Empowering marginalized people: An Overview of BRAC’s Development Experience and Lessons for Policy

BRAC, a non-government organization based in Bangladesh, is a development success story, now spreading its experience to 10 other countries in Asia and Africa. Organizing the marginalized and vulnerable people in community based Village Associations; it catalyzes lasting change, creating an ecosystem in which the marginalized and vulnerable people have the chance to seize control of their own lives.It does so with a holistic inclusive development approach using tools like a hand-holding program for the extreme poor, microfinance, second chance education for children unreached by formal schools, reaching essential healthcare services to the people with trained health volunteers, validation and dissemination of improved agricultural technologies, and community empowerment and legal aid services. For microfinance that accounts for 40% of its business portfolio, it adopts a credit plus approach and provides flexible financial products such as savings and several insurance like provisions for the borrowers addressing risk from vulnerability to external shocks.
Citation

Hossain M. "Empowering marginalized people: An Overview of BRAC’s Development Experience and Lessons for Policy". Ferdi, Policy brief B69, July 2013