KATHMANDU, Jan 30: Creators Mela 2026 opened in Kathmandu on Friday with a room full of young people scrolling less and listening more.
By mid-morning, the venue was already buzzing. Students, professionals, small business employees, and full-time creators were moving between sessions, taking notes. Over the course of the first day, around 11,000 aspiring and emerging creators turned up, which depicts how fast Nepal’s digital creator space is growing.
The two-day event, being hosted by the US Embassy in Nepal, is part of a multi-city platform that has already travelled to Chitwan and Nepalgunj. This year’s theme, “Vision to Venture,” marks a clear shift from simply creating content to figuring out how creativity can actually pay the bills.
Day one of Creators Mela 2026 at Aloft, Thamel, leaned heavily into that reality. Workshops and panels moved beyond surface-level creator talk, diving into questions around money, mental health, ethics, and sustainability. One of the busiest sessions of the day was an AI workshop titled “From Idea to Output in 10 Minutes,” led by tech-based digital creator Ashwin Neupane. The session broke down how creators can work with AI tools responsibly-covering everything from giving the right context and prompts to understanding reverse prompting and recognising AI-generated content.
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Among those attending was 25-year-old Bishwa Paudel, a pharmacist by profession. He said he joined the session not because he plans to quit healthcare, but because content and AI are becoming unavoidable across fields.
“Even if you’re not a creator full-time, knowing how to use these tools matters now,” he said, “content creation isn’t limited to influencers anymore.”
That feeling was shared by many in the room. Shikha Niraula, 23, and Twinkle, 29, who work at a Kathmandu-based trading and import company, said they were encouraged by their senior at work to attend the event. The goal, they said, was simple-to understand content creation better as businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms for visibility. “We’re not creators ourselves, but content is now part of how businesses communicate, we’re here to learn that”, Twinkle said.
Throughout the day, panel discussions touched on what creator life really looks like today-moving past curated feeds to talk about income instability, algorithm pressure, and burnout, all while being as authentic as possible. Sessions on financial basics for creators, ethical comedy, tourism-focused content, mental wellness, and even art therapy reflected how wide the conversation has become.
A major highlight of the Kathmandu edition is the Pitch to Success platform, where selected creators will present their business ideas directly to corporate executives, receiving live feedback and mentorship-an approach that underlines the event’s push towards long-term careers rather than quick online wins.
Creators Mela continues on Saturday, January 31, with a packed second-day schedule. Upcoming sessions include workshops on how brands choose creators, building influence beyond follower numbers, pricing and knowing one’s worth, navigating the long game versus quick wins in content creation, AI and authenticity, using music correctly in content, managing digital stress, and securing a first brand deal.
Panel discussions will also explore how creators protect originality, what truly captures a brand’s attention, the unseen strategy behind viral posts, and the global challenges shaping the creator economy.
