Webinar «From Graduation to Systems Change»
Despite growing evidence that Graduation Approaches can help vulnerable households move out of extreme poverty, an important question remains: What happens after the program ends? And what more can we do to ensure that households, communities, and market systems continue to thrive long after external support has ended?
Integrating the Graduation Approach and Market Systems Development
On 16 July 2026, Caritas Switzerland and its partners will launch a new White Paper exploring how Graduation Approaches and Market Systems Development can be combined to create more durable, inclusive, and scalable pathways out of poverty in fragile and protracted crisis contexts.
Drawing on practical experience from humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding programs across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, the paper argues that sustainable poverty reduction requires both resilient households and market systems capable of supporting long-term economic participation. The paper proposes a practical framework for integrating household-level support with systems of change, while emphasizing inclusion, social cohesion, conflict sensitivity, and resilience.
Presentation of the new White Paper
16 July 2026, 15:00 - 16:30 Central European Time
The event will feature presentations from the White Paper authors and practitioners implementing integrated approaches in the field, followed by an interactive discussion with participants. Together, speakers will explore how organizations can operationalize the humanitarian-development-peace nexus through approaches that simultaneously strengthen livelihoods, resilience, and market systems.
The session will be of particular interest to practitioners, donors, researchers, and policymakers working on economic inclusion, livelihoods, resilience, forced displacement, and market systems development.
The event will be in English, with simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish.
- 15:00 – 15:05 – Welcome and Introductions
- 15:05 – 15:25 – White Paper Launch
- 15:25 – 15:45 – Case Study: Applying Integrated Market Systems Approaches in Practice, SMILES Project
- 15:45 – 16:15 – Moderated Panel Discussion and Q&A
- 16:15 – 16:30 Closing Reflections and Next Steps
Caritas Switzerland Hosts
Sarah Estermann, Senior Advisor for Migration and Knowledge Manager
Maciej Chmielewski, Senior Income and Livelihoods Advisor and Knowledge Manager
Participation Organizations: Co-authors, Contributors and Supporting Organizations
Header image: Women leading a Business Group in Ethiopia © Ayaana Publishing