NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 3, 2012

Pierre Omidyar is best known as the founder of the online auction company e-Bay, which he grew from an “odd little Web site” to one of Web commerce’s biggest and longest-lasting success stories.

But his philanthropic investment firm, called the Omidyar Network — which invests money in for-profit start-ups that have a social impact as well as makes grants to non-profits — has also been very active in India.

It has quietly invested almost $100 million in early stage entrepreneurial activity in India since 2009, and is quickly becoming one of the key financial players in a burgeoning affordable heath care industry, aimed at the majority of India’s population who can’t afford or don’t have access to health care. (Read more about the industry.)