Demeter is an Israeli venture capital fund focused on investing in agricultural technology companies. It has assembled a team of experienced managers and advisors with expertise in agtech. Demeter is seeking to invest in early-stage companies working in areas like biological pesticides and fertilizers, crop improvement, irrigation systems, and agricultural biotechnology. It believes Israel is well-positioned in agtech due to its strong research institutions, management culture inspired by its tech industry, and multinational agribusiness companies operating there.
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Profile
Demeter is the only Israeli venture capital fund
focused on investing in Agricultural Technologies.
Demeter brings together first class managerial
abilities and world leading expertise in agro-tech
through its professional, active advisory board.
Demeter’s skills for picking good investments and
its familiarity with Israeli Agro-Tech innovations
would transform its $30M Dollar fund into a highly
profitable investment for its financial investors and
into an extremely valuable source of information
for its strategic investors.
Demeter looks for investment opportunities in the
fields of: biological pesticides, herbicides and
fertilizers, agricultural engineering, irrigation,
control systems, agricultural biotechnology,
improvement of crops, veterinary and other
developments in the relevant fields that Demeter
specializes in.
Demeter is looking to invest in companies with
exceptional management, unique intellectual
property and real market growth potential in the
seed and early stages of their life cycle.
Mission
Our mission is to achieve
high returns for our
investors through
investments in early
stage Agro-Tech
companies, with good
management, innovative
technology, realistic
values and a short time
to market.
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Profile c o n t i n u e d
One of Demeter’s strategic goals is to establish an
Agro-Tech focused incubator. An incubator is the
best platform to found companies from their very
first stages, and it enables Demeter to give these
companies the support and the opportunity to
exploit their potential to full extent.
Demeter is currently in the advanced stages of
negotiations with such an incubator.
As a part of its strategy, Demeter is establishing
strategic co-operations with leading Agro-Tech
companies. Such partnerships will assist
Demeter’s portfolio companies in creating
synergism and strategic co-operations with world
leading agro-tech companies, and would expose
the last mentioned to new, innovative, Israeli
technologies.
Demeter is presently negotiating with potential
strategic partners for co-investing in early stage
companies and for providing complementary
investments in revenue-growth companies.
Demeter venture capital fund is presently in
advanced stages of the fund raising process, soon
completing the first closing.
Investment Focus
► Biological Pesticides
► Biological Fertilizers
► Irrigation
► Control Systems
► Veterinary
► Crop Improvement
► Agricultural
Biotechnology
► Agricultural
Engineering
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The Team
Demeter’s team is made of first class managers
and financial experts:
Dov Hershberg
Chairman
Former CEO of the BIRD foundation and a silicon
valley based Start-up Company.
Gal Dotan
Managing Partner & Co-founder
Former CEO of an agro-tech start-up company
and a partner in a veterinarian company.
Eran Markovits
Managing Partner & Co-founder
An expert in fund raising for R&D and investment
management.
Ms. Hana-Muriel Setteboun, L.L.B
Managing Partner & Co-founder
An expert in private equity and M&A, soon
completing her PhD in private equity.
Networking!
Providing a network
of connections to
global players is a key
success factor of any
entrepreneurship, and
is our prime target for
Demeter’s portfolio
companies
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The Advisory Board
Prof. Ilan Chet
President of the Weizmann Institute of Science,
the former dean of the Hebrew University’s faculty
of agriculture, a specialist in biological control of
plant disease and biological pesticides.
Prof. Dov Pekelman
Director in Makhteshim Agan, Director in Abic, a
leading consultant of Teva Pharmaceuticals,
former chairman of Arkal Filteration, a specialist in
control theory and strategy.
Prof. Haim Rabinovich
The rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
and the former dean of the Hebrew University’s
faculty of agriculture, a specialist in crop
improvement.
Prof. Oded Shoseyov
the founding scientist of five agro-tech start-ups, A
faculty member of the Hebrew University’s faculty
of agriculture - Institute of Plant Science and
Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology.
Mr. Yigal Stav
CEO of Tiltan Pharma a biotechnology start-up,
former CEO of Netafim corporation for 16 years,
former CEO of Netafim USA for 4 years, a
specialist in irrigation and agricultural engineering.
World experts in:
► Bio-pesticides
► Plant disease
► Crop improvement
► Agricultural
Biotechnology
► Irrigation
► Strategy
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Why in Israel
Israel exhibits a rare combination of leading
agricultural research institutions, a first class
management culture inspired by a leading high-
tech industry, and multinational corporations which
are among the leaders in all fields of agro-tech,
operating as a fertile infrastructure for breeding
start-ups after accomplishing their early stages of
their life cycles.
