Mar 20, 2019

Herzliya, Israel-based impact fund Copia Agro and Food Technologies Fund raised USD 27m from institutional investors, family offices, private investors and corporates in Israel, Europe, Asia, USA and Africa. Led by Eyal Cohen, Managing Partner, Copia Agro & Food is an impact fund investing in proven technologies addressing key global challenges related to food and agriculture. Its focus is on: increasing global food security and safety; reducing environmental degradation caused by modern agriculture; and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation. The fund cooperates with Israel’s leading Agri-food research institutions and universities, such as the state-owned Agricultural Research Organization (Volcani Center), Weizmann Institute of Science and leading universities, such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Led by Ohad Zuckerman, Managing Partner, Copia screens and selects promising scientific projects within research institutes, finances the research while focusing it on specific market requirements, and partners with industrial companies to commercialize the innovations into viable products or processes for global markets. To date, the fund has created a portfolio of 13 technologies, of which seven have been incorporated with industrial partners. For example: biological control of phloem-based bacterial diseases (e.g. Citrus Greening that decimated Florida’s citrus industry); a wide spectrum soil-disinfectant against noxious organisms and weeds (to replace the multi-billion Methyl Bromide market); a method to eliminate bacterial contamination of dairy products that also increases cheese production efficacy by 5-10%; a biological treatment to prolong the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables; and more.