Ami Probashi app empowers migrant workers by saving time, costs: CEO

Namir Ahmad Nuri, co-founder and CEO of Ami Probashi Ltd. Sketch: TBS

Aspirant migrant workers from Bangladesh pay more for getting their low-wage jobs abroad. The whole migration process is too complicated and lengthy for the majority of migrants owing to bureaucratic barriers, engagement of middlemen and recruiting agencies.

Ami Probashi, an app launched in 2021, is trying to end such problems faced by aspirant migrant workers through innovative technological solutions with the partnership of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). Acknowledging the systemic flaws in traditional migration procedures, Namir Ahmad Nuri, co-founder and CEO of Ami Probashi Ltd, tells The Business Standard's  Kamran Siddiqui that the organisation has embarked on a mission to streamline and safeguard the migration process for millions.

How has Ami Probashi reduced migration time?

In the past, Bangladeshi migrant workers had to manually complete each step of the government's migration process in person at various offices. This often required taking a day off work and, even after securing a job, running around after middlemen just to complete these government processes.

Since the launch of the Ami Probashi app along with a portal, all of these government services are now available online. The main product is the expatriates' welfare ministry's back-end software, which is now used to approve every file and application online. What used to take a month to complete pre-departure orientation now only takes three days using Ami Probashi. BMET registration used to take four or five days, but now it can be done in a couple of hours.

In the past, it would take at least two months for one to go abroad after finding a job. Now it can be done in 20 days. The app has led to a significant reduction in migration processing times.

There were allegations about the huge gaps in training for male and female workers and pre-departure orientation of workers. Is there any change after the introduction of the new system?

Prior to the introduction of Ami Probashi, to secure a booking for pre-departure orientation, aspiring migrant workers were required to physically visit a designated training centre and wait in line. Upon successful booking, they would receive a printed class schedule. Workers were then asked to sign the schedule, which was subsequently forwarded to the BMET director general for approval. The entire process typically took one month, often leading to frustration and prompting individuals to resort to forging certificates.

But Ami Probashi has streamlined the pre-departure orientation booking process, eliminating the need for physical visits to training centres. Aspiring migrant workers can now conveniently book their training sessions by using the app, selecting their preferred date and location. Upon arrival at the training centres, they provide their biometric fingerprint for attendance verification. The BMET DG promptly approves their attendance through Ami Probashi's portal, typically within a day. The following day, workers receive a QR code, confirming their attendance and eligibility for an online certificate. The app has significantly enhanced the efficiency and transparency of the pre-departure training orientation process. By eliminating the cumbersome paper-based procedures and introducing digital attendance verification, the app has effectively curbed the prevalence of forged certificates. As a result, certificate forgery has been reduced from a staggering 80% to zero.

According to rules, female workers need to undergo two months of training before going to Saudi Arabia. Previously, training for female workers was not effective enough. Now, since every training centre uses the Ami Probashi system, women have to go there for training because biometrics are mandatory. Then they receive certificates before going abroad. So, every pre-departure orientation and women's training are now authentic.

Is there any impact on reducing migration costs through using Ami Probashi?

We came up with the concept of smart migration that means I can do the processing myself. The next step of smart migration is I can get the job myself. The last stage of smart migration is the employers selecting me directly.

Migration cost reduction needs a step-by-step approach. We can't simply jump to the finish line. We approach the entire job with some key questions in mind: are we making the migration process easier, are we bringing more autonomy to the migrant workers, are we reducing migration time and costs, and are more people able to go abroad through Ami Probashi? The answer is yes.

Previously, if people wanted to go abroad on their own, there was no provision for them to get their own smart cards. That's why they had to go to a recruiting agency. They had to pay the agency Tk40,000 to Tk50,000. The practice ceased after the introduction of Ami Probashi. If a worker somehow manages to arrange a visa on his or her own, he or she no longer has to rely on anyone else for immigration clearance cards.

Now, all prospective migrants are using the digital platform, each using one feature or more. Even if someone doesn't use any feature, he or she is obtaining the QR code from Ami Probashi for a clearance card. The fact that the code is available free of cost is saving users money here.

Research suggests that 75% of manpower exports are done through single visas, meaning they obtain visas through family or friends. The Ami Probashi initiative has shown them the path of migration so that they can process everything themselves. This is the biggest win in migration. The people who have obtained visas and jobs on their own now have the opportunity to handle the processing themselves, which was previously unheard of. This saves them Tk40,000 to Tk50,000.

How do you contribute to the government's revenue earnings?

Each clearance card is now QR code-based. So, workers don't have to go to the BMET office for the card. They can download and print it from home. So there is no smart card printing. The government has saved nearly Tk100 crore. We have increased government revenue by 300%. Previously, only those going abroad used to do BMET registration. Now, even those seeking jobs are registering. We have helped increase registration by 500%. This has led to a boost in revenue.

How will illiterate or less educated people, who are not technology-friendly, use Ami Probashi to go abroad?

Now, those who have obtained job demands through their family and friends are completing this by going to a computer shop. The computer operator uses the Ami Probashi platform and completes the process for the person concerned. I have personally visited such shops and seen that the operators charge Tk1,000 for the service. On the other hand, if they were to do this through a recruiting agency, they would be charged Tk50,000 just for processing the file.

What is the outreach of Ami Probashi at the moment among various stakeholders?

It's not only a digital platform, we have users from 30 categories in the portal, including the BMET director general, technical training centre principals, and the expatriates' welfare ministry. So what is happening is everyone is integrating to make the migration process safer.

So, when you are accessing training centres online, booking online, and obtaining certificates online, while going for immigration clearance, you are not being deceived by anyone, nor are fake documents being provided. Previously, however, there were many allegations of visa fraud. Now, that is not possible in any way. But still, there are a lot of pushbacks. For example, there is a group within BMET who do not want to leave offline file submissions. Although BMET has done a lot for smart migration, they are still preferring manual systems.

The impact of the Ami Probashi app is impressive, with over 25 lakh BMET registrations completed in just two years. The number of app users is 55 lakh. Nearly 85% of recruiting agencies out of around 2,500 are now using the digital platform. We are also working on connecting aspirant migrant workers with legitimate employers and eliminating reliance on middlemen.