Under the Ashshash Project – a pilot initiative of IOM supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – Enroute provided enterprise development and business support services to survivors of human trafficking in Dhaka, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, and Jessore. The project combined psychosocial reintegration with practical enterprise support, targeting 35 women and men survivors in establishing sustainable income-generating businesses capable of producing approximately USD 50 per month.
Supported trades included tailoring and dressmaking, beauty services, motorcycle repair, electrical and house-wiring services, air-conditioning and refrigeration servicing, and computer repair. Enroute assessed each beneficiary’s skills, interests, and local market conditions, then developed and adapted individual business plans accordingly.
Enroute also engaged 55 university student teams from BRAC University and ULAB through the Inception: Business Plan Competition to develop practical business plans for beneficiaries. NGO partners received business-development training, while private-sector engagement included outreach to 17 companies and facilitated partnerships with leading businesses.
NGO partner capacity was strengthened through a two-day business-development training programme for staff of Young Power in Social Action and Dhaka Ahsania Mission, covering marketing mix, customer segmentation, selling techniques, promotional planning, and enterprise management. Private-sector engagement was pursued through direct outreach to 17 companies across banking, telecommunications, automobile, and consumer-goods sectors; facilitated meetings with PRAN-RFL Group, Rangs Motors, and bKash; and a dedicated brainstorming event titled “Ensemble: Together for the Ones in Need” organized at Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka.
