Finnfund has invested €10 million ($10.5m) in WorldLink Communications, the largest Internet service provider in Nepal, for the expansion of the country’s fiber network.

The investment will also include the building of WorldLink’s first Tier III-standard data center.

“Finnfund’s investments in digital infrastructure seek to provide communities with faster, more affordable, and reliable Internet, and WorldLink has been working towards bridging the digital divide in Nepal by expanding its services to rural areas of Nepal and to remote villages,” said Kuuti Kilpeläinen.

He added, “Being a Finnish impact investor, we of course also value the fact that WorldLink uses Nokia’s advanced technology to enhance its Internet services.”

Further details have not yet been shared.

Founded in 1995, WorldLink offers colocation, hosting, and private cloud services from its data center in Pulchowk, Lalitpur. The firm said it holds 35 percent of the broadband market share in Nepal, providing services across 73 of the 77 districts in Nepal. In 2021, WorldLink announced plans to build 14 small data centers across Nepal.

Finnish investment fund Finnfund is majority-owned by the state of Finland. The company currently has investments in 55 developing countries. Africa has historically been the company’s primary investment destination, with Asia coming in second with slightly less than a quarter of investments.

According to DataCenter Map, Nepal is home to operators such as Cloud Himalaya, DataHub, and NITC. Telcos Ncell and Subisu also have facilities in the country.

Earlier this year, Indian data center operator Yotta and Nepal’s BLC partnered to build a data center outside Kathmandu, Nepal.