Global Pandemic, COVID-19 has brought changes in Businesses all over the world. We witnessed the online shifting of small, medium, and large scale industries.

Those who are into business have realized the power of online presence. Websites and Apps of their own brand company have become essentials. But it is not easy as we have to check our wallets also. People hesitate and most of the time ditch being online because of the costs for having a website, requiring 60/70 NPRS and app, costing 2-3 Lakh NPRS.

But now, every small and middle-scale business, be it Pani Puri business or some grocery, can now start their own website with a cost-effective budget.

Know the team

A team of three 6 entrepreneur enthusiasts, Shiv Kandel, Ujjwal Khanal, Mohammad Sarfaraz, Pawan Bhatta, Prabha Bhatta, Suresh Giri formed Yelko, where any technical or non-technical individual or organization can make their own websites according to their desire.

Mr. Shiv Kandel looks after overall global expansion and marketing, business development, and public relations roles. He is based in Nepal and makes frequent travels abroad. And currently, he is based in Chitwan after lockdown. 

Mr. Mohammad Sarfarz runs the show as our strong compliment on tech development and organizational management.  Sarfaraz is the CEO of Yelko Global Unit

Mr. Ujjwal Khanal is the developer, marketer, researcher, and accounting expert. And, overtakes the global strategy and growth of Yelko Global Unit. He is based in Australia. 

Mr. Pawan looks after the Operations and Admins of Yelko Nepal. 

Ms. Prabha looks after the Finance and Investment management of the company making sure finances are tracked timely. She is based in Australia. 

Mr.Suresh leads the overall tech team inspiring his IT students. He is based in Australia.  Yelko team has a great bond of teachers, leadership, and fire to bring revolution in the IT sector of both Nepal and abroad.  

Do Business. Do Yelko.

Yelko is a Web Automation Platform where users, without technical knowledge and who just know basic computer skills and how to use browsers, can make their own website at a very affordable cost.

Kandel Says,”Yelko is a website creating a platform for those who don’t know IT skills or those who can just surf Facebook and youtube or those who only know basic computer language ”

At present, a website is a necessity for everyone. First, it's the expensive cost and second payment to be done in American Dollars makes the public get back with traditional marketing. With the aim of providing a website creating a platform, which charges less service, for those who have small middle scale businesses and those interested in digital marketing, Team Yelko launched Yelko three years back in 2017. It is a legal entity registered in Nepal and Australia. Currently, it is exploring various partnerships in India and Europe. 

 “We have given local payment options”, one of the founders of Yelko, Kandel says,” Purchasing websites on dollars can be costly but when Nepali Rupees is used to buy the website, it’s extremely pocket-friendly.”

Kandel adds,” You can’t integrate the local payment Gateway if you choose Website platforms like Wix. Website creation becomes a burden. All we target is to decrease this. Collaboration with a local payment gateway like E-sewa, Khalti as well as other Fintech company is done to ease users of Yelko.

Those who want to use the Yelko platform can add Yelko.com as a sub-domain and have a lifetime free website. Other than that, 3 kinds of paid packages of Yelko can be used to make websites.”

Unique Selling Point

General Public and freelancers can purchase websites by paying only NPRS 3,999 per year. Users in these packages can have data worth 5GB. Business packages can be purchased at NPRS 5,999 and unlimited data can be earned. Likewise, by paying 11,999 NPRS annually, Single Vendor E-commerce Package can also be purchased.

The second package, BusinessPackage, has high demands for space. It has unlimited storage. Content Delivery Management can also be done. In addition, users can make premium plans. SSL comes as the default feature here. Yelko is not like other companies, who charge separately for website security. Technically equipped this package also has OTT call and many other fantastic features. 

“Yelko also partners with Digital Marketing Agency. Those who are searching for digital media packages can work with its partner company. “E-Commerce websites in Nepal are way too costly, “says Ujjwal Khanal, Co-founder of Yelko.

If you will ask any other website-creating company for a service like that in our platform then they will charge 50 to 60 thousand NPRS. Moreover, for E-commerce other platforms charge 3 to 4 lakh NPRS. Our E-Commerce Pro package is going to be launched soon.

Users can buy domain names on Yelko. Adding Yelko.Com can give the free domain. But if the domain name is already purchased then transferring to Yelko’s server system can be used and anyone can make their own website. 

The technical side of the websites built on Yelko.com is handled by the company themselves. Everything is automated in Yelko. Manual effort can be less entertained. 

Solution driven local website builder platform 

 “In most cases, Vat Bill for purchasing domain names or website creation is not given in the Nepalese market. But, our system is  70%  automated. The whole stage from creating a website, paying for it and till web building is carried by automation.”, says Mohammad Sarfaraz.

Every individual upon hearing about Yelko’s concept may have difficulty in believing that anyone even themselves can make their own website. Except for Sarafarz and Suresh all other team members come from non-tech backgrounds academically. The team narrates that their non-technical background never hindered the leadership of this great website platform, Yelko. They assure the great ease of creating websites in Yelko.

“If your content is ready then within half an hour your website will be prepared. The technical part is our responsibility. Yelko uses technology similar to Canva as a drag and drop option in website builders. “, says, Pawan

Plenty of Customization options are available for those who have technical knowledge too. For non-technical clients, the Yelko team does the customization.

 “We have conducted research with 70 IT Companies. But we did not find a single freelancer or a simple shopkeeper willing to make their own website due to the high cost. Our package is 3,999 NPRS and theirs is 60 to 70 Thousand. But people may doubt security and performance quality when they would know that a website can be made by investing less money. Our team does not compromise on its quality even though the service is provided about 200% less than the present website creating market. ”, says Shiv.

Ujjwal says, “People have a notion; Cheaper means less-secure. But Yelko is a contradiction to this.SSL is activated with a click. We have a Four-Step Authentication Security Tool. We can secure your website in many layers. And this service is not offered by other companies taking high charges.”

Shiv says,” Our mission is to make Small and Middle scale businesses flourish by having their own websites. COVID pandemic has made these businesses see their future in E-Commerce. We don’t want them to leave the platform or just shake off the idea of being online because of the high prices to build a website. To stop this, we have created Yelko.”

Yelko is inspired by Wix’s model. It has expanded in Nepal and Australia.

Co-Founder, Shiv says,” We have increased our client base and also Yelko has overcome the Payment Gateway issues for Nepal and Australia. ”

Roads ahead

Yelko has 60 to 70 % similar features to that of other website builders in order to become a competitive website builder product in the world. Yelko has been adding new features past this lockdown in 2020.

“At present, our platform relies on the Dynamic Processing Model. For example, if you have created an account in Nepal the Price is shown in Nepali Currency. All markets don’t share the same purchase capacity.” says Prabha

He adds,“But most of the website Building Companies have been charging in dollars. We are charging cheaper prices based on the purchasing power of the country's SMEs based on their purchasing power. It accepts any currency in the world.”

Yelko has already collaborated with Ghaitey Chiya, Katha Express, Actress Nisha Adhikari’s Zero Tolerance Platform, and Photographer Dipendra Bajracharya.

 “We only provide websites. But we are offered many Customization works. But we haven't said NO to them.”, says Suresh, another team member. Our ability to make automation platforms has given us a lot of credibility in the market and therefore we receive a lot of personal projects from the global market. Says, Sarfaraz 

If you are an SME's freelancer or an influencer or an organization make your website now at Yelko! Pay Less, Make More Progress.

A blog in collaboration with Techpana. 

Nepali version is also available. Do check out.

Interview by Yuju K Rai. 

English Transcription: Nisha Thapa, Head of Bloggers at Yeklo.