There is growing interest in the role of market-based solutions in addressing the problems of poverty, through inclusive businesses that tap into the potential of the global poor as customers and suppliers—the so-called ‘fortune at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).’ Encouraged by the growth of microfinance, many promising new models are emerging. This has elicited a rush to the new field of ‘impact investing’—producing social or environmental good as well as financial return—with hundreds of funds set up in just a few years and billions of dollars waiting to be invested.

Between 500 million and 800 million of the world’s poor now have access to finance—but only one in four have been taught how to use their access wisely and to their advantage. In this study commissioned by the Citi Foundation, Monitor’s Anamitra Deb and Mike Kubzansky survey the landscape of old and new financial education models, analyze whether they have a business case and make recommendations on a shared agenda for the field to benefit all financial inclusion stakeholders—including consumers, financial institutions, policy makers and donors, and educators.

Mining companies looking to do business in Africa should take an inclusive approach to development that addresses the needs of the relevant governments, communities in which they operate, and the companies own needs, write Andrew Lane and Riccardo Reggio in this article from the Monitor Perspectives series.

Even in an era of massive demographic changes and financial uncertainties, the twenty-first century sees Brazil poised to become a world power, Rogério Rizzi writes in an essay for the latest issue of Excelência em Gestão (Excellence in Management), the quarterly magazine published by the National Quality Foundation of Brazil.

The global economy faces serious risks of a second “great recession” if world leaders fail to cooperate on solutions to prevent “near-term economic divisions to devolve into deeper-seated geopolitical divisions,” write Peter Schwartz, Jonathan Star, and Nikhil Prasad Ojha in The Times of India newspaper. In this piece that demonstrates scenario thinking, the authors project the global economy is likely to go through a near-term period of low growth. The long-term prognosis then depends on the actions—or failures—of leaders to respond.

With sizable government support, China’s life sciences industry “is quietly gathering a critical mass of skilled talent, and savvy and focused venture investors,” writes Monitor’s George Baeder in the December 2011 issue of Pharmaceutical Executive magazine.

This report, "Private Equity In the Shadow of Giants: Innovative Approaches Along the Investment Value Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa," surveys a wide range of stakeholders in the African private equity ecosystem to help new-to-Africa actors interested in understanding in more detail the investment opportunities and nuances in the operating models on the Sub-continent. It was compiled in the second half of 2011, triggered by the recent increase in positive hype that Africa received as the last frontier market. The report covers trends and innovative approaches from fund strategies and fundraising, to deal-flow generation and post-deal value-add activities, and ultimately exits. Overall, it uncovered an attractive industry in flux, with increased competitiveness, but sufficient uncharted territory to grow from its still relatively small base.

In a discussion with the “Cambodia’s Global Dialogue,” a public affairs program on the Southeast Asia TV (SEATV) channel in Cambodia, Chris Malone, a senior partner at Monitor, explains the how the firm helps governments and industries around the world assess and improve their regional and global economic competitiveness.

This white paper by experts from Monitor and Global Business Network (GBN) analyzes the impact that deep structural shifts in commodities markets will have on the competitive landscape, including the critical supply chain and business location decisions C-level executives will face as higher prices for food, fuel and minerals become permanent.

A new report funded by the Rockefeller Foundation estimates that the field of Impact Sourcing, employing socioeconomically disadvantaged people in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centers, is currently $4.5 billion and has the potential to reach $20 billion and employ 780,000 by 2015. The report, conducted by Monitor Group, suggests a strong business case for Impact Sourcing, which can provide high-quality, reliable services at prices that are at least competitive with traditional BPO centers and, in some cases, almost 40 percent lower than what traditional providers can offer.