Israel is known for its high agricultural know-how
and abilities. Israeli experts serve as agricultural
consultants all over the world and take part in the
establishment of the most sophisticated
entrepreneurships on the globe.
Israel exhibits a
tradition of
creative thinking,
technical excellence,
and global outlook
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Contact Us
Dov Hershberg, Chairman
+972-(0)50-5219671
Dov@DemeterVC.com
Gal Dotan, Managing Partner
+972-(0)52-3863340
Gal@DemeterVC.com
Eran Markovits, Managing Partner
+972-(0)50-8210563
Eran@DemeterVC.com
Hana-Muriel Setteboun, Managing Partner
+972-(0)54-4942057
HanaMuriel@DemeterVC.com
We are
currently
looking for
Technologies
Strategic investors
Co-investors
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M r . D o v H e r s h b e r g – Chairman
Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation between March 1997 and January 2006. Mr.
Hershberg has been responsible for the management of an endowment of $110 million and
the support of more than 700 joint development projects, which have generated more than
$8 billion in sales. His accomplishments include establishing ties with American companies
at all levels, such as: GE, Motorola, J&J, Texas Instrument, Agilent, Nortel, Bayer, Pfizer,
HP, Applied Materials, Guidant, JD Uniphase, Analog Devices, Sanmina, and Flextronics.
Prior to joining BIRD, Mr. Hershberg held various senior management positions in software
development, marketing and sales. He was the founder and CEO of Molecular Applications
Group (“MAG”), a company that created molecular function software for biomedical
research. He spent eleven years at Digital Equipment Corporation, and held various senior
management positions in both product development and marketing and sales.
Mr. Hershberg holds graduate degrees in Mathematics from The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, Israel and in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from Columbia
University in New York City.
M r . G a l D o t a n – M a n a g i n g P a r t n e r , C o - F o u n d e r
Mr. Dotan has extensive experience in management, business development and marketing
in various agro technology start-ups.
Mr. Dotan served as a CEO of an agro-tech start-up that developed an innovative heat
treatment of various grains to improve animal feed production and quality.
Prior to that, Mr. Dotan was a partner in a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on the
discovery, development and commercialization of biologically-sourced, safe and residual
free therapies for dry cow therapy.
Mr. Dotan holds an MA in Finance and Economics (Cum Laude) from the Hebrew
University.
Appendix 1 – The Team CV’s
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M r . E r a n M a r k o v i t s – Managing Partner, Co-Founder
Mr. Markovits is experienced in raising funds from private investors and governmental
sources, and raised dozens of millions of Dollars in the last 4 years. In his last position Mr.
Markovits served in various sales and marketing positions at Meitav investment house, the
largest private broker in Israel.
Mr. Markovits has 5 years’ experience in business consulting to seed and growth
companies in various fields conducting valuations and developing strategic and business
models for leading Israeli companies, governmental institutions (such as MOFA, MOIT,
MOT, the Jewish Agency, the Joint) and municipalities.
Mr. Markovits holds a BA in Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (cum
laude), and an MBA in Finance from Tel Aviv University.
M s . H a n a - M u r i e l S e t t e b o u n L . L . B – Managing Partner, Co-Founder
Ms. Setteboun has extensive experience in M&A, and serves as a consultant to a few
groups of foreign investors with their investments in the Israeli market.
Ms. Setteboun is a certified lawyer and has an MA in Finance and Economics from The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (summa cum laude). Ms. Setteboun is now completing her
PhD in Private Equity and Venture Capital.
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P r o f . I l a n C h e t
Prof. Chet currently serves as President of the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was born
in Haifa in 1939, and completed his doctoral work in microbiology at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot.
Prof. Chet's research deals with the biological control of plant disease, focusing on the use
of environment-friendly microorganisms to decrease the need for pesticides. He has
published more than 350 articles in international scientific journals, edited three books in
his field, and holds 32 patents. He has trained more than 30 Ph.D. and 50 M.Sc. students.
Prof. Chet served as the Founding Director of the Otto Warburg Minerva Center for
Agricultural Biotechnology (1983 – 1986), as Dean of Hebrew University's Faculty of
Agriculture in Rehovot (1986 – 1989) and as Vice President for Research and Development
of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1991 – 2001). He was a visiting professor at
Harvard, Cornell, and Rutgers Universities in the United States and at the University of
Goettingen and Lund University in Europe. Chet also served as senior scientist at DuPont,
Delaware, USA and as a member of the scientific advisory committees of both the
European Union and NATO. He has been a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences
and Humanities since 1998 and the European Academy of Sciences since 2004.
