Perhaps because of the great digital divide, it's always more heartening when one of ours wins an award in the field. Last Saturday, Sanjib Raj Bhandari, the CEO of Mercantile, was awarded the ASOCIO ICT Award of Excellence by Asian-Oceania Computing Industry Organisation, ASOCIO, at Hanoi in Vietnam. ASOCIO is the largest and the most prestigious ICT body in Asia that comprises premier ICT organisations from most Asian countries and Australia. ASOCIO lauded him for "his pioneering work in the introduction of the IT and the Internet to Nepal" and also recognised him as the "founding pillar of the Nepali ICT sector and for blending business and development work in Nepal". The award was presented by Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.