This document presents information collected by CGAP and its partners over July-October 2016 on 55 current and new graduation programs implemented globally. The data was either self-reported by the implementing partner or was collected by interviews with CGAP staff. Comparing this data to the previous information collection (December 2015) shows that efforts to extend economic opportunities to the poorest and most vulnerable populations are gaining traction among governments, donors, and NGOs interested in incorporating graduation-type programming into social protection systems.
The graduation programs presented in this document have been adapted—sometimes extensively—from the original BRAC and CGAP-Ford Foundation graduation approach (Figure 2). However they share some common characteristics: (i) a household level intervention deliberately targeting the extreme poor, either those under the $1.90-per-day line and/or those identified as the poorest and most marginalized; (ii) a holistic effort (combining social assistance, livelihoods and financial services) in order to tackle the multifaceted constraints of extreme poverty; (iii) a “big push” based on the idea that a large investment to kick-start an economic activity will really make a meaningful change; (iv) an intervention that includes some form of mentoring to help participants overcome not only their economic constraints but also the many social barriers they face; (5) facilitated access to a wider social protection regime and continued access to financial services as a way to carry on building resilience and upward progress.