The Seattle based Gates Foundation, established in 2000 by Bill and Melinda Gates to ‘reduce inequities and improve lives around the world,’ recently appointed Robert Peck Christen as head of their microfinance team. As of August 2006 the foundation had a total endowment of USD 33bn and grant commitments since its inception of USD 13.35bn. As part of their Financial Services for the Poor Initiative, the Gate’s Foundation focuses its funding in 4 major areas; financial service products for the poor; business models to speed growth in service supply; more predictable cash flow to service providers; and improved financial policy making through better data collection and analysis.
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