Social Finance Israel, OurCrowd Launch $30M Impact Fund To Solve Global Challenges

Israel’s leading investment platform, OurCrowd, has partnered with Social Finance Israel, the Israeli impact advisory leader, to launch a $30 Million impact fund focused on venture-backed businesses solving some of the challenges facing humanity.

Companies will be assessed according to three dimensions: alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, impact practice and intentionality, and impact risk, OurCrowd said in a statement. Only companies that meet a certain threshold will be considered for investment.

Social Finance Israel, led by CEO Yaron Neudorfer, is chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen, the co-Founder of the global private equity firm Apax Partners, and “father” of impact investing.

“Impact – and more importantly impact measurement – does not impair profit. It actually drives it,” said Sir Ronald Chen. “We are thrilled to see Israel’s largest venture investor and a global player take a leadership approach on impact investing and we encourage others to consider how to use their market power as a force for good.”

According to OurCrowd Founder and CEO Jon Medved, “We believe that it is possible to make money and do good at the same time. That is the best form of impact investing.”

OurCrowd’s social impact portfolio companies include Edgybees, which developed AR software for rescue drone applications, Zebra Medical Vision, algorithm-based assistance for radiologists, and UPnRIDE, a company that developed an all-terrain electric wheelchair that enables standing.

The announcement for the new fund was made at the annual OurCrowd Global Investor Summit event in Jerusalem on Thursday.