BRAC is a development success story, born in Bangladesh and expanding into 10 other developing countries in Asia and Africa. It spreads anti-poverty solutions making it a global leader in providing opportunities for the world’s poor.
BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, and is today one of the top leaders in developing cost-effective, evidence-based poverty innovations in extremely poor, fragile and post-disaster settings. BRAC started its first programme outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 through its Dutch registered Stichting BRAC International. BRAC International is currently reaching over 19 million people beyond Bangladesh and creating opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.
With a holistic approach that uses a wide array of interventions including microfinance, education, healthcare, legal services and more, BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalyzing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which the poor have the chance to seize control of their own lives. Of the world’s top development and humanitarian relief organisations, BRAC is one of the few based in the global south. In February 2019, BRAC was ranked as the number one NGO in the world for the fourth consecutive year by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent media organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact and governance in the non-profit sector.