I'm currently in Kathmandu researching an innovative e-commerce company called Thamel.com.  The business allows the Nepalese diaspora to purchase gifts online that are produced and delivered locally to their relatives back home.  By doing so, all the money spent is kept in the local economy, thereby creating jobs.  The company is now about to launch a new service in partnership with a local bank, which would allow family members living abroad to secure housing and car loans, as well as a variety of insurance plans, for their relatives back home. 

The attached picture shows one of Thamel.com’s local vendors.  One of hundreds of shops in Kathmandu’s Thamel district, the store is as small as a walk-in closet, doesn’t have a phone, and the proprietor doesn’t speak any English.  But thanks to Thamel.com, it is selling more than 50 products to buyers around the world.

A full case study of the Thamel.com model will be available this summer.