Legatum and FORTUNE Team Up to Award First-Ever $1,000,000 Prize for Technology and Development

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first-ever Legatum FORTUNE Technology Prize was announced today by FORTUNE managing editor Andy Serwer during the FORTUNE: Brainstorm TECH Conference. The Prize fund of $1,000,000 will be awarded annually to for-profit organizations, or individuals, whose application of technology solutions has demonstrably improved the quality of life amongst impoverished populations in developing countries.

“The Legatum FORTUNE Technology Prize is designed to identify the very best technology companies that are bringing innovation to frontier markets around the globe. Our goal is to highlight new model for effective development, and stimulate an escalating cycle of innovation and new investment.”

“This new Prize will help us seek out, recognize, and honor individuals and organizations that demonstrate the impact of technology on intractable development issues, establishing these visionaries as role models for a world ready for new solutions,” said Serwer.

Legatum is a privately owned international investment organisation, whose primary focus is commercial investment and which also applies its investor’s expertise in tackling long-standing development challenges around the globe. The partnership between Legatum and FORTUNE highlights a shared belief in business as a powerful force in development and the need for greater engagement in emerging markets.

“History has taught us that technology is a key driver of increased economic prosperity and has the real potential to improve lives in developing countries,” said Mark Stoleson, President of Legatum. “The Legatum FORTUNE Technology Prize is designed to identify the very best technology companies that are bringing innovation to frontier markets around the globe. Our goal is to highlight new model for effective development, and stimulate an escalating cycle of innovation and new investment.”

Competitors for the Legatum FORTUNE Technology Prize will be nominated by a network of technology experts and evaluated by a panel of eminent judges from the worlds of technology, business and development. Under the leadership of Iqbal Z. Quadir, Director of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT, the judges’ experience will encompass grassroots development programs, private equity investment, academia, and policy-making.

The program will culminate in the presentation of the first $1,000,000 Legatum FORTUNE Technology Prize at the FORTUNE 500 Forum in Washington, DC in December 2008, http://www.fortune.com/fortune500forum. Also part of the FORTUNE Conference Division, the FORTUNE Brainstorm: TECH Conference is taking place in Half Moon Bay, California, July 21, 22, and 23. For more information, please visit: www.fortunebrainstorm.com/tech.

About Legatum

Legatum is a privately owned international investment organisation, whose primary focus is commercial investment in international equities and financial securities, and which also applies its investor’s expertise to a long-standing involvement in the sustainable development of communities around the globe. Headquartered in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, the Legatum Group was founded in December 2006 following the demerger of the Sovereign Global group of companies ("Sovereign") which provided capital to companies and governments in various industry sectors worldwide since 1986. Legatum’s mission is to maximise its absolute long-term return on investment in the global capital markets, while optimising capital allocation to promote sustainable human development and individual prosperity. The Group is composed of a number of divisions: Legatum Capital, Legatum Global Development (“LGD”); the Legatum Institute, which publishes the annual Legatum Prosperity Index; and the Legatum Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information, please visit: www.legatum.com

About FORTUNE

FORTUNE is a global leader in business journalism known for its unrivaled access to industry leaders and decision makers. Founded in 1930, FORTUNE magazine has a worldwide circulation of more than 1 million and a readership of nearly 5 million and is home to some of the strongest business franchises, including: FORTUNE 500, FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For, America’s Most Admired Companies, Fastest Growing Companies and Most Powerful Women. The FORTUNE Conference Division extends the brand's mission into live settings, hosting a wide range of annual conferences for top-level executives, including the FORTUNE Global Forum and the Most Powerful Women Summit. FORTUNE magazine’s online home is CNNMoney.com the world’s leading business website. The site attracts more than 10 million unique visitors per month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. FORTUNE, along with MONEY, FSB: FORTUNE Small Business, and CNNMoney.com, is part of The Fortune|Money Group, a division of Time Inc, a subsidiary of Time Warner, a leading media and entertainment company.