Sandbox

Who it is for

• Anyone aged 16 or older with an idea they want to build in Nepal. No degree, no track record and no connections needed.
• Students and first-time founders who want structure, honest feedback and people who have done it before.
• Small teams that already have something working and need help to grow it.
• Nepalis abroad who want to build at home, or help others do it.

What Sandbox aims to offer

• Support: IncubationWhat it looks like: A structured path from idea to first paying customers, with clear milestones
• Support: MentoringWhat it looks like: Regular time with advisers and founders who have built leading Nepali companies
• Support: GrowthWhat it looks like: Introductions to customers, partners and markets, inside Nepal and beyond
• Support: Pre-seed capitalWhat it looks like: The goal is for Sandbox to invest at the earliest stage, once its fund is in place

Founders can test an idea against open market research from the SNS Think Tank before they build it.

The Sandbox Community

Alongside incubation, Sandbox is building a community: one place where young founders, investors and people coming home to build can find each other. Swadesh Nai Swarga is the stage, the platform and the community behind them.

• Who it brings together: Young foundersWhat they find: Other people building at the same stage, honest feedback, and a room to show their work
• Who it brings together: Investors and experienced foundersWhat they find: Early sight of young Nepali companies, and a way to back them
• Who it brings together: People coming homeWhat they find: A network from day one for NRNs, students back from studying abroad, and anyone who left Nepal and returned to build

• A stage: a regular room where founders present what they are building to people who can help.
• A platform: introductions to mentors, customers, partners and investors, made by people who know both sides.
• A community: people who back each other after the event ends, not only on the day.

Coming home after years abroad often means starting your network from zero. The Sandbox Community is meant to make that the shortest part of coming back.

Where the diaspora fits

Home-grown innovation should not depend on who happens to live in Kathmandu. Through the Diaspora Network, Nepalis abroad will be able to mentor Sandbox founders, open doors to markets where they live, and, once the structure allows it, back the companies being built at home.

Ground rules

• The advisers and founders behind Sandbox will be named once the agreements are final. We will not use anyone's name before then.
• Nothing on this page is an offer of investment or a promise of funding.
• Founders under 18 will need a parent or guardian to agree to any formal agreement.
• Every cohort's results will be published, the same as every SNS programme.