Kathmandu, November 27, 2025 — Over 10,000 companies have applied for the Startup Enterprise Loan Program for the current fiscal year 2082/083, nearly double the number of applicants from the previous year. Despite growing interest among entrepreneurs, the government has reduced both the program’s total budget and the maximum loan limit.
According to the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute, by 9 Mangsir 2082 B.S., a total of 10,243 startup companies submitted loan applications. Last year, the number of applicants was 5,158. Of the applications this year, 8,203 were submitted online while 2,041 were submitted physically.
The government has reduced the program’s budget from NPR 100 million last year to NPR 73 million this year. Similarly, the maximum loan limit for entrepreneurs has been lowered from NPR 25 lakh to NPR 20 lakh, although the interest rate remains at 3%.
The decision to lower the loan ceiling comes after experts noted that few companies had received the previous maximum loan of NPR 25 lakh, with most taking between NPR 15–20 lakh.
To provide relief, the government has also reduced the required deposit into the protection fund from 25% to 10% of the loan, allowing entrepreneurs to use a larger portion of their loan for business operations.
The institute will now begin shortlisting eligible companies from the applications received. If the number of eligible startups is high, the institute estimates that there may be pressure on the government to increase the program’s budget.