SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SEATTLE, WA, April 23, 2008 – Omidyar Network and Unitus are pleased to announce plans to dramatically expand the worldwide availability of financial services to the poor. Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm established by Pierre and Pam Omidyar, will invest $9 million in Unitus. This will represent Omidyar Network’s largest grant in microfinance to date. Unitus, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating access to microfinance, will use this support to increase its network of microfinance partners and expand into several new regions over the next three years. This expansion will enable Unitus microfinance institution (MFI) partners to grow rapidly, strengthen their businesses, and reach millions of individuals currently excluded from the formal economic system with life-changing financial services.

"When Omidyar Network participated in the Unitus Leadership Summit last year in the Philippines, Pierre and I were impressed by the energy and enthusiasm with which Unitus and its partners are extending the reach of microfinance and transforming the lives of the poor," said Matt Bannick, Managing Partner, Omidyar Network. “When we look at the incredible results that Unitus and its partners have achieved over the past six years, we are thrilled to continue to support, scale, and champion these innovative organizations as they seek to maximize social impact.”

With the Omidyar grant, Unitus will continue to support a rapidly growing portfolio of start-up and early-stage MFIs in developing countries by employing its proven acceleration model. Using this model, in 2007 Unitus partners grew seven times faster than the industry average, as measured by the total number of clients added. Since 2001, Unitus and its partners have reached more than 3.5 million of the world’s poor, making it one of the fastest growing MFI networks.

“Omidyar Network is a thought leader in global microfinance, and we’re honored to work with a forward-thinking organization that challenges us to maximize our impact. Through their support we can further expand our network, and use our acceleration model to help our partners double their reach each year,” said Ed Bland, Unitus Chief Operating Officer.  

More than 3 billion people—half the world’s population—live on less than US $2 a day, yet only 133 million people currently have access to microfinance services. Unitus partners with high-potential MFIs around the globe to connect them to the growth capital and innovative business tools they need to grow rapidly and reach scale. Unitus offers its partners a broad range of business consulting services, capacity-building grants, technology tools, and capital advisory services in order to eliminate barriers to growth and empower them to serve millions more hardworking micro-entrepreneurs around the world. Through this network, partners are supported to grow their businesses while maintaining their social mission. With the support of Omidyar Network and others, Unitus and its partners intend on reaching 15 million of the world’s poor by 2010.

About Unitus
Unitus is a worldwide leader at scaling innovative solutions to global poverty. We accelerate access to life-changing financial services for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid—the 3 billion people who are living on less than $2 a day. Unitus partners with the world’s most promising microfinance institutions and provides them with breakthrough business strategies, technology, and access to capital, empowering them to serve thousands more hardworking micro-entrepreneurs around the world.

The Unitus portfolio reaches more than 3.5 million families through 21 partners in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, and the Philippines. Our goal is to reach more than 15 million of the world’s working poor by 2010.

Unitus has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, PBS, and National Public Radio. We received Fast Company magazine’s Social Capitalist award in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Unitus is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with offices in Seattle, Washington and Bangalore, India. For more information, please visit www.unitus.com or contact us at info@unitus.com.

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm committed to creating opportunity for people around the world. Established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, Omidyar Network supports nonprofit and for-profit efforts that enable people around the world to improve their lives and make powerful, lasting contributions to their communities. Since 2004, Omidyar Network has funded a number of organizations in areas such as microfinance, participatory media, and transparency in government. To learn more about Omidyar Network, please visit http://www.omidyar.net.

NEW YORK, February 19, 2008 – The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), Omidyar Network, and Google.org announced today a new $17 million Small to Medium Enterprise Investment Company for India to create job opportunities and spur greater economic participation for a larger segment of the population.  This joint Investment Company will provide capital to small and medium businesses in underserved markets.

“With this investment, we will meet the huge demand to serve smaller businesses in India that have little access to finance,” said Neal DeLaurentis, Vice President of Soros Economic Development Fund. “Long ignored by commercial capital markets, small and medium businesses are an attractive investment opportunity as well as an engine for economic growth for India.”

Many small to medium Indian businesses lack formal funding options because of a market gap between the microloans offered by microfinance institutions and the larger investments of commercial banks and private equity funders. Most of the existing Small to Medium Enterprise funds make investments in the $3-$5 million range, leaving out a significant portion of this market. The Investment Company will target this “missing middle” with equity investments between $500,000 and $3.5 million.

“We have seen what microloans can do at the individual level and are excited about bringing that same opportunity to small and medium businesses,” said Jim Bunch, Director of Investments at Omidyar Network. “A new generation of entrepreneurs and their families will benefit economically and socially, and as their enterprises grow, these benefits can be shared with employees and their families, as well as the community at large.”
 
“While SMEs in rich countries represent half of GDP, they account for a much lower portion in developing economies like India, partly because SMEs don’t have access to the same type of financing,” said Sonal Shah of Google.org. “Our goal is to increase the flow of capital to SMEs in India. This is an important step in helping to attract commercial capital and reduce dependency on philanthropy or soft capital to fund this industry.”

