part of the F1Soft Group, rolled out a new voter accessibility feature for the General Election on 21st Falgun, 2082.
Developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and Lalitpur Metropolitan City, the update helped citizens navigate the voting process with ease. Key features included a Voter ID Search to quickly find polling centers and Precision Navigation for verified turn-by-turn directions. By addressing local navigation challenges and making voting more accessible, Galli Maps demonstrated its ongoing commitment to leveraging technology for the benefit of the community.
Built on Grit, Grown on Trust
Living by the belief “Karma gara, fal ko aasa nagara”, Mr. Subash Sharma has always focused on doing the work with the right intent rather than chasing immediate results. Looking back at F1Soft’s 21-year journey, he reflects that success did not come because the founders were the best in the industry or had everything figured out from the beginning. It came from discipline, consistency, and the willingness to keep showing up even when things were unclear.
“When we started, we did not have enough knowledge and had not fully understood the industry,” he says. “But we made the effort, every single day.” That steady grit is what eventually shaped F1Soft into the top-tier company it is today—one that can stand shoulder to shoulder with global players.
Over time, leadership also changed him as a person. Early in his career, he believed he could guide others because he knew more. But running F1Soft taught him the real power of trust. When he began trusting people around him, he started seeing how collective effort could achieve far more than individual control. Letting go of the mindset of “I know it all” brought better outcomes, stronger teams, and better results.
Living by the belief “Karma gara, fal ko aasa nagara”, Mr. Subash Sharma has always focused on doing the work with the right intent rather than chasing immediate results. Looking back at F1Soft’s 21-year journey, he reflects that success did not come because the founders were the best in the industry or had everything figured out from the beginning. It came from discipline, consistency, and the willingness to keep showing up even when things were unclear.
“When we started, we did not have enough knowledge and had not fully understood the industry,” he says. “But we made the effort, every single day.” That steady grit is what eventually shaped F1Soft into the top-tier company it is today—one that can stand shoulder to shoulder with global players.
Over time, leadership also changed him as a person. Early in his career, he believed he could guide others because he knew more. But running F1Soft taught him the real power of trust. When he began trusting people around him, he started seeing how collective effort could achieve far more than individual control. Letting go of the mindset of “I know it all” brought better outcomes, stronger teams, and better results.
There were years when the company was barely surviving. Revenue was not enough, and the team lacked the resources to build eSewa the way they had envisioned. But instead of pulling back, F1Soft chose to collaborate. The decision to work with banks, to build mobile banking systems, and to grow through partnerships changed the trajectory of the business. A shared ecosystem replaced isolated struggle—and growth followed.
Around the same time, an investor approached F1Soft, offering to take a majority stake in both F1Soft and eSewa. The team believed the investment could secure their future. But the deal fell through due to market conditions. What felt like a major setback later revealed itself as a turning point. Without that investment, the pressure to survive forced the team to come up with new ideas and business models that ultimately transformed F1Soft. As Mr. Sharma says, that failure turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Subash’s decision to join F1Soft was shaped by more than opportunity—it was inspired by Biswas’s personal sacrifice and unwavering belief in building a digitally accessible fintech future for Nepal. At the time, Subash was working in an outsourcing company and was hesitant to step into an uncertain startup, especially with financial responsibilities on his shoulders. But witnessing Biswas put his own financial security on the line and stay deeply committed to creating a breakthrough in the fintech industry changed everything. That level of conviction convinced Subash to take the leap. Biswas’s faith in him created a strong sense of responsibility—to not fail, and to give everything he had to bring that vision to life.
Interestingly, although he joined as a computer engineer, Mr. Sharma has never written a single line of production code. His contribution has always been about leadership, people, and direction.
One of the hardest decisions he ever made was stepping away from leadership and forming independent boards for Fonepay and eSewa. Handing over responsibility to people who had grown within tough, uncertain environments was not easy—but it proved to be the right choice. Trusting the team led to better performance and stronger leadership across the organization.
