‘Intern Saathi’ Started as a Facebook Group, Now Provides HR Services to Foreign Companies
कात्तिक २०, २०८२ ११:५१
Kathmandu: During the COVID-19 pandemic, when much of the world moved online, 23-year-old Kunal Sah began his entrepreneurial journey with what started as a simple Facebook group to share internship opportunities. Then a BCA student, Kunal was active on pages like ‘IT Entrepreneurs of Nepal’ and ‘Ask Buddy’ while attending online classes.
He used to forward internship information he found on these pages to his student groups. When his friends and seniors began getting internships through his shared posts, he created a separate Facebook group dedicated to internship opportunities.
Soon, his inbox was flooded with messages from companies seeking interns and students looking for opportunities. Kunal began connecting them, manually sending details through email. When managing everything became difficult, he switched to Google Forms, where candidates could fill in details and upload CVs. The responses were collected in a Google Sheet and shared with companies.
While working from home, he began managing his expenses by taking small hiring projects. He realized that most internships were offered by startup companies.
In 2021, Kunal was selected for incubation at the Nobel School of Social Entrepreneurship (Noble SE) in Kathmandu to turn his idea into a business. There, he learned how to run a company and build a product. After completing incubation, he decided to create a website integrating Google Forms and email and registered a company named Saathi EdTech.
“I didn’t have enough money to register the company,” he recalled. “I sold a few IPO shares to fund it.”
Encouraged by his progress, Kunal moved to Kathmandu in 2023 and opened an office in Pulchowk.
From One Founder to a Team of 18
What started as a one-person initiative has now grown into a team of 18. Saathi EdTech operates three sister companies, InternSathi, TalentSathi, and HireSor.
InternSathi connects students with internship opportunities and provides companies with pre-screened candidates. So far, 440 companies have joined the platform. Of the 26,691 applicants, more than 600 have secured jobs.
The service is completely free for candidates, and InternSathi only facilitates paid internships, ensuring interns can at least cover travel and meal costs.
According to Kunal, IT, coding, development, and design internships attract more applicants, while marketing, sales, and management roles have more openings than candidates. “In those fields, many get jobs right after completing a month-long internship,” he said.
TalentSathi, launched two years ago, handles HR and recruitment outsourcing for companies. It manages everything from opening vacancies to shortlisting candidates. So far, it has partnered with 279 companies, received 56,000 applications, and helped more than 260 people get hired.
HireSor works with international clients. So far, six foreign companies have partnered with it to recruit and manage teams in Nepal for specific projects or periods. Kunal claims employees hired through HireSor earn between Rs 100,000 and Rs 400,000 monthly, contributing millions in remittance inflows.
Building Their Own Systems
Initially, many applicants uploaded incomplete details or empty files. To fix this, the team made essential information fields mandatory. They also assist applicants with CV preparation.
The company has built its own Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system to automate the hiring process. The system sorts applications by position, company, and experience, notifies candidates of their status, and schedules interviews.
Kunal said candidates shortlisted for foreign companies often struggle with interviews due to weak English skills. “We help by showing demo videos and recording mock interviews,” he said.
However, he added that companies sometimes lose good candidates because of delayed hiring or canceled contracts.
From Student to Startup Founder
Kunal began his startup journey at 19 but had to pause his BCA studies to focus on the business. After his second semester, he switched to a BBS program. “I couldn’t keep up with BCA because I couldn’t attend college,” he said.
Now based in Kathmandu, Kunal travels to Biratnagar for exams. Even during exams, he carries his laptop and works from cafés. “All my savings once went into paying taxes. I even had to borrow from home to pay salaries,” he recalled.
Despite early financial struggles, he remains determined to grow. Saathi EdTech is now preparing to launch a Software as a Service (SaaS) product by upgrading its database, ATS, and CRM systems with AI features for candidate ranking, database management, and CV filtering.
Kunal plans to seek investors after launching the product in the market.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: कात्तिक २०, २०८२ ११:५१
