2012 Evidence Summit: Syed Hashemi on BRAC's Graduation Model

During USAID's Office of Microenterprise and Private Enterprise's Evidence Summit: From Microfinance to Inclusive Market Development, as part of the session entitled, "Pathways out of Extreme Poverty: The Graduation Model," Syed Hashemi of BRAC Development Institute sat down with session moderator Alexia Latortue of CGAP to introduce the building blocks of BRAC's Graduation Model and present evidence from qualitative research as well as pilots of the CGAP Ford-Foundation Graduation Program. Hashemi argues that donors should identify multiple pathways out of extreme poverty for the poorest, a subset of the poor who have unique characteristics and needs.

Bio: Syed Hashemi

Syed Hasemi is the Founder-Director of the BRAC Development Institute at BRAC University. The Institute seeks to promote research and build knowledge on practical solutions for addressing poverty, inequity, and social injustice. Prior to setting up the Institute, Hashemi works at CGAP for nine years. There he focused on identifying pro-poor innovations and disseminating best practice lessons related to poverty outreach and impact. Hashemi was amongst the pioneers who started the Social Performance Taskforce to promote a double bottom line in microfinance. He also headed a multi-country program to develop new pathways for the poorest to graduate out of food insecurity, through linking safety net programs, training, and financial services. Before joining CGAP Hashemi directed the Program for Research on Povery Alleviation at Grameen Trust and taught at the Department of Economics, Jahangirnagar University. Hashemi has a PhD in economics from the University of California at Riverside.