In the early days, when the team had average skill sets and no business background, the arrival of well-funded competitors created fear. But that fear didn’t weaken them—it pushed them to innovate, improve, and move faster. Even today, Mr. Sharma continues to look for the root of problems through first-principles thinking, ensuring challenges are solved from the ground up.
Through every phase—uncertainty, loss, growth, and transformation—one thing has remained constant: grit, guided by trust. And that, more than anything else, is what continues to define F1Soft.
– This leadership journey and its defining moments were documented by Aarju Joshi.
As part of the Year of Innovation, F1Soft continued its AI Accelerator journey with Session 7, led by Mr. Saugat KC, Group Chief Investment Officer. The session focused on transforming innovative ideas into investable businesses, offering teams practical insights into building strong, market-ready business plans. Through focused discussions and hands-on learning, participants gained a clearer understanding of what it takes to shape ideas with real commercial potential, reinforcing F1Soft’s commitment to innovation-driven growth.
As part of the Year of Innovation, F1Soft continued its AI Accelerator journey with Session 7, led by Mr. Saugat KC, Group Chief Investment Officer.
As part of the Year of Innovation, F1Soft continued its AI Accelerator journey with Session 7, led by Mr. Saugat KC, Group Chief Investment Officer. The session focused on transforming innovative ideas into investable businesses, offering teams practical insights into building strong, market-ready business plans. Through focused discussions and hands-on learning, participants gained a clearer understanding of what it takes to shape ideas with real commercial potential, reinforcing F1Soft’s commitment to innovation-driven growth.
F1Soft Toastmasters celebrates its 100th Meeting marking one hundred meetings of showing up, one hundred meetings of choosing courage over comfort, one hundred meetings of learning, failing safely, growing loudly, and supporting each other relentlessly. Looking back at the journey of this club, the club transitioned from fortnightly meetings to weekly meetings, from nominating speakers for speech contests to actually reaching the division level, from winning multiple Creative Innovator Awards to achieving the President’s Distinguished status.
The club has always been a safe space for members to learn, grow, and challenge themselves to build their communication skills. Heartfelt thanks to the members, protégés, mentors, leadership team, and management for continuously supporting this club and believing in its journey.
F1Soft Toastmasters celebrates its 100th Meeting marking one hundred meetings of showing up, one hundred meetings of choosing courage over comfort, one hundred meetings of learning, failing safely, growing loudly, and supporting each other relentlessly.
F1Soft Toastmasters celebrates its 100th Meeting marking one hundred meetings of showing up, one hundred meetings of choosing courage over comfort, one hundred meetings of learning, failing safely, growing loudly, and supporting each other relentlessly. Looking back at the journey of this club, the club transitioned from fortnightly meetings to weekly meetings, from nominating speakers for speech contests to actually reaching the division level, from winning multiple Creative Innovator Awards to achieving the President’s Distinguished status.
The club has always been a safe space for members to learn, grow, and challenge themselves to build their communication skills. Heartfelt thanks to the members, protégés, mentors, leadership team, and management for continuously supporting this club and believing in its journey.
The People & Culture leadership at F1Soft Group marked a proud moment as Piyush Paudyal, Group Head – People & Culture at F1Soft Group, and Prabesh Shrestha, Head – People & Culture at Fonepay, were elected as Vice President and Executive Member of the Human Resources Society Nepal (HRSN), respectively. This achievement highlighted their dedication to strengthening people practices and shaping the future of the HR community in Nepal. Congratulations to both for an exciting new chapter of influence and impact.
The People & Culture leadership at F1Soft Group marked a proud moment as Piyush Paudyal, Group Head – People & Culture at F1Soft Group, and Prabesh Shrestha, Head – People & Culture at Fonepay, were elected as Vice President and Executive Member of the Human Resources Society Nepal (HRSN), respectively.
The People & Culture leadership at F1Soft Group marked a proud moment as Piyush Paudyal, Group Head – People & Culture at F1Soft Group, and Prabesh Shrestha, Head – People & Culture at Fonepay, were elected as Vice President and Executive Member of the Human Resources Society Nepal (HRSN), respectively. This achievement highlighted their dedication to strengthening people practices and shaping the future of the HR community in Nepal. Congratulations to both for an exciting new chapter of influence and impact.
