http://www.nextbillion.net/newsroom/2005/11/04/endowment-gift-with-a-twist-omidyars-100m-to-be-invested-in-microfinance Comments for "Endowment gift with a twist - Omidyar's $100m to be invested in microfinance" en http://www.nextbillion.net/newsroom/2005/11/04/endowment-gift-with-a-twist-omidyars-100m-to-be-invested-in-microfinance#comment-296 BusinessWeek's technology section features an <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051104_468597.htm">interview</a> with EBay founder Pierre Omidyar that touches on why he's choosing to invest heavily in microfinance. From the interview: "If you want to reach global scale -- and we're talking about hundreds of millions of people who need this -- you can't do it with philanthropy capital. There's not enough charity capital out there. In order to reach 500 million people, you have to access the private capital markets. In order to access private capital, you have to provide competitive return on investment. In order to give competitive returns to investors, you've got to operate on a profitable basis and be thinking of yourself as a business." Saw it first at <a href="http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2005/11/pierre_omidyar_.html">PSD Blog</a><br class="clear" /> Mon, 07 Nov 2005 10:12:09 -0500 Rob Katz comment 296 at http://www.nextbillion.net http://www.nextbillion.net/newsroom/2005/11/04/endowment-gift-with-a-twist-omidyars-100m-to-be-invested-in-microfinance <div class="flexinode-body flexinode-4"><span class="flexinode-timestamp-13"> November 4, 2005 - 10:00, </span> <span class="flexinode-textfield-14"> The Boston Globe</span> <div class="flexinode-textfield-15"> Gift to Tufts will aid world&#039;s smallest firms</div><br> <div class="form-item"> <label>Story Link:</label> <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/04/gift_to_tufts_will_aid_worlds_smallest_firms/">http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/04/gift_to_tufts_will_aid_worlds_smallest_firms/</a> </div> <div class="flexinode-textarea-6"> The founder of eBay and his wife have donated $100 million to Tufts University, the school's largest gift ever, but also one with a unique twist: All the money will be invested in microfinance, which involves tiny loans as low as $40, designed to help poor people in the developing world start small businesses, such as selling hand-woven cloth or goat's milk.<br /><br />Pierre and Pam Omidyar intend the gift to generate healthy returns for their alma mater and in so doing to demonstrate to other investors that microfinance deserves a hefty infusion of private capital, not just charitable and government dollars. Tufts and the Omidyars believe that the gift is the largest private allocation of capital to microfinance by any individual or family.<br class="clear" /></div> </div> http://www.nextbillion.net/newsroom/2005/11/04/endowment-gift-with-a-twist-omidyars-100m-to-be-invested-in-microfinance#comment Financial Services General Banking Microfinance Fri, 04 Nov 2005 10:04:34 -0500 Rob Katz 1650 at http://www.nextbillion.net