KATHMANDU — Brahmanda Investment Group (BIG) Pvt. Ltd., a Nepal-based investment company built from the pooled savings of a group of Nepali servicemen and professionals, many of them serving in the British Army and the Singapore Police Force, is marking a milestone this month as one of its portfolio companies completes its stock market debut. Founded in 2013 under the initiative of Captain Prithvi Raj Rai and others, BIG today counts more than 167 shareholders, most still based overseas, who invest with the aim of contributing to Nepal’s development while staying connected to home.
Among BIG’s early investments is Beni Hydropower Project Ltd., which has just completed its Initial Public Offering, with the general public subscription oversubscribed more than 30.55 times over — applications from over 23 lakh people, of whom 86,320 have been allotted shares. The 19.8 MW run-of-river plant in Solukhumbu, which turned a net profit of Rs. 15.56 crore last fiscal year after two years of losses, is now set to list on Nepal’s stock market, giving thousands of ordinary citizens a direct stake in the country’s energy sector.
“We’re proud to have played a small part in helping bring Beni Khola to this point,” said Chewan Rai, BIG’s Chief Executive Officer. “This IPO isn’t just good news for our own investors — it means thousands of ordinary Nepalis now have the chance to become shareholders in a project that’s generating power for the country. Creating more outcomes like this is exactly what we hope to keep doing.”
BIG also holds investments in two other hydropower ventures. Gelun Khola Hydropower, a 3.2 MW plant in Sindhupalchowk where BIG has taken on a more active, hands-on role in recent years, is now fully operational and supplying power to the Nepal Electricity Authority, after overcoming years of construction delays and financial strain. The larger, 64 MW Upper Nyasem & Nyasem A project, also in Sindhupalchok, has secured its Power Purchase Agreement with the NEA and is now in the advanced stages of financial closure, with new investors recently joining as well.
Leading BIG through this phase is Rai, who took over as Chief Executive Officer in April 2026. He is a corporate leader and investment strategist with 15 years of experience spanning business and law, including work as a consultant to international organisations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and various UN agencies. He also brings experience of working closely with top political leadership, including prime ministers, ministers and lawmakers, in various advisory capacities. He received the Youth Entrepreneur Award at the Corporate Business Awards in 2024.
Beyond hydropower, BIG says it is now looking to diversify its own portfolio into sectors including hospitality, education and tourism, with the aim of building a broader and more resilient set of investments for its shareholders in the years ahead.
The company’s own ambitions extend to the public markets too. BIG’s leadership says it intends to establish the company as one of Nepal’s prominent investment firms within the next three years, and to pursue its own public listing within five — following, in time, a path similar to the one Beni Khola has just completed.
For BIG’s own shareholders — many of whom have spent years working far from home — milestones like Beni Khola’s IPO are a proud reminder of what patient, collective investment can achieve. Built on the vision and commitment of ordinary Nepalis who chose to invest in their homeland’s future, BIG stands today as an encouraging example of what fellow citizens, at home and abroad, can accomplish when they come together in pursuit of a shared goal.
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