Across Bangladesh, young people continue to invest in ICT training with hopes of building independent careers. Yet many graduates find themselves unable to turn technical skills into viable income streams. The core constraints lie outside software proficiency: limited business literacy, a lack of understanding of regulatory processes, weak financial discipline, and minimal access to trusted guidance. These gaps prevent youth from taking the first steps toward formal, sustainable self-employment. At the same time, they reflect a broader systemic issue: the early-stage ICT entrepreneurial ecosystem is fragmented, with training institutions, mentorship networks, and business advisory services poorly integrated and not fully aligned with market realities. Without structured support mechanisms embedded in the system, even technically skilled youth struggle to establish credible enterprises, limiting the sector's overall capacity to foster sustainable entrepreneurship and professionalisation.
Swisscontact, through its BYETS project, has targeted these gaps by strengthening the entrepreneurial readiness of ICT graduates. Participants who previously felt uncertain about pricing, cash-flow management, or compliance now demonstrate a clearer understanding of what it takes to operate even a small enterprise. This shift from purely technical competence to practical business capability marks an important outcome, addressing a long-standing weakness in the ICT skilling landscape.
An important emerging change is the increase in formalisation behaviour. More youth are opening business bank accounts, keeping simple financial records, and learning which licences or documents they require. These steps do not immediately transform them into full entrepreneurs, but they create a pathway toward more structured market participation. They also build confidence, making young people more comfortable approaching clients, negotiating payments, and maintaining professional relationships. These behaviours directly contribute to early-stage business creation and more stable freelance work.
Strengthening training service providers (TSP) has amplified these results. Institutions that once focused solely on technical instruction are now better positioned to support youth as they navigate real business challenges. Their improved capabilities—especially in coaching, compliance guidance and basic financial advisory support—signal a meaningful institutional shift. TSPs are increasingly recognising that their role extends beyond graduation and into the early phases of enterprise development.
A consistent mentorship mechanism has reinforced this evolution. Regular mentoring sessions create a practical space for youth to discuss what they are attempting, where they are struggling, and how to solve emerging business issues. This continuity has reduced the sense of isolation that early-stage entrepreneurs often face and has increased the persistence of youth who might otherwise abandon entrepreneurship after initial setbacks.
These changes together are beginning to influence the broader system. As TSPs internalise business support functions and embed them in their organisational models, access to early-stage entrepreneurship guidance becomes less dependent on short-term project cycles. Youth who once operated informally are adopting clearer financial, marketing and regulatory practices, contributing to a gradual shift in norms within the ICT freelancing community. The presence of a growing mentorship culture offers new entrepreneurs more predictable and reliable support as they enter the market.
Over time, these shifts are expected to strengthen the alignment between ICT training and entrepreneurial realities. Institutions will become more responsive to market expectations, and youth would be better prepared to position themselves as credible service providers. This, in turn, would support the development of a more robust service market for business advisory and compliance support—an area that has historically been fragmented and inaccessible to first-time entrepreneurs.
The experience to date demonstrates that entrepreneurship in the ICT sector depends on more than technical skills. Progress is driven by practical business understanding, structured mentorship, stronger institutional capacity, and clearer pathways for formalisation. Swisscontacts' work contributes to these wider changes, enabling young people to navigate the uncertainties of enterprise creation while supporting the long-term evolution of Bangladesh's early-stage ICT entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The BYETS project is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by Swisscontact.
