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 optimization tools.” As part of the spin off, Pam and Pierre Omidyar, who founded the Omidyar Network and the US-based shopping website eBay, have agreed to commit an additional USD 300 million to Flourish over the course of five years.
In addition to its investments, Flourish will continue to sponsor “thought leaders” and “ecosystem builders,” such as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a Malaysia-based network of financial regulators from approximately 90 developing countries.
As of 2018, Omidyar Network has commitments of approximately USD 780 million through its NGO arm and USD 700 million through its for-profit arm. During 2017, the organization expended USD 86 million through its NGO. A corresponding figure for its limited liability company is not available.
Sources and Additional Resources
Flourish Ventures press release
https://flourishventures.com/flourish-new-venture-firm-focused-on-impact-fintech-spins-off-from-omidyar-network/
Omidyar Network story
https://www.omidyar.com/blog/flourish-building-fairer-financial-sector-works-%C2%A0all
Alliance for Financial Inclusion
https://www.afi-global.org
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