AI Club at F1Soft Group
F1Soft ARL has officially launched the AI Club to encourage responsible and collaborative AI innovation across its verticals. AI Club serves as a space for learning, experimentation, and open discussions around practical AI use cases, while keeping ethics, governance, and regulations in focus. Guided by a cross-vertical Executive Committee comprising President Bishwas KC, Vice Presidents Chandra Khadka and Kiran Bhatt, and Secretary Reema Khatri, the AI Club aims to build AI awareness, promote collaboration, and foster a culture where innovation supports both individual development and organizational growth.
To officially introduce the club and engage its members, the AI Club organized an ice-breaking session themed “Break the Ice, Spark the AI.” The session combined interactive activities with open discussions to help understand participants’ interests, AI familiarity, and expectations, setting the direction for future AI Club initiatives. The event was successfully brought to life through the enthusiasm and support of dedicated volunteers Pranita Pathak, Milan Paudyal, and Usha Chaudhary from eSewa, along with Manisha Kattel from Fonepay, and was engagingly hosted by Shubhekshya Neupane from ExtensoData.
Building on this momentum and aligning with the NRB AI Guidelines, the AI Club further strengthened its impact by hosting a leadership roundtable with CEOs, CXOs, and legal experts from across the F1Soft Group. This discussion focused on responsible AI adoption, governance, and regulatory alignment, with shared insights and recommendations collectively developed for submission to NRB. The organizers expressed sincere appreciation to all participating leaders and legal experts, as well as the moderator, Mr. Anish Bhurtel from Fonepay, whose clear and insightful overview of the NRB AI Guidelines enabled meaningful and productive discussions.
2 min read
Fonepay has achieved a significant milestone, crossing 20,000 users for its Fonepay Credit Card. This rapid adoption underscores the growing trust in Fonepay’s innovative approach to digital payments and highlights the platform’s role in transforming how Nepalis manage their everyday transactions.
Built with the support and confidence of BFI (Banking and Financial Institution) partners, the Fonepay Credit Card is already being used at scale by everyday consumers across the country. Its seamless integration with Nepal’s largest interoperable QR network allows users to make payments at numerous merchants nationwide, making cashless transactions simpler, more convenient, and rewarding.
2 min read
Nepal’s leading digital remittance company, Esewa Money Transfer, has renewed its partnership with national cricket star Dipendra Singh Airee, who will continue as the brand’s endorser for another year. Airee, who has represented the company for the past two years, expressed his excitement about continuing to promote safe and reliable digital remittance services to Nepalese migrants. Speaking at the signing ceremony, CEO Ajesh Koirala highlighted Airee’s dedication and the positive energy he brings to the brand’s mission of connecting with the youth and the wider Nepali community.
5 min read
Fonepoints has hit an exciting milestone, reaching 17.5 lakh+ users and continuing its rapid growth journey. This achievement reflects the strong trust users place in the platform, along with the continued support of partners and a growing merchant network. Together, Fonepoints team is creating an ecosystem that makes everyday digital payments more fun and rewarding. Moving forward, Fonepoint aims to focus on enhancing user experience, expanding partnerships, and delivering greater value with every transaction. Congratulations to the entire Fonepoints team on this fantastic achievement!
2 min read
The Experimentation & Experience team at eSewa recently hosted an engaging usability session with students from Techspire College, creating an exciting space for real-world feedback and hands-on exploration. The session offered meaningful insights into how young users interacted with the app, revealing opportunities to make everyday digital payments even smoother and more intuitive. These valuable learnings played a key role in shaping improvements, reinforcing eSewa’s commitment to building a user-friendly experience driven by genuine user behavior and feedback.
2 min read
After more than a month of energy, excitement, and unforgettable moments, eSewa Playfinity 2025 has officially come to a close. This year’s Playfinity featured a vibrant mix of sporting events, including outdoor cricket, men’s football, women’s futsal, badminton tournaments, and solo and relay races.
