The Essence of Building Positive Impact

I was brought up in Geneva, and I was raised primarily by my grandparents and my mother. I learned the value of hard work and not showing outward signs of wealth, although my family was relatively well off. My grandmother survived the Holocaust, although she buried her father, who was murdered by the Nazis in July 1944, just before the Liberation of France. This gives perspective and value to life.

I am the holder of Swiss and Israeli passports, French is my mother tongue, I speak decent Hebrew and English (so I hope at least…) and I used to speak good German, although it’s very rusty by now… In the end, though, I love Switzerland, but my home is Israel, the Land of the Jewish people. I am the only child of divorced parents, but the proud father to 6 children and happily married to Abigail Weitmann .

So why am I living in Jerusalem? Because this is the place because I can be myself, where I fit in and therefore where I can thrive best. This is where a Jew can really belong. Or, maybe, do we overcome exactly because we want to belong? Rejection has a lasting impact, and it can fuel our desire to succeed, to prove our value and to tirelessly transform ourselves. Being an underdog in a challenging environment also has its values but that is thankfully not something we have to deal with in Israel.

I was able to find my way up the corporate career ladder in banking, as a Senior Investment Adviser, at Bank Hapoalim ??? ??????? . Yet, I am an entrepreneur at heart and so I decided to venture out alone and find the courage to build my own fund with a childhood friend, Arié Benguigui. Yes, we know each other since 1978, when we were three years old. Literally. We then founded Champel Capital , a VC fund seeking startups that create lasting value, sustainably.

We wanted to give a chance to change so we focused on impact investing. We couldn’t allow investments to be Greenwashed or DEI-washed. Investing in people/founders who have a positive impact in the world felt like a calling.

Let me take this opportunity to tell you that positive impact can be measured and is a-political. It should not be weaponized, although it is, unfortunately. That’s something that needs to be changed.

Making a positive impact in the world seems to come naturally to me because it is at the core of our Jewish and Israeli culture. From a young age, we learn the idea that we are put on this Earth to make a difference both personally and professionally. And boy, we have made a HUGE change on this planet over the past 3300 years or so...

The more reliable meaning of positive impact is doing good by doing well. When we acknowledge that we have many challenges, then we own the fact that we are responsible for solving all these issues for the community and society. This is our legacy for our children.

This is the basic principle of impact investing, characterized by intentionally, investing with high return expectations, long-term goals, and positive impact measurement. In Champel Capital 's case, we focus on deep tech impact investing oriented towards solving society's most demanding challenges with sciences and engineering.

We are shooting for the best technologies in the world in their respective fields. Companies like Remilk , Aleph Farms , Wi-Charge , Body Vision Medical , Neurolief , Clarifresh , Indoor Robotics , ITC - 人工智能交通系统 Lynxight , Treetoscope IntraPosition , Vectorious Medical Technologies , Vascular Graft Solutions , Laminate Medical Technologies Ltd. , Ametrine Technologies are a testimony to that.

We want our investment choices to be made wisely into companies that promote a lasting, positive impact on the world. We will stand at the forefront of the financial industry's evolution, recognizing the significance of impact investments in shaping the future of our investments. Investing in the future. Investing with purpose.