In brief: SoftBank-backed retail VC firm launches $200m impact strategy

OurCrowd, a venture capital fund manager for individual and institutional investors, has launched an impact fund promoting equitable healthcare access in partnership with the WHO Foundation.

OurCrowd, a VC platform that raises capital from individual investors, is essaying an impact strategy, with a fund for healthcare start-ups. The firm is targeting $200 million for Global Health Equity Fund in partnership with the World Health Organisation Foundation. Accredited individual investors can commit a minimum of $50,000, a source at OurCrowd told New Private Markets.

GHEF will make 25 to 30 investments in healthcare technologies and companies that address “the industries that are direct determinants of health, including energy transition and food agriculture”, according to a statement from the firm. OurCrowd and the WHO Foundation will create an advisory board to help portfolio companies ensure their products are accessible and affordable for low- and middle-income populations globally.

Jerusalem-based OurCrowd, founded in 2013 by current chief executive Jonathan Medved, has launched 39 previous funds across private and public markets. The firm received an equity investment of $60 million from Japanese financial services company Orix in 2020 and $25 million from SoftBank Group in 2021.