Omidyar Network to exit India by 2024, says report

livemint.com:

Omidyar Network India is set to exit India after a decade of operations, as per a YourStory report. Backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and Pam Omidyar, the India-specific entity, operating with a dual-chequebook investment model will cease new investments, focusing solely on closing follow-on rounds already committed, the report said. It has been decided that Omidyar Network India will cease new investments and fully withdraw from India by the end of 2024.

The board and leadership team will strategise over the next two months on managing the organization’s portfolio while acknowledging existing partnerships. "Over the last decade, Omidyar Network India has played a critical role in building the impact investment sector, especially focussed on the Next Half Billion. We are proud of our work in this space, which is now attracting larger pools of capital from local venture capital or impact investors and domestic philanthropists than ever before.

Having achieved our primary objective of catalysing impact, Omidyar Network India will not be making any further investments in India," a statement by Omidyar Network India said. The report further cited an internal blog post that mentioned that the decision was influenced by notable changes in the economic landscape since the initial investments in 2010. The evolving scenario witnessed a surge in Indian-led philanthropic and venture capital activities, a thriving startup ecosystem, and investment funds with a focus on middle and lower-middle-income segments.