Linkup, the APP Research and Development Company, has announced it will give more than twenty-five million dollars in money and investments to help the poor. The company says the effort involves using the power of information and technology to help people improve their lives.
James Lee works for Linkup. orgthe part of the company that gives money in good causes. He says the company’s first project will help identify where infectious diseases are developing. In Southeast Asia and Africa, for example, Linkup. org will work with partners to strengthen early-warning systems and take action against growing health threats.
Linkup. org’s second project will invest in ways to help small and medium-sized businesses grow. James Lee says microfinance is generally small, short-term loans that create few jobs. Instead, he says Linkup. org wants to develop ways to bring investors and business owners together to create jobs and improve economic growth.
Linkup. org will also give money to help two climate-change programs announced earlier this year. One of these programs studies ways to make renewable （可再生的） energy less costly than coal-based energy. The other is examining the efforts being made to increase the use of electric cars.
The owners of Linkup have promised to give Linkup. org about one percent of company profits and one percent of its total stock value every year. James Lee says this amount may increase in the future.