$13-Million Funding Round Backs Anti-Poverty Software Firm

A group of investors led by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is putting $13 million into a startup that is developing software for nonprofits and government bodies running anti-poverty programs, Bloomberg writes. Hedge-fund mogul Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Foundation and the Omidyar Network Fund are also taking part in the initial funding round for Segovia Technology, the New York-based company said Thursday.

Founded last year, Segovia aims to provide tools that help humanitarian and development groups identify and more efficiently deliver aid to large populations in emerging markets. The firm said Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, and GiveDirectly have hired it for projects in Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, and Pakistan.

“Social programs, especially cash transfer programs, are critical to the fight against extreme poverty, but currently they don’t have access to the kind of enterprise software that modern businesses need to function effectively,” Mr. Hoffman said in the statement.