Kathmandu-In 2007, four young engineering students from Nepal—Amit Agrawal, Arvind Sah, Dhruva Adhikari, and Manish Modi—embarked on a journey that would eventually transform Nepal’s communication landscape. What started as a simple solution to receive internship payments evolved into Sparrow SMS, one of the country’s most trusted and widely used messaging service providers, serving thousands of organizations and millions of users annually.

The Humble Beginnings: A Company Born Out of Necessity

While still in their final year of undergraduate studies at White House College and Pulchowk Engineering Campus, the group landed an internship to develop a telecommunications system for Nepal Telecom. However, as students, they faced a unique challenge—they could not receive payments directly. To solve this, they registered a company named Janaki Technology, marking the start of their entrepreneurial journey.

Initially, Janaki Technology focused on small academic projects and consulting services, operating with minimal resources and infrastructure. The early years were marked by perseverance and learning, laying the groundwork for future innovations.

A Hard Lesson in International Business

In 2010, the team secured a promising project from a Jordanian client to build a real estate marketing system using SMS technology. After months of dedicated work and receiving an upfront payment, the client unexpectedly vanished without completing the transaction.

Co-founder Arvind Sah recalls, “We had invested significant time and effort, and losing that payment was a huge setback. We were bootstrapped and struggling to even afford basic necessities like an inverter during Nepal’s long power outages.”

Though disheartening, this failure sparked a new idea that would change their trajectory.

Seizing Opportunity: Delivering SLC Exam Results via SMS

At the time, Nepal’s School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam results were published only in newspapers such as Gorkhapatra, often taking days or weeks to reach remote areas. Recognizing the potential of SMS to bridge this information gap, the team adapted their existing system to deliver exam results directly to students and families via text messages.

Navigating Nepal’s complex telecom licensing process was challenging. While Ncell’s licensing was relatively straightforward, Nepal Telecom’s bureaucracy was slow and difficult. The team collaborated with licensed third-party providers to launch the service successfully.

The impact was immediate. Over half a million students took the SLC annually, and each result was typically checked by multiple family members via SMS, making Sparrow SMS a household name.

Innovating Amidst Adversity: Load-Shedding Alerts and Email via SMS

During the 2010s, Nepal faced severe load-shedding, with power outages lasting up to 18 hours daily. Timely information about power schedules was crucial but often unreliable due to last-minute changes.

Sparrow SMS introduced real-time load-shedding alerts via SMS, becoming an essential service for households, students, and businesses across the country.

Additionally, Sparrow developed a service enabling users to send emails through SMS, a critical innovation when internet access was limited or unreliable in many regions.

Social Impact: Protecting Nepali Migrant Workers

One of Sparrow’s most socially significant contributions was in partnership with Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment. Many Nepali migrant workers were victims of scams by manpower agencies falsely claiming labor approvals or visas.

Sparrow created an SMS-based verification system allowing workers to check their labor permit and visa status instantly. This initiative protected thousands from fraud and earned Sparrow the prestigious South Asia mBillionth Award in 2014.

“This was a proud moment for us,” says Sah. “We were using technology to create real social impact.”

Ambitions Beyond Borders: The Picovico Experience

Driven by a desire to showcase Nepal’s tech potential globally, the team developed Picovico, a platform that transformed Facebook photos into music videos. They pitched the idea internationally, from Chile to Bangalore to the U.S., but faced funding challenges.

“Despite our passion, we lacked the resources to scale Picovico,” Sah admits. “The project’s closure was tough, but it taught us valuable lessons about the global market.”

Crisis Response: Sparrow SMS During the 2015 Earthquake

When the devastating earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, traditional communication networks collapsed. Voice calls were impossible, but SMS remained functional.

Sparrow partnered with Google to launch a Person Finder service via SMS, helping people locate missing loved ones. They also initiated the Hack the Quake campaign, using geolocation data to connect those in need with relief providers, ensuring transparent and equitable distribution.

Over 1,000 households benefited directly from these efforts, earning Sparrow international recognition for its humanitarian contribution.

Diversification and Growth: The Birth of Khalti

In January 2017, the Sparrow founders launched Khalti, a digital wallet service entering a market already led by eSewa. Despite being a late entrant, Khalti focused on user experience, innovation, and trust, quickly becoming Nepal’s second most popular digital wallet.

“We may have been late, but we made our mark,” says Sah proudly.

Promoting Transparency: SMS Monitoring for Midday School Meals

To enhance transparency in government-funded midday meal programs, Sparrow developed an SMS-based monitoring platform piloted in two districts. The system sends daily reports on attendance, meal distribution, and menus to school authorities and local governments, ensuring accountability in the use of NPR 8 billion allocated annually for students’ nutrition.

Evolving with the Times: From Bulk SMS to Enterprise Messaging

Recognizing the changing communication landscape, Sparrow rebranded in 2023 to become a comprehensive enterprise messaging service. Beyond bulk SMS, they now integrate with APIs, Viber, and WhatsApp to meet diverse business needs.

CEO Manoj Thapa explains, “Messaging today is about reaching people where they are, across multiple platforms. We’ve evolved to deliver integrated communication solutions.”

Trusted by Thousands, Sending Millions

Today, Sparrow SMS serves over 7,000 organizations, including banks, government agencies, educational institutions, and businesses. The platform processes more than 250 million messages annually.

Despite the rise of internet-based messaging apps, SMS remains vital for critical alerts and secure communications, trusted for its simplicity and reliability.

“An SMS arriving in your inbox feels personal and trustworthy,” says Thapa.

Looking Forward: The Future of Sparrow SMS

From a small startup born out of necessity to a national messaging powerhouse, Sparrow SMS continues to innovate and adapt. Their journey exemplifies how passion, resilience, and social responsibility can drive technology to serve millions.

Even as digital communication evolves, Sparrow’s commitment to delivering reliable, human-centric messaging remains steadfast, proving that sometimes, the simplest solutions have the greatest impact.