USAID/Nepal

Ajaya Parajuli serves as an Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) Specialist at USAID/Nepal, where they play a pivotal role in designing and managing technical assistance contracts and cooperative agreements that advance sustainable development outcomes. Focused on strengthening institutional capacity and improving public service delivery, Ajaya oversees procurements aligned with USAID’s strategic priorities in health system strengthening, agricultural transformation, governance, and community empowerment. Their work centers on securing high-impact professional services that support data-driven program design, capacity building, and locally led solutions, ensuring alignment with U.S. foreign assistance objectives and host-country ownership principles. Ajaya collaborates with a diverse range of international and local professional service providers, including technical consultants, research institutions, and implementation partners with deep expertise in development programming. While no single contractor dominates their portfolio, Ajaya consistently engages firms with demonstrated experience in public sector reform, monitoring and evaluation, and sector-specific technical support. Their contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, rigorous due diligence, and long-term partnership development with vendors who align with USAID’s values of transparency, accountability, and sustainability. Ajaya’s procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for open, unrestricted competition, with 100% of acquisitions conducted under non-set-aside authorities. This reflects a strategic focus on selecting the most qualified technical experts regardless of business size or socioeconomic status, prioritizing capability and track record over certification-based preferences. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through set-asides, Ajaya remains open to qualified small firms that demonstrate exceptional technical merit and local context expertise. The primary NAICS code underpinning Ajaya’s portfolio is 541990, encompassing all other professional, scientific, and technical services. This includes expertise in monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, institutional strengthening, training design, and data systems development—core competencies required to support USAID/Nepal’s mission of fostering inclusive, resilient development through evidence-based, locally driven interventions.