Bracusa

In 1972, in the wake of a devastating cyclone and a war for independence in Bangladesh, a corporate executive named Sir Fazle Hasan Abed felt compelled to act. He left his job at Shell Oil to start a small, temporary relief project, initially called the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, to help refugees. This was not meant to be a long-term organization. The initial playbook was simple: address the immediate needs of a community ravaged by disaster. Abed and his team started by providing basic materials and building homes. But as they worked, they realized the problems were far more complex than just immediate relief. This insight led to a fundamental shift. The organization, soon known simply as BRAC, pivoted from temporary aid to a long-term, holistic development model. BRAC’s approach became its key innovation. Instead of just giving aid, it focused on creating systems to empower people, especially women, to lift themselves out of poverty. It launched programs in microfinance, education, healthcare, and agriculture. A core part of the model involved creating social enterprises—businesses that would generate revenue to fund its charitable work, making the organization more sustainable. While BRAC grew into one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the world, its North American affiliate, BRAC USA, was established in 2007. Its purpose is to mobilize resources and raise awareness in the United States to support BRAC's global programs, which now reach over 100 million people across Asia and Africa.