On 19 December, Monitor Inclusive Markets (MIM) India team announced the integration of their team with US-based non-profit FSG. This move, to take effect on 1 January, will establish a new India office for FSG located in Mumbai.

MIM India Team has been working to help develop and scale market-based solutions to the problems of poverty since 2006. ‘But our work is only just beginning,’ write Ashish Karamchandani and Harvey Koh. ‘We have been actively thinking about how we can enhance the scope, depth and impact of our work. Becoming part of a larger, mission-driven organization was one of the key ways by which we felt we could maximize our positive impact on the tough problems that face the world today. Our integration with FSG is motivated by complementarity in terms of expertise and capability, and above all, a shared belief in the power of businesses and markets to help create large-scale, lasting, positive social impact.’

You can read more about MIM’s integration with FSG here.

Last year saw the launch by MIM India of a major new report Beyond the Pioneer, which describes the challenge of scale for market-based solutions to the problems of poverty, and introduced the concept of ‘industry facilitation’. This was the focus of the June 2014 Alliance special feature ‘Markets for good: removing the barriers’.

Also announced on 18 December was the launch of a report providing a ‘state of the market’ landscape analysis of the impact investing industry in South Asia, which captures a total of $8.9 billion in deployed impact investment capital in six countries. Published by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), in partnership with Dalberg Global Development Advisors, The Landscape for Impact Investing in South Asia indicates a diverse but growing impact investing market across South Asia.

This first report includes chapters on Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan as well as an introductory section and executive summary; chapters on India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are forthcoming in early 2015.