Skip to main content
Home
  • Work
  • Worldwide
  • Learning
  • Ideas
  • About
  • Search
Challenging inequality
Civic Engagement and Government
Creativity and Free Expression
Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice
Technology and Society
Natural Resources and Climate Change
Just Cities and Regions
Future of Work(ers)
Our grants
Grants Database
JustFilms
Idea Submission
BUILD Program
Our Work in Detroit
Mission Investments

We’re leveraging capital markets to create lasting change.

Our work around the world
Regions Map Andean Region Brazil China Eastern Africa India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Indonesia Mexico and Central America Middle East and North Africa Southern Africa United States West Africa
  • Andean Region
  • Brazil
  • China
  • Eastern Africa
  • India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
  • Indonesia
  • Mexico and Central America
  • Middle East and North Africa
  • Southern Africa
  • United States
  • West Africa
Ford Forum

21 October 2019

The Future of Philanthropy

Equals Change Blog
Michelle Shevin - Image

1 November 2019

A Critical Time for Digital Infrastructure

By Michelle Shevin

Darren Walker

19 September 2019

In defense of nuance

By Darren Walker

Xavier, Briggs, New York 2014-2015. Photo Credit: Simon Luethi ©Ford Foundation.

8 July 2019

The racial wealth gap: A stark reflection of structural inequality - Lessons learned from two decades of work

By Xavier de Souza Briggs

Noorain Khan, New York 2018. Photo Credit: Simon Luethi ©Ford Foundation.

17 April 2019

Turning the tide, together: Disability inclusion at Ford

By Noorain Khan

About us
A legacy of social justice
Mission
Our origins
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Disability inclusion
International Fellowships Program
People
Careers
Library
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
Book event space
Ford Foundation Gallery

Utopian Imagination

17 September - 7 December 2019

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Learning

Graduation Approach Case Study: India

  • Research reports
  • India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
Graduation Approach India Download pdf 5.23 MB

Despite being one of the world’s fastest growing economies, India remains home to a large “below the poverty line” population: over 233 million people. Poverty reduction is a national priority, but social welfare programs have had very limited outreach to these “below the poverty line” households.

Bandhan Konnagar, an NGO based in West Bengal in eastern India, was founded in 2001 as an auxiliary of Bandhan Microfinance Institution (Bandhan MFI), and ventured into development programs in 2007. Between 2007-2009, it implemented the Targeting the Hard Core Poor (THP) pilot with 300 female participants for 24 months in Murshidabad, one of the poorest districts of West Bengal. The nature and prevalence of extreme poverty in West Bengal is similar to that of Bangladesh, as the two adjacent regions share a common history and social culture. Several of Bandhan’s senior staff members had previously worked on the operational design of BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra Poor (or TUP) program in Bangladesh, the program that was the precursor of the Graduation Approach. These staffers saw an opportunity to draw on the lessons they had learned first-hand, and pilot test one of BRAC’s best known programs in India.

The THP program is a grant rather than credit-based targeted approach that offers time-bound support to address multiple issues associated with severe income poverty. For the THP pilot, Bandhan Konnagar’s vision was to enable the poorest to “graduate” into financial services after their urgent consumption needs had been met and they had a sustainable livelihood, rather than leading with financial services as the self-help group model does. Three key lessons emerged from the THP pilot:

  1. Households without able-bodied male members are the most vulnerable.
  2. Women who engage in petty trading generate income more quickly and consolidate their enterprises faster than do women whose primary economic activity is agricultural.
  3. Success in the context of a THP household has a holistic and qualitative nature that a single graduation indicator, such as a household beginning to use financial services, cannot accurately capture.

Download the full report here.

Top

CONNECT

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube

CAREERS

Learn about Careers, view Current openings, and Join our talent pool

PRESS ROOM

Visit the Press Room

CONTACT

Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
320 E 43rd St
New York, NY 10017
USA

Tel. (+1) 212-573-5000

Visitor information
Regional offices

Event spaces

Learn how to book an event space

SIGNUP FOR E-MAIL UPDATES

More Subscription Options

Subscription options

Subscription options

creative commons icon Terms and Conditions of Use

All our content may be republished or reused for free, except for most photographs, illustrations, and videos.

  • Privacy
  • Terms and Conditions

© 2019 Ford Foundation, some rights reserved.