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Omidyar Network today announced it has provided $4.96 million to the Institute for Liberty & Democracy (ILD) and awarded $150K in prize money to three winners of the Ashoka’s Changemakers competition for property rights. With this funding, Omidyar Network has committed more than $23 million globally to enable people to improve their lives through property rights. By increasing access to secure rights to land and business assets, individuals are able to realize life-altering benefits: long-term security, enhanced identity and personal dignity, and a greater stake in the future.

ILD, founded in 1981 by renowned economist Hernando de Soto, works with governments to implement business and property rights reforms to allow all citizens to participate in the market economy. ILD will use the funding to expand its work to new countries, promote the formalization of property rights worldwide, and increase global awareness of the vital role of property rights in poverty alleviation and economic growth.

“Omidyar Network is a likeminded partner; they recognize how important it is to bring people into the formal economy by giving them the legal tools to prosper,” said de Soto, President of the ILD. “Omidyar Network’s support is crucial to the ILD’s continuing effort to encourage the development community to take on the challenge of legally empowering the poor.”

De Soto was among the distinguished panel of judges who determined the winners of the global competition Property Rights: Identity, Dignity & Opportunity for All. Led by Omidyar Network and Ashoka’s Changemakers, the challenge recognized three winners for their work in enhancing access to land rights for poor and marginalized populations:

·         Terra Nova, Brazil: a for-profit company that improves the lives of families living in urban slums by peacefully managing the land regularization process, resolving land disputes, and enabling residents to purchase title to the land they occupy.

·         Red Tierras, Colombia: An interactive network that uses technology to connect land rights practitioners from marginalized communities, citizen sector organizations, and government agencies across Latin America to share best practices in land conflict resolution, agrarian reform, and sustainable natural resource management.

·         ENSS/SUTRA (A Family of One’s Own), India: A social movement led by women that advocates for long-term lease rights from the government to promote an alternative, women-centered household structure.

The winners, each of whom will receive a prize of $50K, were selected from 211 entries representing 48 countries. In the final round, the judges evaluated 11 finalists on their demonstration of innovation, social impact, and sustainability.

“Omidyar Network believes that property rights are fundamental to creating opportunity for people to improve their lives,” said Matt Bannick, Managing Partner of Omidyar Network. “Through our support of ILD—an established, global leader in property rights—and the Changemakers competition, we aim to connect proven leaders to new innovators and foster a movement to unleash global social impact through property rights.”

The judging panel included Bannick, who served as presiding judge; de Soto, President of the ILD; Elinor Ostrom, the first female Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work on economic governance; Matthew Bishop, US Business Editor for The Economist; Dr. Amrita Patel, the founder and chair of Foundation for Ecological Security; and Tim Hanstad, renowned land policy expert and CEO of Landesa.

Ashoka India (Ashoka Innovators for the Public’s oldest and one of the biggest programme) expressed their congratulations to the Indian winner.  “Ashoka India has been working with some leading social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) in the area of property rights for many years now. It is very impressive to see that a good number of them participated in the competition and moved up successfully to the final jury level. Property Rights is key to creating progressive social impact in the Indian context. Having  an Indian social entrepreneur amongst the global property rights competition winners is indicative of the considerable work being done in the area and will add impetus to the cause. Also, to maximize the impact of the grant won by the Indian winner, ENSS Sutra will be connected to an Ashoka Fellow in his region for further mentorship on the programme under Ashoka India’s aegis.”

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Ashoka’s Changemakers, ILD, innovation, Institute for Liberty & Democracy, Omidyar Network, property rights, social impact, sustainability