Bangladesh
Country context
Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite development policies aimed at reducing poverty, GDP per capita remains very low.
Highly exposed to climate change, the country faces heavy monsoon seasons from June to September each year, revealing its great vulnerability to natural disasters.
This situation causes massive rural exodus: thousands of young people and their families move to major cities in search of stable employment. Often unskilled, many live in extreme precariousness. For many young girls, marriage remains the only economic option; 58% of them marry between the ages of 16 and 18.
Since the fall of the government in August 2024, the country has been experiencing severe political and economic instability, fueling deep social frustration.
Solinfo’s training programs restore confidence to these young people—especially young women—by offering them professional qualifications that provide…
History of Solinfo in Bangladesh
The work initiated in Bangladesh is the foundation of Solinfo’s long history. The association was created in 2002 around a computer-training program launched in the country.
More than twenty years later, this first humanitarian initiative—still active today—allows nearly 300 students each year to be trained across 10 training centers located in three districts.
For over two decades, Solinfo has continued this pioneering effort by providing office-software training that improves the employability of young people—girls and boys, from all backgrounds and faiths. In its own way, Solinfo contributes to the national “Digital Bangladesh” objective and addresses the strong demand for office-related jobs in the service sector.
Computer-training courses are usually accessible only to middle- or upper-class students.
Solinfo therefore supports the State’s literacy program by providing complementary training to facilitate the professional integration of young adults who are orphans or come from highly disadvantaged backgrounds.
Solinfo has chosen to set up its training centers within schools, orphanages, and educational centers. In doing so, we respond to requests from local institutions that are unable to offer this type of training to their students.
Today, 10 centers are operating across several districts of the country: Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, and Comilla.
Description of activities
Solinfo provides free professional office-software training to disadvantaged young women and men aged 17 to 22.
With two six-month sessions each year, Solinfo trains 24 students per center—nearly 300 graduates annually. Our work responds to strong local demand for office-skills training in a context of high employability in the service sector, and it aligns with national poverty-reduction and development strategies such as “Digital Bangladesh.”
The office-skills certificate delivered by Solinfo is recognized and highly valued by local companies, and more than 70% of trained students secure a job after completing the program. Our graduates find work in banks, hospitals, data centers, e-cafés, or create their own micro-enterprise.
Our training programs enable young people excluded from national programs—especially young women—to improve their social conditions. Our sessions are open to all, boys and girls alike, regardless of their community of origin.
Our certified training courses are recognized by the State and widely appreciated by local employers.
Financial autonomy of the program
Ce programme est financé depuis plus de 20 ans par l’association Solinfo.
Nous sommes depuis quelques années relayé par notre partenaire TDH-AL68, Terre des Hommes-Alsace qui prend en charge une part de plus en plus importante de ce budget.
In collaboration with this NGO, we are developing awareness-raising activities around the SDGs — the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — particularly on energy savings and sustainable waste management.
In addition, we must also acknowledge a network of French and European entrepreneurs based in Bangladesh who support us through in-kind donations of textiles. This allows the local team to organize regular charity sales, which now represent a significant share of our operating budget.
Similarly, some companies and institutions—such as the French Embassy—donate computer equipment or furniture. These contributions enable us to equip our centers in a cost-effective way.
Our team
Sultana Afroage has been the heart and driving force of our program since its inception.
She supervises the teaching team, coordinates with community leaders in the areas where our centers are located, oversees the selection of beneficiaries, and ensures the quality of the training through regular monitoring throughout the year.
She also maintains relations with the authorities, particularly the NGO Bureau, and manages the local donor network that supports part of the activities.
Two staff members assist her: one responsible for IT maintenance, the other for logistics and the setup of the centers.
Finally, ten teachers — all trained by Solinfo — run the daily classes and pass on their knowledge to several hundred young people each year.
Our team in Bangladesh
A few members of the Solinfo team in Bangladesh.
Sultana
Country Manager
Jahangir ALAM
Teacher
Our partners in Bangladesh
Snapshots from Bangladesh
A few images taken in Chittagong and around our Buddha Center in the Cox’s Bazar district.
