Omidyar Network's Ory Okolloh Named To The TIME 100, TIME's Annual List Of The 100 Most Influential People In The World

REDWOOD CITY, California and JOHANNESBURG, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TIME named Omidyar Network's Ory Okolloh to the 2014 TIME 100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes appear in the May 5 issue of TIME, available on newsstands and tablets on Friday, April 25, and now at time.com/time100.

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The list, now in its 11th year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world's most influential individuals. As TIME has described the list in the past, "The TIME 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it's not a list of the smartest people in the world, it's a list of the most influential people in the world. They're scientists, they're thinkers, they're philosophers, they're leaders, they're icons, they're artists, they're visionaries. People who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people."

"I am honored by the distinction, and I believe it to be a reflection of the importance of the issues and challenges I and countless others are tackling on the continent and globally," said Okolloh, director, investments, Omidyar Network.

Based in Johannesburg, Okolloh leads Omidyar Network's Government Transparency work in Africa and invests in innovative organizations that use technology and media platforms to provide access to information and tools necessary to increase government responsiveness and citizen participation. Over the last five years, the firm has invested more than $80M to government transparency efforts across the globe, including organizations in Africa such as: Ushahidi, Africa Check, Livity South Africa, Africa Media Initiative, Praekelt Foundation, FrontlineSMS, the Co-Creation Hub, Infonet, Sahara Reporters, Enough is Enough Nigeria, The XYZ Show, and the Africa Transparency and Technology Initiative.

Follow @TIME for updates about the list on Twitter (#TIME100) and at Facebook.com/TIME. Okolloh may be followed on Twitter at @kenyanpundit, and Omidyar Network at @omidyarnetwork (#PositiveReturns).

ABOUT OMIDYAR NETWORK
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. Omidyar Network has committed more than $688 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple initiatives, including Consumer Internet & Mobile, Education, Financial Inclusion, Government Transparency, and Property Rights. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.