by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, Omidyar Network, Accel Lead $21m Equity Funding Round for Indifi Technologies, Lender to SMEs in India

The CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, recently invested USD 15 million as part of a USD 21 million fundraising round for Indifi Technologies, a digital lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. Two US-based investors, Omidyar Network and Accel, also

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Omidyar Network Spins Off Fintech Venture Firm Flourish, Pierre Omidyar Boosts Its Capital by $300m

The Omidyar Network, a US-based actor in education, governance, property rights and other areas, recently spun off its financial inclusion program to create Flourish Ventures, an “evergreen venture fund backing FinTech entrepreneurs who are focused on financial health and prosperity.” Arjuna Costa, a managing partner at Flourish, explains that, “To reshape economic systems and create opportunity for vulnerable people around the world, we invest in innovative technologies that give them more control over their financial lives.”

Flourish, which maintains offices in the UK and the US, has USD 200 million invested in approximately 50 firms as of 2019. These include providers of digital banking services, non-traditional insurance coverage, and “asset

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Toffee Insurance of India Secures $1.5m in Equity for Digital Microinsurance from Kalaari Capital, Omidyar Network, Accion Venture Lab

Toffee Insurance, an online microinsurance firm based in India, recently received a total of USD 1.5 million in equity from Accion Venture Labs, a fund of US-based NGO Accion; Kalaari Capital, an Indian for-profit investment firm; and Omidyar Network, a US-based NGO. Toffee will use the

by Michelle Dold -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: D.light Raises $15m in Equity from Energy Access Ventures, KawiSafi, NewQuest, Omidyar to Expand Sales of Solar Products via Microloans, Develop Televisions for Emerging Markets

D.light, a privately-owned retailer of solar appliances based in the US city of San Francisco, recently raised USD 22.5 million in funding to expand its PayGo platform, which offers microloans to finance purchases of solar products.

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Omidyar Network Leads Investment in eCurrency Mint to Support Technology That Enables Central Banks in Issuing Digital Currency

Omidyar Network, a US-based  investment firm, recently made an investment of undisclosed amount in eCurrency Mint (eCM), an Ireland-based company that has developed a technology that enables central banks to issue digital currency, called eCurrency.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure Raises $10m in Equity from International Finance Corporation, Omidyar Network, Opportunity International, Telenor Group; First-Time Investors AXA, Sanlam Emerging Markets

MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International, has announced that it has raised a total of USD 10.4 million from six investors including some of the company’s past investors: Opportunity International; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm; and Telenor Group, a telecommunications company based in Norway.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Elevar Equity, Omidyar Network, Saama Capital, WestBridge Capital Invest $27m in Equity in India’s Vistaar Finance for Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

Elevar Equity, which invests in “disconnected communities” from offices in India and the US; Omidyar Network, a US-based investor in “socially responsible” organizations; Saama Capital, an India-focused venture capital fund registered in Mauritius; and WestBridge Capital, an India-based investment company with offices in India, Mauritius and the United States, reportedly have collectively invested INR 1.6 billion (USD 27 million) in Bangalore-based non-banking finance company Vistaar Finance (Vistaar).

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s IntelleGrow Completes Second Round of Financing, Raising $4.6m from Omidyar Network, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

IntelleGrow, an India-based lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recently announced that it raised INR 250 million (USD 4.1 million) from Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm, and INR 30 million (USD 500,000) from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a US-based nonprofit institution, in return for stakes in the company of undisclosed size.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Elevar Seeks to Raise $75m for Third Impact-Investing Private Equity Fund, Receives Commitment from Omidyar Network

Elevar Equity, an India-based private equity fund that is focused on “impact investing,” is seeking to raise USD 75 million for its third fund by the end of 2014. Elevar reportedly has received commitments of unspecified amounts from two investors, including US-based investment firm Omidyar Network.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Telenor Participates in Launch of MicroEnsure Asia, Opportunity International Sells Stakes in MicroEnsure to International Finance Corporation (IFC), Omidyar Network

MicroEnsure, a microinsurance intermediary founded by US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, has partnered with Telenor Group, a Norwegian mobile communications company, to launch MicroEnsure Asia, which will provide insurance products to Telenor’s business units in Asia.

by Jaime Fellers -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Microfinance Development, Adlevo, Omidyar, Acumen, Capricorn Fund Expansion of Paga Money Transfers Across Nigeria

Paga, a Nigerian money-transfer service that was launched in February 2011, has received new equity investments both from its previous investor, Goodwell West Africa Microfinance Development Company, a branch of Dutch company Goodwell Investment, and from new investors Adlevo Capital, a Mauritius-based private equity fund manager; Omidyar Network, a US-based nonprofit investment firm; Acumen Fund, a US nonprofit venture fund; and Capricorn Investment Group, a privately owned, US-based investment manager.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Transactions International of Zambia Receives $3.2m Equity Investment from Omidyar Network, ACCION

Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm, and ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs), have invested USD 3.2 million in equity in Mobile Transactions International, a Zambia-based mobile financial services company, to expand financial access to poor and underserved populations.

by Lindsey Shaughnessy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: At Clinton Global Initiative, Omidyar Network Commits to Investing $55m in Technology that Supports Government Transparency and Financial Access through Mobile Technology

The Omidyar Network, a United States-based socially responsible investment firm, announced at the recent sixth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that it would invest USD 55 million in technological innovations that promote government transparency and economic empowerment.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund Director Tryfan Evans Reports Positive Return for 2009

In a recent interview with Tufts Daily, the student newspaper of Massachusetts’ Tufts University, Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund Director Tryfan Evans said that the fund will be announcing a positive return for 2009 after final audits are complete. The fund was founded in 2005 with a gift of USD 100 million to Tufts University from Pierre and Pam Omidyar, founders of Omidyar Network, a “philanthropic investment firm.”