Google Updates

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has teamed up with the charitable arm of Google Inc. and the founder of eBay Inc. to start a $17 million (U.S.) investment company targeting small and midsize Indian companies.

The Small to Medium Enterprise Investment Company for India will seek to create jobs by helping finance companies too big to receive micro-loans and too small to be funded by banks or private-equity firms, the backers said yesterday. The venture will be funded by the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Omidyar Network, started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pamela, and Google.org.

Micro-credits, pioneered by Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank, have grown in popularity in recent years in developing countries.

The new venture will make equity investments of $500,000 to $3.5 million.