UPDATED 12:51 EST / SEPTEMBER 21 2010

Omidyar Network Advocates Government Transparency and Economic Empowerment with $55M Investment

Philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network takes another step towards a positive future, as the company announced a fund of $55 million at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York today.

“We are at the cusp of understanding technology’s potential for creating positive change in the world,” said Matt Bannick, managing partner, Omidyar Network. “Through these commitments, Omidyar Network will support technologies that provide citizens with information and insight about their government, and fund mobile platforms that reach new markets with life-changing services.”

$30 million of the $55 million fund will be dsignated for technologies to promote government transparency, both domestically and abroad. This includes providing access to public information and increasing awareness around government activities.

Omidyar Network will be funding the likes of Sunlight Foundation, mySociety and Global Integrity. It’s a trend that’s taken several slow but steady strides in the past few years, coming from government agencies, advocacy groups and social media initiatives alike.

The other $25-million fund will be used to drive opportunity through mobile innovation benefiting entities in developing markets and to expand services to remote areas. This will connect people in financial services and banking, health care, agriculture, commerce, and education, to name a few. FrontlineSMS, Ushahidi and Opportunity International are some of the organizations that will be funded by Omidyar.

These commitments made at the CGI will be fulfilled over the next three years.


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