Remittances built Nepal’s economy for decades. It’s time for the next step

Upgrading data-sharing and recruitment systems can bridge the gap between Nepali workers and foreign employers, fostering a sustainable win-win economic model.

Foreign labour migration, despite driving Nepal’s economic and social transformation over the past 30 years through remittances, has contributed little to Nepal’s long-term growth. Brain gain, the idea that foreign employment opportunities can help increase the stock of skilled workforce in sender countries, has been absent in Nepal’s case. To make this work, we need strategic policies that link our skill-building process to migration.