By Courtney Calardo, Head of Communications & Partnerships, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative
We’ve spent years talking about what works in development. Over the last few decades, we’ve seen governments from low- and middle-income countries make significant investments and strides in economic growth and poverty reduction through large scale programs. We’ve also accumulated extensive evidence on how to achieve broad and lasting impact for people in extreme poverty: a sequenced, adaptive package of interventions that tackle the multiple constraints keeping them trapped (otherwise known as the Graduation approach).
Yet 1 in 10 people live in extreme poverty, and the gap between what is funded and what works remains vast.
At BRAC, we are working to close that gap to enable millions more people to build pathways out of extreme poverty. We are partnering with philanthropists to strengthen government poverty reduction systems across Africa and Asia and achieve greater, more lasting impact. Many of the government programs we support—currently in five countries—have existing resources, infrastructure, and capacity to leverage.
With philanthropic funds, we are able to provide government partners technical assistance and implementation support to augment what governments have in place, integrating what evidence shows is essential for transforming the lives of people in extreme poverty. The private capital we receive to support this work has been catalytic, enabling us to mobilize much larger public investment.
When we can prove to our government partners how adjustments to existing programs, such as adding intensive, ongoing coaching to their existing livelihood or social protection programs, we unlock much greater returns.
In just the past 12 months, we saw Rwanda’s district Government of Nyamagabe invest $4 million USD in the first year of a new Graduation program, Gira Wigire, in its leading demonstration district of Nyamagabe. More recently, the Government of Indonesia committed $50–55 million USD to support 165,000 households through its national Socio-Economic Empowerment Program (PPSE) in 2026, which will integrate the Graduation approach to achieve greater impact.
The significant reshaping of public funds is just the beginning, and provides confidence that these examples will grow well beyond these initial commitments.
Through deepened relationships with governments we anticipate that for every $1 USD of private philanthropy we leverage to provide support invested, we will complement at least another $10 USD—perhaps as much as another $50 USD—in government investments.
For example, in Indonesia we estimate another $4-5 million USD in private capital will enable us to help the Ministry of Social Affairs strengthen PPSE by integrating the Graduation approach and improving program targeting, household training, and coaching in 2027. It would also enable us to support the expanded implementation of local government-led Graduation programs, such as the program being implemented by the West Nusa Tenggara provincial government.
In Rwanda, $500,000 USD in private philanthropic support for the design and delivery of a district initiative was committed alongside $4 million USD from the Government of Nyamagabe for its first district level prototype. We anticipate that the initial effort in this first district will be replicated in a large share of the remaining 29 districts of Rwanda in the next seven years.
But it’s in the households where results really take off. When philanthropic capital is committed to strengthening government programs, we see $65 USD to $200 USD in long-term household consumption gains. Supporting governments to deliver programs modeled after what’s proven to achieve lasting impact, such as the widely-researched Graduation approach, private funding can help transform the lives of millions of people.
