MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Platform for Economic Inclusion (PEI) to Carry on CGAP’s Work on Graduation Programs

CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a nonprofit research center seeking to expand financial services in poor regions, recently announced the establishment of the Platform for Economic Inclusion (PEI) to “accelerate innovation and scaling of graduation-style programming.” Initiated by Bangladeshi NGO BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee) in 2011, the graduation approach involves: targeting only the poorest households; providing cash or food to establish food security; delivering savings services and education to build assets and “financial discipline;” and transferring assets such as livestock to launch self-sustaining economic activity.

The goal of PEI is to reduce poverty among people in rural areas, women, “refugees, the urban extreme poor [and]…people in conflict…and climate change-affected contexts.” The organization will be hosted by the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice (SPJ), while maintaining independent governance. It will benefit from a multi-donor trust fund of unspecified size.

Based in Washington DC, CGAP is a policy and research center dedicated to increasing financial access worldwide by providing market intelligence, promoting standards and offering advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors and investors. As of June 2016, CGAP reported annual donor contributions totaling USD 26.8 million. CGAP is co-located with the offices of the World Bank Group.

The World Bank Group is a multilateral development organization headquartered in the US that aims to improve living standards for people in developing countries. WBG encompasses (1) the World Bank, which consists of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association; (2) the International Finance Corporation; (3) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; and (4) the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. As of 2016, the World Bank Group is comprised of 189 member nations with commitments of USD 60 billion to 12,700 loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses.

By Aleks Marceau, Research Associate, with support from the MicroCapital team

Sources and additional resources

CGAP press release
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/announcement/cgap-graduation-knowledge-hub-moving-new-global-partnership-being-created

CGAP home page
http://www.cgap.org

MicroCapital on CGAP’s work in Nigeria:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-cgap-pula-announce-microinsurance-partnership-farmers-nigeria/

MicroCapital on BRAC’s graduation work in India and Haiti: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-paper-wrap-up-reaching-the-poorest-lessons-from-the-graduation-model-by-syed-m-hashemi-aude-de-montesquiou-published-by-cgap-consultative-group-to-assist-the-poor/

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