What made Playfinity 2025 truly special was the overwhelming participation and support from employees across teams and functions. Whether playing competitively, cheering as spectators, volunteering behind the scenes, or joining in through fun initiatives like the Match Predictor and lucky draws, everyone found a way to be part of the celebration.
1 min read
Fonepay has proudly extended its partnership with national cricket star Kushal Bhurtel, underlining its dedication to promoting Nepali sports and empowering athletes across the country. This collaboration aims to inspire young talent to pursue their dreams, fostering a vibrant culture of sports in Nepal while recognizing and celebrating the achievements of homegrown athletes on both national and international stages. Together, Fonepay and Kushal Bhurtel aim to motivate the next generation of athletes and sports enthusiasts throughout Nepal.
5 min read
Fonepay is continuing its ongoing initiative to enhance digital literacy across corporate offices, with a particular emphasis on Credit Cards. These interactive sessions are designed to educate employees on the practical benefits of using credit cards, including managing transactions efficiently, maximizing rewards, and adopting safe digital payment practices. By focusing on credit card literacy, Fonepay aims to empower professionals with the knowledge and confidence to integrate digital financial tools into their daily lives.
Recently, Fonepay conducted sessions at a range of prominent organizations, including Ingrails (Veda App), Four Symmetrons, BATAS MAW Commercial Vehicles (Eicher), InfoDevelopers, and Codavatar Tech Private Limited. During these sessions, participants received detailed guidance on credit card usage, real-life examples, and strategies to optimize benefits while maintaining financial discipline. The interactive format encouraged employees to ask questions and gain practical insights, helping them understand not just the “how” but also the “why” of digital credit card usage. By visiting organizations across different sectors, Fonepay is reaching a diverse workforce and ensuring that professionals from all backgrounds are equipped with essential digital financial skills.
5 min read
Fonepay Business Academy has successfully conducted a Digital Financial Awareness for Wellbeing and Safe Online Payments session for 50+ staff and parents of Samyak School. The session focused on the importance of mobile banking, various digital payment services and options along with their uses and benefits, and essential tips for safe online payments and fraud prevention. The program concluded with active engagement and positive feedback, highlighting the growing need for digital financial awareness to support everyday financial wellbeing and safer digital transactions.
5 min read
The Hamrobazar Employee Listing Campaign created an energetic buzz across the F1Soft Group, showcasing how simple and rewarding it can be to sell on Hamrobazar. Employees actively participated by listing unused items, transforming clutter into real value while earning cash and embracing smarter resale habits. With the strong enthusiasm seen throughout the initiative, more engaging challenges and exciting rewards are set to follow, inviting everyone to list, earn, and sell smarter with Hamrobazar.
5 min read
Embracing AI
Hello everyone, welcome to the era of AI. It’s time to be powered by AI.
At F1Soft Group, we have an incredible mix of engineers, designers, analysts, QA professionals, product owners, IT infrastructure teams, and many more brilliant minds. But here’s the shift I want to highlight:
Once you are powered by AI, you are the engineer, you are the designer, you are the analyst — you are a jack of all. Because you are powered by AI.
For years, we have been using AI tools — ChatGPT, Gemini AI, Copilot, and many automation frameworks that already support our work. But now, it’s time for an orbit shift. We are no longer just users of AI. We are becoming the builders of an AI-driven ecosystem.
Embracing AI
Hello everyone, welcome to the era of AI. It’s time to be powered by AI.
At F1Soft Group, we have an incredible mix of engineers, designers, analysts, QA professionals, product owners, IT infrastructure teams, and many more brilliant minds. But here’s the shift I want to highlight:
Once you are powered by AI, you are the engineer, you are the designer, you are the analyst — you are a jack of all. Because you are powered by AI.
For years, we have been using AI tools — ChatGPT, Gemini AI, Copilot, and many automation frameworks that already support our work. But now, it’s time for an orbit shift. We are no longer just users of AI. We are becoming the builders of an AI-driven ecosystem.
