When women have more access to financial as well as physical assets, it provides them with a base of authority that is important in staking her claim for equal or fair treatment.
As global leaders gather in Paris for The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact on 22-23 June, BRAC and Groupe SOS directors, two global champions of social entrepreneurship, are calling for large scale investment in innovations in countries on the frontlines of social, environmental and climate crises – not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the smart thing to do.
The speech given by Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, at BRAC’s 50th anniversary celebrations on 21 March 2022.
From managing mobile tablets for loan collections to responding to floods through Facebook’s disaster map, BRAC has delved into a technological shift from a long time ago. The question still remains: How can technology be further embedded into the ecosystem?
Intrapreneurship – a concept invented in the 80s by American entrepreneur Gifford Pinchot III, has garnered considerable attention in recent times. The concept emphasises on the notion of empowering employees to proactively identify growth opportunities and proactively seek innovative solutions to problems.
Life is different for three out of 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion people, who do not have clean, safe water in their homes. One quarter of the world’s population does not have access to decent toilets. In cities alone, over 80 million people practice open defecation.
Bangladesh has enjoyed considerable economic growth over the past few decades, however its employment driven opportunities have been sluggish. Such proliferation of ‘jobless growth’ is a result of inadequate opportunities for the large wave of young people who are prepared to enter the workforce but cannot seem to do so.
As BRAC ranks #1 for the third consecutive year, we revisit an interview with Sir Fazle – the first of a series of interviews with executives of organisations that are part of the rankings, launched by NGO Advisor.
“Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, opens the series on behalf of 118,000+ employees working for what we acknowledge as the most influential and impactful for-good organisation worldwide.”
Having reached this juncture, where Bangladesh is poised to make an even greater leap towards economic prosperity, some have argued whether NGOs have anything more to do in this country.
Five of us from the MBA programme of University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, volunteered to join BRAC for an academic consulting project this April. We were fortunate to work on the Integrated Land Services Office (ILSO), an initiative of the organisation’s Human Rights and Legal Aid Services (HRLS). The four-week immersive visit allowed us to participate and draw lessons from the amazing work they do and the social impact they create at scale.
The world’s most famous brands reach their consumers through ad campaigns with supermodels and celebrity endorsements. Their glamorous photoshoots are raised on billboards, magazine covers, and in store displays. They run special offers through newspapers and direct mailers, or email you a coupon code you can use on their website. They have 50,000 square feet retail stores with large window displays and products visually merchandised to awe the customer. So what does a brand such as Aarong, who sells handicraft goods, do to market their products? The exact same thing.
Aarong, one of BRAC’s social enterprises employs 65,000 artisans, 85 per cent of whom are women. These artisans find an extensive support system through the Ayesha Abed Foundation, Aarong’s network of production hubs which are spread all over Bangladesh.