Founder of Ebay sets up $100m aid fund

[mandy]

Pierre Omidyar, founder of the US auction website Ebay, will on Friday make the largest individual donation to fund microfinance initiatives - small business loans aimed at stimulating economic growth in developing countries.

The $100m (€84m, £56m) fund... marks a growing trend among a new generation of philanthropic entrepreneurs and technology billionaires to seek market-based solutions to global poverty rather than rely solely on traditional charities.

Microfinance is known for making small loans, usually less than $200, to individuals, often women, to establish or expand a small, self-sustaining business. "Microloans enable the poor to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship," said Mr Omidyar, whose site is credited with stimulating a revolution in entrepreneurial activity among people in developed countries.

full article: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ed0ac83e-4cd8-1...e2340.html