EFW Capital Advisors, formerly VIS Essential Investments, is a specialized investment firm with origins in Brazil. Its focus, both as an asset manager and asset owner, is on efficient use and conservation of natural resources. Its mission is to identify and empower companies, both listed and private, that are actively helping to resolve scarcity in natural resources. As the thrust of its investment strategy is global, the company needed to grow beyond Brazil and establish a world headquarters at a strategic location. EFW Capital Advisors actively searched for the location that best suited and supported its activities, engaging in a rigorous vetting process with a range of business promotion agencies from various countries to evaluate the benefits of the respective locations. Following a trip across several Swiss cantons, Benjamin Ergas, co-founder and managing partner, was very much convinced by the efficient structure, proactive cultural advantages, and compact, practical size offered by Switzerland.
Switzerland values and facilitates social entrepreneurship
Lausanne, a growing hub in sustainable finance, became the clear front-runner. A range of institutional stakeholders facilitated EFW Capital Advisors’s decision-making and market entry. The positive experience started in Brazil with the efforts of the Swiss Business Hub. The economic development agency Greater Geneva Berne area then coordinated the queries and opened the doors to local stakeholders and representatives. «Our overall experience has been a smooth and rewarding process. We can only be grateful to Switzerland Global Enterprise and the other stakeholders in Switzerland for facilitating this strategic move, so important for the continued expansion of our company. We feel passionate about the importance of natural resources efficiency and confident that our relocation to Switzerland will help us accelerate significantly our business plan.» Benjamin J. Ergas concluded: «The ‘Swiss-made’ brand is very real and powerful. It’s about reliability, high quality and precision. We are feeling this DNA in all our daily professional interaction.»
