Blog

Venture Capital with a Twist: How to Pitch an Impact Investor

As a venture capital firm, Omidyar Network has evaluated thousands of deals, and invested over $260 million dollars in for-profit companies. In many ways, our office environment resembles that of our Silicon Valley peers.

Competing to Serve the Poor

The 2010 microfinance crisis in India was a wake-up call to impact investors, elevating concerns about safeguarding the interests of poor customers.

Omidyar Network publishes “Priming the Pump for Impact Investing” in partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review.

A Unique Opportunity

British Prime Minister David Cameron has published an important op-ed on the role that open economies and open societies play in tackling global poverty and spurring growth.

Achieving Takeoff -- Part VI in Omidyar Network’s case for a sector-based approach to impact investing

To conclude our online series, we examine how impact investing can replicate the reach and success of microfinance and mobile telephony to new sectors.

Government Matters -- Part V in Omidyar's Network's case for a sector-based approach to impact investing

Political interests and government policies need to be aligned to ensure competition, establish policies and promote entrepreneurship in emerging sectors. The right mix of government regulations and policies can accelerate the growth and reach of an industry sector to millions of people.

Do No Harm: Subsidies and Impact Investing -- Part IV in Omidyar Network’s case for a sector-based approach to impact investing

Do subsidies distort markets or inject them with the dynamism needed to scale new sectors? Omidyar Network evaluates the role of subsidies in spurring new markets and examines instances where, alternatively, they can lead to stagnation.

Gaps in the Impact Investing Capital Curve -- Part III in Omidyar Network’s case for a sector-based approach to impact investing

To move sectors, we need to focus funding to fill in the gaps. Omidyar Network identifies these gaps to be most present in early-stage, high-risk social impact businesses as well as in building infrastructure. How then, should do we direct deal flow?

Embracing the Full Investment Continuum - Part II in Omidyar Network’s case for a sector-based approach to impact investing

How do we kick start sector development? What are the building blocks of a sector-based approach to impact investing?

Omidyar Network publishes “Priming the Pump for Impact Investing” in partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Five years after the term ‘impact investing’ was coined, Omidyar Network has developed a series of six articles that highlight key issues and opportunities for the industry.