Service Provider Recruitment Agreement Signing Ceremony Held

He made the call while speaking as the Chief Guest at the agreement signing ceremony for the recruitment of service providers under the Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET (EARN) (1st Revised) Project, implemented by the Department of Youth Development under the Ministry of Youth and Sports with loan assistance from the World Bank.

The event was held at 11:30 AM on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at the Ministry of Youth and Sports conference room (Room No. 502, Building No. 07, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka). The event was chaired by Ms. Amena Begum, Secretary (Routine Charge) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

State Minister Md. Aminul Haque said that ethics education has almost disappeared in its traditional sense. Therefore, in addition to routine project activities, the project should contribute to building the ethical character of young men and women; only then can the project achieve its full potential.

The current government's election manifesto has given the highest priority to creating employment opportunities for young men and women and engaging them in economic activities. The EARN Project is one of the key initiatives aimed at implementing this priority by providing training to 900,000 youth aged 15–35 who are not in education, employment, or training, of whom 60% will be young women, and helping them become economically self-reliant. This group is referred to as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). The project will also contribute to strengthening Bangladesh's creative and sports industries, which are important sectors for the country's youth.

According to project sources, the EARN Project is a development initiative supported by a US$300 million World Bank loan, with a particular focus on ensuring economic engagement and employment opportunities for rural youth. The number of NEET youth in Bangladesh is nearly twice the global average and continues to increase. This growing inactive youth population is considered a major challenge to the country's socio-economic development. EARN is the first and only project undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh specifically to engage this growing youth population in productive activities and create employment opportunities.

Procurement and Selection of Service Providers

In accordance with the World Bank's procurement guidelines, the project areas across Bangladesh's eight divisions were divided into 10 packages, and procurement was completed through an open competitive Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) process.

A total of 401 organizations, including single entities and joint ventures, submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs). Of these, 78 organizations were shortlisted, and 69 shortlisted organizations submitted Requests for Proposals (RFPs). After a thorough evaluation of the submitted proposals and obtaining the World Bank's approval, the technical and financial proposals for each package were finalized. Draft agreements were then prepared through negotiations with the NGOs that received the highest combined scores. The World Bank's no-objection was obtained for each procurement proposal.

The organizations recommended by the Proposal Evaluation Committee and receiving the World Bank's no-objection are BRAC, Save the Children, CARE Bangladesh, and Dhaka Ahsania Mission.

• BRAC will operate in Dhaka and Rangpur divisions.

• Save the Children will operate in Barishal Division and in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram districts.

• CARE Bangladesh will operate in the three hill districts and in Khulna, Mymensingh, and Rajshahi divisions.

• Dhaka Ahsania Mission will operate in Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, and Chandpur districts, as well as in Sylhet Division.

Together with their joint-venture partners, the service providers will establish 5,000 village-level training centers in 250 upazilas across all 64 districts by 2028. Through these centers, 900,000 young men and women will receive training in demand-driven skills to help them become economically self-reliant and contribute to Bangladesh's economic transformation.

Participants at the Agreement Signing Ceremony

The ceremony was attended by Md. Motahar Hossain, Director General of the Department of Youth Development; Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman, Project Director; Syed Rashed Al-Zayed Josh, Senior Economist and Task Team Leader at the World Bank; Dr. Marina Nazneen, Additional Project Director (Joint Secretary); and officials and consultants from the Ministry, Department, and project.

Representatives of the selected service providers also attended, including senior officials from Save the Children, CARE Bangladesh, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, and BRAC Education.

Earlier, on June 24, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved the procurement proposals for all 10 packages of the EARN Project at a meeting chaired by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury at the Cabinet meeting room.