This project will empower 600 ultrapoor and 12,400 very poor women between the ages of 18-34 in the most marginalized communities in Bangladesh to reach economic self-sufficiency through access to financial inclusion and social protection mechanisms. In conjunction with projects in Mexico and Vietnam, these three concurrent pilots will serve to drive a cross-country learning platform consisting of high-level working groups to share learning with government stakeholders and large scale NGOs in order to make the case for integration into social-protection systems and broad replication within large NGOs.

By targeting households at two levels of the socio-economic ladder – the ultrapoor and the very poor – the project will test two variations of the Graduation Approach adapted to the social, economic, and cultural specificities of the target populations of each region. The ultra-poor are characterized as highly vulnerable and marginalized populations who face extreme barriers to financial inclusion and economic self-sufficiency. These populations tend to be from indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, and/or people with disabilities.

Project Objectives

• Increase government responsiveness to the needs of the ultrapoor
• Facilitate sustainable livelihood development among communities living in conditions of ultrapoverty and vulnerability by ensuring social and financial inclusion.

Project Data

Project data will be posted when available.