# eBay founder donates $100 million for microfinance lending fund

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/11/12/ebay-founder-donates-100m-microfinance-lending-fund/
- Published: 2005-11-12T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, and his wife Pamela are to donate $100 million 
to Tufts University in the USA to establish a new fund for microfinance lending 
initiatives.
Microfinance investment projects like the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh
already serve 80 million people around the world, by giving them the comparatively
small loans to help them set up their own business. The Omidyars however want their
fund to have an even bigger impact on its own – reaching 500 million people in the
developing world.

Omidyar is keen to demonstrate that his model can be self-sustaining and profitable,
hence his partnership with the university rather than go it alone.

The new fund will not invest directly in individuals, but in microfinance banks 
and other providers.

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