We sometimes get questions along the lines of why the heck is eBay interested in microfinance.  I mean, isn’t eBay all about Pez dispensers and collectable figurines?  Why does eBay care enough about really poor people working their way out of poverty to provide the patient capital needed to get MicroPlace off the ground?

Well, the answer is that eBay isn’t as passionate about Pez dispensers (though they are quite cool…) as it is about empowering the everyday person by leveling the playing field and giving them access to the market.  And right now, microfinance is a bit of a murky market that would benefit a lot from that efficient market power thing.

Tracey Pettengill Turner, MicroPlace founder spoke recently at a conference on this very subject: