BRAC has announced an ambitious plan to create employment opportunities for one million people over the next five years, identifying unemployment as one of Bangladesh’s most pressing challenges.
The announcement came during a media briefing on Monday at BRAC Centre in Mohakhali following the publication of the organization’s 2025 annual report.
Speaking at the event, BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh said the organization’s future strategy would focus on women and young people, with special emphasis on inclusive development, employment generation, quality education, primary healthcare and climate resilience.
“Unemployment is now one of the country’s major challenges. BRAC wants to contribute within its capacity to address this issue,” said Asif Saleh.
Referring to BRAC founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, he said the late founder often stressed the importance of adapting to people’s changing needs.
“He used to say that institutions must evolve with people’s changing realities, otherwise their relevance would diminish. BRAC continues to respond to emerging challenges, and employment generation has become one of the key priorities of our time,” he added.
According to BRAC, the planned one million employment opportunities will be created through multiple pathways.
Of the total, around 530,000 people will receive “Business-in-a-Box” opportunities designed to support small-scale entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives.
Another 130,000 people are expected to become entrepreneurs through BRAC-supported initiatives, while approximately 90,000 people will gain direct employment opportunities.
The organization also expects around 160,000 people to benefit indirectly from these initiatives through associated economic activities and value chains.
BRAC said it plans to help 1.9 million students overcome learning losses over the next five years, while expanding access to financial services for around 20 million people nationwide.
The organization aims to disburse Tk150,000 crore in loans annually and establish 200 new financial service centers in char, haor, coastal and hill tract regions.
Special attention will also be given to 20 climate-vulnerable districts, while support will be extended to 1.25 million women farmers.
The annual report showed that nearly 29 million people across Bangladesh received BRAC services and assistance in 2025, equivalent to roughly one in every seven Bangladeshis.
Among them were around 19 million women and more than 223,000 persons with disabilities.
BRAC said two out of every three people directly reached by its programs were women.
The organization’s activities covered sectors including healthcare, education, financial inclusion, disaster response, safe water and sanitation (WASH), climate adaptation, migration, and skills development.
According to the report, BRAC continued working to improve the income and resilience of marginalized communities through microfinance, ultra-poor graduation programs, and skills development initiatives.
Over the past five years, nearly Tk1,000 crore worth of assets were transferred under poverty alleviation programs, helping around 312,000 ultra-poor families graduate out of extreme poverty.
The organization’s total loan disbursement increased from Tk29,000 crore to Tk48,500 crore during the period.
BRAC also said it expanded support for women entrepreneurs through enhanced access to financial services and business assistance.
BRAC’s community-based healthcare initiatives continued to address maternal and child health, tuberculosis, malaria, and non-communicable diseases.
Over the past five years, around 2.1 million mothers received safe delivery services, while 3.5 million people were screened for non-communicable diseases, disabilities, and eye conditions.
More than one million tuberculosis patients were identified and brought under treatment, the report added.
The event was attended by editors and senior journalists from several leading media organizations, including Prothom Alo Executive Editor Sajjad Sharif, Samakal Editor Shahed Mohammad Ali, and Dhaka Tribune Editor Reaz Ahmad.