MPOWER Financing · 2025 to 2026 · Spell 6 of 6

Bina dhito: opening Nepal

Nepali families paid for study abroad by borrowing against land. We came to Kathmandu with a loan that didn't need any, and made sure the whole country heard about it.

4×
site traffic from Nepal, year over year
1,500
qualified prospects at our first event, with 1,500 more turned away
11
Nepali news outlets, TV and radio included

In short

The problem
MPOWER was unknown in Nepal, and students there assumed an education loan meant putting up family property.
What I did
I set the launch strategy, hired the agency and our in-country market lead, and led with the message students cared about most: no collateral. Then I went on Nepali TV and radio to explain it myself.
The result
Traffic from Nepal grew 4× year over year by February 2026. Our first event drew 1,500 qualified prospects and turned away 1,500 more.

The problem

In Nepal, a loan to study abroad usually starts with the family land. Banks want collateral, so a student's future depends on what their parents own. MPOWER lends on a student's admission and future earnings instead, which was exactly the right offer and completely unknown. Nobody in Kathmandu had heard of a lender from Washington, and "no collateral" sounded too good to be true.

The spell

Our agency in Kathmandu was clear about the biggest selling point, and I made the call to build the whole launch around it: two words every Nepali family already uses, bina dhito, without collateral. Every headline, video title and event invitation led with them.

I hired a local agency and an in-country market lead so the launch spoke Nepali, in every sense, and set the plan they ran. The launch announcement went out in November 2025, and within a day it was in Ratopati, Nagarik, Edukhabar, Headline Nepal and Himal Press.

Then came the part I'm proudest of. I sat down with Kantipur TV, Radio Kantipur and NTV World and answered the questions families actually ask: what happens if I can't pay, and why would anyone lend without property? I did every interview in person, in the studio.

In March 2026 we co-hosted the International Education & Global Career Summit in Kathmandu. I ran a session on building relationships, which ended in a very loud round of Networking Bingo.

What happened

Site traffic from Nepal grew 4× year over year by February 2026. The summit, our first event, drew 1,500 qualified prospects, and we turned away 1,500 more.

On Kantipur TV, explaining study-abroad loans without collateral. Watch on YouTube
Claire Almand on stage at an education and career summit in Kathmandu
On stage at the summit in Kathmandu, March 2026.
Snow-covered Himalayan peaks above the clouds, seen from a plane
The Himalaya from the plane, 2026.
Sunset over the rooftops of Kathmandu
Sunset over the rooftops of Kathmandu, 2026.

In the news

Launched with our agency and in-country team in Kathmandu. Videos from the Kantipur TV, Radio Kantipur, and NTV World YouTube channels; coverage from the outlets above.

11:11 p.m. · Make a wish

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