Finnfund, a Finnish development finance company, has invested €10 million ($10.5 million) in WorldLink Communications, Nepal’s largest internet service provider, to expand the country’s fiber network. This investment will also support the construction of WorldLink’s first Tier III-standard data center.
The investment aligns with Finnfund’s objective of enhancing digital infrastructure to provide faster, more affordable, and reliable internet services, especially to underserved rural and remote areas of Nepal. “WorldLink has been instrumental in bridging the digital divide in Nepal, and this investment will further strengthen its efforts,” said Kuuti Kilpeläinen, Finnfund’s representative.
Kilpeläinen also highlighted the significance of WorldLink’s use of Nokia’s advanced technology to improve internet services.
Founded in 1995, WorldLink holds a 35% share of Nepal’s broadband market and serves 73 of the country’s 77 districts. The company offers colocation, hosting, and private cloud services from its data center in Pulchowk, Lalitpur. In 2021, WorldLink announced plans to build 14 small data centers across Nepal.
Finnfund is majority-owned by the Finnish state and invests in digital infrastructure projects across developing countries. While the company traditionally focuses on Africa, Asia has become a growing investment destination.
Nepal’s data center market includes operators like Cloud Himalaya, DataHub, NITC, and facilities by telcos such as Ncell and Subisu. This year, Indian data center operator Yotta and Nepal’s BLC also partnered to build a new data center outside Kathmandu.