Sayyed Manzer

Manzer is a Policy Manager in the Scale-ups team at J-PAL South Asia, where he supports the Government of Bihar in their poverty alleviation program, Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana, with a focus on the graduation approach.

Prior to joining J-PAL, he led the research and development team at ImpactDash, which evaluates social and environmental impact for corporate social responsibility initiatives, government projects, and philanthropic foundations. Before that, he worked as a development consultant with NABARD Consultancy Services, conducting multiple monitoring and evaluation studies for state and central government schemes.

In addition to his professional roles, Manzer is the founder of Bridge, a social initiative that provides financial support to learners from marginalized communities, preventing academic immobility caused by financial constraints. He is also a co-founder of Project EduAccess, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusivity in higher education institutions by offering free mentorship to learners from marginalized communities in South Asia.

As a Chevening scholar, Manzer holds an MSc. in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation from the University of Oxford, as well as a Masters in Social Work (Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.