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New York, New York - (Cheap Web Hosting Directory) - February 26, 2008 - Google.org has instituted a new $17 million Small to Medium Enterprise Investment Company for India, to create job opportunities and spur greater economic participation for a larger segment of the population.

This joint Investment Company for The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), Omidyar Network, will provide capital to small and medium businesses in underserved markets.

Neal DeLaurentis, Vice President of Soros Economic Development Fund noted, ”With this investment, we will meet the huge demand to serve smaller businesses in India that have little access to finance. Long ignored by commercial capital markets, small and medium businesses are an attractive investment opportunity as well as an engine for economic growth for India.”

Many small to medium Indian businesses lack formal funding options because of a market gap between the microloans offered by microfinance institutions and the larger investments of commercial banks and private equity funders. Most of the existing Small to Medium Enterprise funds make investments in the $3-$5 million range, leaving out a significant portion of this market. The Investment Company will target this ”missing middle” with equity investments between $500,000 and $3.5 million.

Jim Bunch, Director of Investments at Omidyar Network remaked, ”We have seen what microloans can do at the individual level and are excited about bringing that same opportunity to small and medium businesses. A new generation of entrepreneurs and their families will benefit economically and socially, and as their enterprises grow, these benefits can be shared with employees and their families, as well as the community at large.”

Sonal Shah of Google.org commented, ”While SMEs in rich countries represent half of GDP, they account for a much lower portion in developing economies like India, partly because SMEs don’t have access to the same type of financing. Our goal is to increase the flow of capital to SMEs in India. This is an important step in helping to attract commercial capital and reduce dependency on philanthropy or soft capital to fund this industry.”

SEDF, Omidyar Network and Google.org plan to locate the Investment Advisor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad to leverage the school’s SME expertise. Dr. Reuben Abraham, currently the ISB’s Director of the Base of Pyramid Lab and a board member of SEDF, will be named Senior Advisor.

The Investment Company will hire an experienced Investment Advisor and two experienced senior investment analysts based in India to recommend and build the pipeline of portfolio investments.

The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) is a nonprofit private foundation. It is part of the network of charitable foundations created by investor and philanthropist George Soros. Established in 1997, the fund’s mission is to alleviate poverty and community deterioration. The fund makes investments - in the form of equity, loans, guarantees and deposits - in selected banks, microfinance institutions, cooperatives and social enterprise projects worldwide.

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm committed to building opportunity for individuals. Established by Pamela and Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, Omidyar Network supports nonprofit and for-profit efforts that enable people around the world to improve their lives and make powerful, lasting contributions to their communities. Since 2004, Omidyar Network has funded a number of organizations in areas such as microfinance, participatory media, and transparency in government.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, uses the power of information and technology to help people improve their lives. They develop and invest in tools and partnerships that bring shared knowledge to the world’s most pressing challenges in the areas of climate change, economic development and global health.

With the largest index of websites available on the World Wide Web and the industry’s most advanced search technology, Google Inc. delivers the fastest and easiest way to find relevant information on the Internet. Google’s technological innovations have earned the company numerous industry awards and citations, including two Webby Awards; two WIRED magazine Readers Raves Awards; Best Internet Innovation and Technical Excellence Award from PC Magazine; Best Search Engine on the Internet from Yahoo! Internet Life; Top Ten Best Cybertech from TIME magazine; and Editor’s Pick from CNET. A growing number of companies worldwide, including Yahoo! and its international properties, Sony Corporation and its global affiliates, AOL/Netscape, and Cisco Systems, rely on Google to power search on their websites. A privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif., Google’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Sequoia Capital.

To learn more about Soros Economic Development Fund, please visit: www.sedfny.org.

For more information, visit: www.google.org.

To learn more about Google, please visit: www.google.com.

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