Center for Social Innovation

Published: August 19, 2007 Download  45 minutes, 20.7mb, recorded 2007-01-01

To solve big problems in the world, it often takes large-scale solutions. So argues Fazle H. Abed, founder and chairman of Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC). In this audio lecture, he outlines the development and market perspectives that have enabled BRAC to expand and meet the needs in key areas including microfinance, agriculture, and education on a national scale. Known originally as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, BRAC was initiated in 1972 as a small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help refugees after the Bangladesh Liberation War. It has now grown to a staff of over 30,000 with a membership of millions. Abed outlines several important aspects of learning how to think big.

Fazle Hasan Abed is founder and chairperson of Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC). He also presides over all BRAC institutions such as BRAC University and BRAC Bank. He holds a senior advisory position on the boards of many companies and banks, and has been a visiting scholar at the Harvard Institute of International Development. Abed studied accountancy at the University of Dhaka and later at the University of Glasgow in Britain. After graduation, he joined Shell Oil as a financial executive, and was posted in Chittagong in erstwhile East Pakistan. He has many a scholarly publication to his credit in prominent academic journals.

Resources

• BRAC Website
• Ashoka
• Ashoka DVD Series