Fagoon AI Named a Finalist at the 2024 South Asia Startup ICT Awards

A Recognition That Means More Than a Trophy

When we founded Fagoon AI in 2023, the premise was simple but ambitious: artificial intelligence should not be a privilege reserved for well-funded enterprises with dedicated technical teams. It should be accessible to any business — regardless of size, sector, or the country it operates in. That belief has shaped every product decision, every partnership, and every line of code we have written since.

Being named a finalist at the 2024 South Asia Startup ICT Awards is meaningful to us not just as a milestone for Fagoon, but as a signal that the work of democratising AI in this region is being recognised as genuinely important. We are proud to stand alongside four companies who, in their own domains, are doing the same kind of work — solving real problems with technology that was previously inaccessible to the people who needed it most.

The Company We Keep

Part of what makes this recognition special is the calibre of the other finalists. Each of the five companies shortlisted this year is tackling a distinct, substantive challenge — and each is doing it in a way that goes beyond building a product for a market. They are building infrastructure for change.

Aero-tech Bhutan, the country's first drone technology company, has created UAV solutions purpose-built for Bhutan's extreme high-altitude terrain. Their work — from 3D digital twins of Thimphu City to precision agricultural drones — demonstrates what is possible when technology is genuinely adapted to local context rather than imported wholesale from elsewhere.

Deegenics Pvt Ltd from Sri Lanka has built ManKiwwa, a citizen reporting platform that enables real-time communication between the public and state authorities. With over 20 international awards to their name — including recognition from the World Summit Award — Deegenics has proven that well-designed civic technology can meaningfully reshape how governments respond to their citizens.

Her Sahulat from Pakistan is one of the most impactful organisations in this group. Their platform directly addresses female labour force participation in Pakistan through digital upskilling and job placement — and the numbers speak for the urgency of the mission: more than 18,000 women trained, over 13,000 jobs created, and a growing roster of national and international awards including recognition from Pakistan's Prime Minister's National Innovation Award.

Hyphen SCS Private Limited from India is modernising a sector — warehousing and logistics — that has historically been resistant to digital transformation. With a physically verified network of over 54,000 warehouses across 380+ cities and major clients including Reliance and ITC, Hyphen is proving that supply chain infrastructure can be made genuinely efficient through technology.

What Fagoon AI Brought to the Table

For our part, the work the judges recognised centres on what we have been building since day one: tools that make AI genuinely usable for businesses that are not technology companies. Our platform enables no-code AI agent creation, multi-language support, and automated workflow processing — designed specifically so that a business owner who understands their industry, but not necessarily machine learning, can deploy AI that works for their specific context.

Our strategic partnerships with NVIDIA Inception and the Microsoft Founders Program have strengthened the technical foundation we build on, and our active presence in both Nepal and Australia reflects the international ambition that has always been part of the Fagoon vision. The South Asia ICT Award recognition validates that this approach — local roots, global scale — is a viable and valuable direction.

What It Means to Be from Nepal

Nepal is not typically the first country that comes to mind when the global AI conversation happens. That is something we intend to change. The talent in this country is real. The hunger to build companies that matter is real. What has historically been missing is the infrastructure, the capital, and the platforms that allow that talent to reach its potential.

Being a finalist at a regional award alongside companies from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India is a small but concrete demonstration that Nepali technology companies can compete at that level. We take that seriously — both as a responsibility and as motivation.

What Comes Next

Recognition is something to be grateful for. It is not something to stop at. The work of making AI accessible to businesses across South Asia and beyond is nowhere near finished. We are expanding our product capabilities, deepening our presence in the markets we already serve, and continuing to build for the use cases where AI can make the largest practical difference.

To the other four finalists: it is genuinely inspiring to see what you have built. To the teams, partners, and clients who have made Fagoon's journey possible: thank you. This one is for all of you.