Network Nepal
Qualitative market research agency in Nepal
MindMarket is a market research agency that runs qualitative studies in Nepal, from in-depth interviews and focus groups to home visits and shop-alongs, with moderators who live in the country and one project manager for your whole study. Nepal has a population of 29.6 million and a median age of 25.3, and 56.0 per cent of residents are online (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Only 23.0 per cent live in urban areas, so a study held in Kathmandu hears a minority of the country. The other voices are in the hill towns and in the Terai, the southern plains along the Indian border, where about half of the population lives.
AT A GLANCE
Nepal at a glance for researchers
- Population. 29.6 million people, median age 25.3, 23.0 per cent in urban areas (DataReportal, Digital 2026). The Kathmandu Valley, with Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, is the largest urban area. Pokhara leads the western hills, and Biratnagar, Birgunj, Janakpur and Butwal are the main cities of the Terai. Kathmandu sits at about 1,400 metres, and the Terai cities are a day's drive or a short flight away.
- Languages. Nepali for most sessions. More than 120 languages are spoken in the country: Maithili, Bhojpuri and Tharu in the Terai, Newar and Tamang in and around the valley. Each participant is asked which language they prefer, and our moderators live in Nepal.
- Internet and mobile. 56.0 per cent of the population is online, 16.6 million people, and mobile connections total 32.4 million (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Fixed lines reach a median download speed of 79.79 Mbps (same source), mostly in the cities. Facebook counts 14.8 million users, which makes it the main social platform, and 89.3 per cent of internet users are on social media.
- Where fieldwork happens. The Kathmandu Valley first, then Pokhara, and Biratnagar or Birgunj for the Terai. Hill villages are reached on foot or by road from the nearest town, and travel time is planned into the timetable.
- Data protection. The Individual Privacy Act, 2018 applies. Consent is taken before each session, after a plain explanation of what is recorded and how it will be used.
- Timing. Dashain and Tihar, in October and November, are the main festivals, and the country stops for much of Dashain. The monsoon runs from June to September and blocks hill roads. Saturday is the weekly day off, and dates are often given in the Bikram Sambat calendar.
IN THE FIELD
How does an interview run in Nepal?
In Nepal, four people in ten are not online, and three in four live outside towns. An online sample describes the connected, urban minority: younger, better paid and concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. A study in Nepal that needs the whole market goes to people in person.
- In person beyond the valley. Interviews and home visits are held where people live, in the Terai and the hill towns as well as the valley. Online sessions are kept for connected profiles, and the report says which part of the market each method heard. A hill village can take a day to reach, and the timetable allows for it.
- The participant's language. The screener asks which language is spoken at home. In the Terai, sessions may run in Maithili or Bhojpuri, with a moderator who speaks it, and stimulus is read aloud when reading is slow.
- Money from abroad. Many households have a member working in the Gulf, Malaysia or India. Interviews about phones, appliances and housing ask who earns, who decides and how the money arrives. Remittance apps and money-transfer shops are part of the purchase path.
- Indian brands across an open border. Goods and advertising from India are part of daily life, and the Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee. Shop-alongs note which brands are Indian, which are local and which the participant cannot place. Prices are shown in Nepalese rupees.
RECRUITMENT
How do you recruit participants in Nepal?
- We recruit through local partners in the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara and the Terai cities, by district, language, age and category use. Each participant is confirmed by phone the day before the session, and quotas are set with you at the start. In villages, a person known to the community makes the introductions.
- We reach business audiences individually and check what each person does before any interview is booked. People who join studies regularly are kept out of consumer groups. Shopkeepers and distributors are met at their place of work.
- MindMarket pays every participant's incentive itself. You never handle it.
METHODS
Which methods work in Nepal?
Most studies in Nepal run as in-depth interviews and focus groups, with ethnographic home visits, shop-alongs or UX research when the question needs them.
| Method | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| In-depth interviews | Finance, telecoms, health and B2B audiences in Kathmandu, by video or in person | Interviewing online an audience that mostly lives offline |
| Focus groups | Food, drink, advertising and concept tests in Kathmandu and Pokhara | One Kathmandu group taken as the national picture |
| Home visits | Media habits, cooking and how the household spends | Skipping the introduction through a neighbour or a relative |
| Shop-alongs | Neighbourhood shops, bazaars and the few supermarkets | Festival weeks, when baskets and prices are not typical |
| UX research | Mobile wallets and banking apps on the participant's own phone | A test on office Wi-Fi where people use mobile data |
QUESTIONS
Questions buyers ask about research in Nepal
How much does market research cost in Nepal?
A full-service qualitative study with MindMarket starts at $40,000 for the first market, and Nepal added to a multi-country study starts from $8,000. Travel to the Terai and the hills, and a second language, move the price more than extra sessions in Kathmandu. Every quote is itemised and follows within 48 hours of a first call. Estimate your study.
How do I choose a market research agency in Nepal?
Choose by what the study has to decide. A Nepali survey company fits a household survey with enumerators. A qualitative specialist such as MindMarket fits a brand from outside Nepal that needs local people heard in their own language, by moderators who live there, with one team across every country. Read how to choose a global qualitative research agency.
Is Kathmandu enough for research in Nepal?
Kathmandu gives a sound first read of connected city buyers. For a national decision in Nepal, add a Terai city such as Biratnagar or Birgunj, where about half of the population lives, and Pokhara or a hill town. Each is recruited by people who live there.
Can research in Nepal be done online?
Online research in Nepal reaches the connected part of the market: 56.0 per cent of people use the internet, mostly in cities. For everyone else, interviews and home visits are held in person. We say in the report which audience each method covered.
When should fieldwork in Nepal be avoided?
Fieldwork in Nepal avoids Dashain and Tihar, in October and November, when families travel and offices close. The monsoon, from June to September, makes hill roads unreliable, so in-person sessions outside the cities are planned for the dry months. Online interviews with urban participants run all year.
Can you help us decide, not only run the interviews?
Yes. Beyond the fieldwork, our Customer-Led Strategy work turns what people in Nepal told us into a recommendation: what to do, what not to do, and why. We form the hypotheses, test them with your customers and recommend from their words. If you already work with strategy consultants, we work alongside them.
NEXT