SEDF, Omidyar Network and Google.org plan to locate the Investment Advisor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad to leverage the school’s SME expertise. Dr. Reuben Abraham, currently the ISB’s Director of the Base of Pyramid Lab and a board member of SEDF, will be named Senior Advisor.

The Investment Company will hire an experienced Investment Advisor and two experienced senior investment analysts based in India to recommend and build the pipeline of portfolio investments.

About Soros Economic Development Fund
The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) is a nonprofit private foundation. It is part of the network of charitable foundations created by investor and philanthropist George Soros. Established in 1997, the fund’s mission is to alleviate poverty and community deterioration. The fund makes investments—in the form of equity, loans, guarantees and deposits—in selected banks, microfinance institutions, cooperatives and social enterprise projects worldwide. To learn more about Soros Economic Development Fund, please visit http://www.sedfny.org.

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm committed to building opportunity for individuals. Established by Pamela and Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, Omidyar Network supports nonprofit and for-profit efforts that enable people around the world to improve their lives and make powerful, lasting contributions to their communities. Since 2004, Omidyar Network has funded a number of organizations in areas such as microfinance, participatory media, and transparency in government. To learn more about Omidyar Network, please visit http://www.omidyar.net.

About Google.org
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, uses the power of information and technology to help people improve their lives. They develop and invest in tools and partnerships that bring shared knowledge to the world's most pressing challenges in the areas of climate change, economic development and global health. For more information, visit http://www.google.org.  
 

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REDWOOD CITY, CA, November 4, 2005 - Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay and co-founder of Omidyar Network with his wife, Pam, today announced a $100 million gift to Tufts University to be invested exclusively in international microfinance initiatives. The Omidyars' personal investment is the largest allocation of capital to microfinance from an individual or family, as well as the largest single gift to Tufts University.

The $100 million Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund (OTMF) will serve an innovative triple purpose: demonstrate the potential of microfinance investments for institutional investors, support the Omidyars' alma mater, Tufts University, and potentially stimulate at least $1 billion in new microloans over the next decade. This $1 billion in new loans is possible, because loan capital is repaid with interest by borrowers, lent back out to more borrowers, and repaid with interest again.

"Microloans enable the poor to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship," said Pierre Omidyar. "The microfinance industry has shown that enabling the poor to empower themselves economically can be a profitable business. With the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund, we're responding to the industry's need for capital to meet the demand for financial services among the world's poor. At the same time, we hope to demonstrate the potential of microfinance to institutional investors."

The innovative structure of the OTMF aligns Tufts' interest as an institutional investor -- to maximize its investment returns -- with the Omidyars' interest in advancing the field of microfinance. As the microfinance investments yield income, Tufts will retain 50 percent of the income to use for university programs. The other 50 percent will be reinvested in additional microfinance initiatives.

"Tufts has long been committed to international development through its own programs. By taking such innovative action in an emerging area, Tufts secures its leadership role as a top-tier academic institution capable of validating a thesis of critical importance," said Omidyar.

"Partnering with the Omidyars to advance microfinance is a strategic fit for Tufts on many levels," said Larry S. Bacow, president of Tufts University. "As an economist, I'm attracted to microfinance as a financially self-sustaining model for making a difference in the world. Tufts' commitment to active citizenship is a global pursuit that runs deep, and we're pleased to leverage resources that yield so many positive returns."

The fund will bolster microfinance institutions (MFIs) that make loans to those who lack access to traditional financial services. Microfinance clients are typically poor entrepreneurs, often women, who struggle to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing for themselves and their families. Microloans averaging $600 (often as low as $40) enable poor entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, increase their income and lift themselves out of poverty. This translates into economically self-empowered citizens, who once they discover their ability to sustain themselves and their families, can focus on aspirations beyond day-to-day survival.

The fund is also aligned with the Omidyars' broader aspirations of fostering individual self-empowerment on a global scale. Separately, they have invested nearly $15 million in a range of microfinance initiatives through their mission-based investment group, Omidyar Network. Over the last year, the investment group has partnered with a wide network of people and organizations within the microfinance sector, such as Blue Orchard, Grameen Foundation USA, Microcredit Summit Campaign, Microfinance Information eXchange (The MIX), MicroVest and Unitus.

Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a mission-based investment group committed to fostering individual self-empowerment on a global scale. Established in June 2004 by Pierre and Pam Omidyar, the Network is founded on the simple core belief that every individual has the power to make a difference. Omidyar Network funds for-profits, nonprofits and public policy efforts that promote equal access to information, tools and opportunities; connections over shared interests; and a sense of ownership for participants. To date, Omidyar Network has created a diverse portfolio that fosters individual self-empowerment across the economic, political and social realms, with investments in areas such as microfinance, bottom-up media, open source, and transparency in government. Through its work, Omidyar Network intends to catalyze a new breed of business for which social impact directly drives profitability. To learn more about Omidyar Network and the organizations it has funded, please visit omidyar.net.