I would like to share a recent use case of the development of KAKFA cluster manager by me which just took me 13 hours with the use of AI. Kafka Cluster Manager, a powerful tool that will enable our IT teams to deploy Kafka clusters rapidly, consistently, and at scale—unlocking speed, standardization, and operational efficiency. What took around two days before can now be completed within 5 minutes of time.
So, I invite you all to start. You don’t need to build the perfect solution. Just start the transformation. Start with your day-to-day work. Bootstrap yourself. Train your mindset to see through AI lenses.
Share your ideas, insights, learnings, and feedback with us. ARL is here to capture, curate, and amplify that intelligence — because these insights will define how F1Soft Group works tomorrow. The future isn’t waiting. We are building it — starting today.
To get started with F1ARL – Kafka Cluster Manager, please visit the link: https://bit.ly/4jD3ypm
Akbar Khan
Director of F1ARL
Attending CHRO Series Singapore was a strong learning experience for me. Spending a full day with senior HR leaders from across Asia gave me a sharp view of where HR is heading and how far developed markets have moved ahead. Their progress is significant. Compared to them, we are still at an early stage in building modern HR practices, especially in areas like strategic wellness, AI-driven HR, leadership pipelines, and culture design.
Attending CHRO Series Singapore was a strong learning experience for me. Spending a full day with senior HR leaders from across Asia gave me a sharp view of where HR is heading and how far developed markets have moved ahead. Their progress is significant. Compared to them, we are still at an early stage in building modern HR practices, especially in areas like strategic wellness, AI-driven HR, leadership pipelines, and culture design.
I joined the roundtable discussion on “Smart Health, Smart Spending: Navigating Rising Costs with Strategic Wellness Initiatives,” facilitated by Heena Bose, CEO of Pacific Prime CXA. Our group discussed how health benefits, rising medical costs, and workforce expectations are shifting. The key ideas were practical:
The session helped me reflect on how organizations can manage rising costs without harming employee support. It also opened my thinking on redesigning wellness programs in our context.
During the break, I spoke with participants from Singapore and other regions about their daily work life. Their mindset was very different. They work long hours, they move fast, and they hold themselves accountable without waiting for reminders. Most of them don’t talk about “work-life balance” the way we do. For them, work is a responsibility and something they take pride in. The organization, in return, gives them reliable systems, predictable processes, and smooth support structures so they can focus fully on their tasks. It is a simple exchange: the company provides the tools, and employees provide ownership. This clarity makes their culture stronger.
Throughout the day, the sessions covered themes that match the future of HR:
Listening to leaders from Microsoft, Indeed, Nokia, Olam, SAP SuccessFactors, and many others gave me practical insight on how top companies build high-performance cultures without losing the human element.
I returned with a sharper understanding of how HR will evolve globally and how we need to shape our own systems to stay competitive. The experience also reinforced the importance of ownership, discipline, and strategic thinking in our workplace.
Rohit Bhattarai
Head – People and Culture, eSewa
Fonepay Cashback Blast
Fonepay recently launched Cashback Blast, an exciting campaign that rewards users for making payments with the Fonepay Credit Card. As QR-based payments continue to grow in Nepal, the campaign encourages users to enjoy the convenience of digital credit while earning real savings. Customers receive 50% cashback up to NPR 500 per merchant per payment when they scan and pay using the Fonepay Credit Card at participating outlets.
The offer can be availed across multiple merchants, including restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, and online platforms such as Foodmandu, BigMart, KFC, Trisara Baking Factory, Baskin-Robbins, and many more, with additional merchants joining throughout the campaign period. Running until the end of January 2026, Cashback Blast makes everyday spending faster, secure, and more rewarding.
The campaign is available to Fonepay Credit Card holders from partner institutions including Citizens Bank International, Kumari Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Everest Bank, Garima Bikas Bank, Shine Resunga Development Bank, Mahalaxmi Bikas Bank, and Manjushree Finance.
New Hiring
Welcoming New Tigers to F1Soft Group
As usual, you are always welcome to contribute to this newsletter in any part, whether you want to share your experience, a message, photos, or even recommend some songs and books. Please email us at [email protected], and we will take care of the rest.