Established in 2000 by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and his wife Melinda, the Foundation seeks to improve healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. It is the largest foundation in the world with US$ 47.8 billion of assets under management as at December 31, 2018.
In 2009, the Strategic Investment Fund was set to complement their grantmaking efforts with impact investing. The Foundation may employ direct equity investments, intermediary funds, and loans and credit enhancements. The Fund also works with suppliers of critical products (vaccines, drugs and contraceptives) to guarantee volumes of sales so they can increase production and drive costs down.
Digitizing Payments in a Cash Economy