ICT Division signs MoU with Ami Probashi Limited

Those who are sending remittances are making a significant contribution as the backbone of the economy of this middle-income digital Bangladesh.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, made the observation on Wednesday at the MoU signing ceremony between ICT Division and Ami Probashi Limited at the BCC auditorium in ICT Tower, Dhaka, said a press release. 

ICT State Minister informed about several initiatives regarding data bank preservation of migrant workers. He thanked the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and Ami Probashi Limited for working on such a smart project.

Impressed with the success of Ami Probashi, the state minister also mentioned:

So many downloads in a very short period, it is incredible! Also, the app is very user-friendly. According to me, the Ami Probashi App is one of the fastest growing apps in the world right now. And thankfully I haven't found any flaws in this initiative so far.

Also, he expected that the collaboration between ICT Division and Ami Probashi will take the platform forward launching handy features for migrants in near future such as. bank account opening, marketplace, remittance facility etc. He also added that ICT division will work closely with Ami Probashi to deliver more services for aspiring migrants, and fulfilling the dreams of a smart Bangladesh

Minister of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Ministry, Imran Ahmad, MP was chief guest of the event. In his speech, the minister emphasised on the equal responsibility and partnership of both parties in the public-private partnership and states that The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Foreign Employment is boosting their activities for the expatriates. And as all the benefits of expatriates have started coming to the same platform, the expatriates or expatriates have started getting online services.

In his speech, the minister talked about the importance of everyone being pro-active in terms of facilitating service delivery. He stated Ami Probashi as an example in such manner.

Public-private partnerships are already reaping the benefits. Already around 5 million users have availed services from the Ami Probashi app. Most importantly, there was no cost to the government as the app was developed on a service charge-based model. Also, the minister added that simplification of the existing system in various processes have made the services more accessible to the people. The MoEW suggested using BMET numbers to prioritise aspiring migrants by sending registered candidates BMET numbers to Shurokha. At the sole request of the MoEW, Ami Probashi addressed the crying need, in the midst of a pandemic, by registering over a million people. Also this was done at no additional cost.

In addition, as the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment initiated to ensure priority vaccination for migrant workers by sharing their BMET numbers of to "Surokkha" during the pandemic, at the request of the Ministry, realising the importance of the situation, Ami Probashi has completed the registration of more than a million of migrant workers amid the pandemic. The government did not have to spend any extra money on this too.

Junaid Ahmed Palak chaired the programme. Dr Ahmed Muniruch Saleheen, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Foreign Employment and Mohammad Naveed Shafiullah, Additional Secretary, ICT Department attended as special guests. Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Joint Secretary, ICT Division and Namir Ahmed Noori, Co-Founder & CEO, Ami Probashi Limited signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.

In his welcome address, Namir Ahmed Noori, Co-Founder and CEO of Ami Probashi Limited highlighted the various features and achievements of Ami Probashi App and Web Portal. His discussion details how the massive data collected from the migrants is helping the Bangladesh government to make important decisions in the migration sector. This is the first such app in the world developed entirely by Bangladeshi engineers and technicians to assist overseas workers.

During the event, it was hoped that Ami Probashi Limited will contribute more to the country, that is moving forward with the power of youth, with the confident to build Smart Bangladesh by 2041.