Prof. Chet’s national and international renown is exemplified by his rich list of academic
appointments, prizes, and awards. These include the Rothschild Prize in Agriculture (1990),
an honorary doctorate from Sweden’s Lund University (1991), the Max-Planck Award for
Distinguished Research (1994), the Israel Prize (1996), the Japanese Arima Prize for
Applied Microbiology (1996), the Wolf Prize (1998), and the EMET Prize (2004). He also
received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
(2001). He was conferred the title of Institute Professor in April 2005.
Appendix 1 – Advisory Board CV’s
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P r o f . D o v P e k e l m a n
Professor Pekelman is an Executive Chairman of Atera Networks and a leading consultant
for Teva Pharmaceuticals. He sits on the internal board of its veterinary division. He serves
as a board member in Makhteshim Agan (1.7 $Billion revenue) and various other
corporations.
In 1985, Professor Pekelman founded POC, the largest management consulting group in
Israel at the time, and sold it in 2002.
Until recently he served as Executive Chairman of Arkal Industries. In the 90’s he was
Chairman of the financial and strategic committees of Koor Industries (3B$ revenue in
1995) and served as Executive Chairman of Chamat, Charsa, Barbur & Solkoor (during the
turnaround time). During the past ten years he also established several technological
startups. He was also member for two terms on the advisory committee of the Bank of
Israel.
Professor Pekelman received his BSc. in Engineering in the Technion, Haifa. He also went
on to study Business Administration at Stanford University and The University of Chicago
where he received his PhD. He served as a faculty member at The University of Chicago
and the Wharton School-University of Pennsylvania for six years before returning to Tel
Aviv University. Currently he teaches Business Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in
Herzlya (IDC) where he serves on the board of the center and as the Chairman of their
economic division.
Professor Pekelman has published numerous papers, primarily in the area of Control
Theory.
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P r o f . O d e d S h o s e y o v
Professor Shoseyov is currently a faculty member of the Institute of Plant Science and
Genetics in Agriculture and the Otto Warburg Center for Agricultural Biotechnology at the
Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences of The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
Professor Shoseyov received his B.S. with Excellence in 1981, his M.S. with Excellence in
1983 and his Ph.D. summa cum laude in 1988 from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He has received numerous awards and appointments for his research in agricultural
biotechnology, and has been an invited speaker at many scientific conferences. He has
published extensively, and is the inventor or co-inventor of more than 20 patents.
Prof. Shoseyov is the Chairman of the scientific advisory board of Biodalia ltd, a
biotechnology company; the Scientific founder of CBD-Technologies Inc, a protein
engineering Agro-Biotech company established in 1995; a Scientific co-founder of Fulcrum
SP Ltd. A protein Engineering Biotech company established 2001; a Scientific co-founder of
Nano Bio Pharma Ltd. A nano-biotechnology company established in 2005; the Scientific
founder of CollPlant Ltd. an Agro-biotech company established in 2004; and A co-founder
and co-winemaker of Karmei Yosef Winery (Bravdo estate-wines).
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M r . Y i g a l S t a v
Mr. Stav is currently the manager and CEO of Tiltan Pharma, a start-up company
developing an Anti Cancer Drug based on anti-Angiogenic concept; the Chairman of Board
of Shalag, a public company that produces and markets globally non-woven material mainly
for the hygiene, fem hygiene, diapers and wipes markets; and a Director at Dolav, which
produces plastic bins and containers
Until late 2005, Mr. Stav was the Chairman of Nir Itzchak holdings and the Chairman of
Board of Syfan, which develops, produces and markets flexible packaging material.
Between the years of 1989-2001 Mr. Stav was the Managing Director and the CEO of
Netafim Israel, a world leader in irrigation and modern agriculture, with 660 employees in
Israel. During Mr. Stav’s tenure as a CEO, Netafim’s total consolidated turnover grew from
about $50 million US to over $230 million. Netafim also transformed from an Israeli oriented
company to an international company with global presence, considered the leader in its
business segment.
During this period Netafim established most of its 24 subsidiaries in different countries as
well as six manufacturing facilities in the US, Brazil, Australia, China, India and South
Africa. Most of Netafim’s 24 subsidiaries (employing 400 additional employees) were fully
owned by Netafim Israel.
Mr. Stav holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Physics from The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, a Master’s Degree in Physics from Ben-Gurion University, and an
MBA from Boston University.
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Company 1
The Product – an environmentally friendly, efficient,
biological method for controlling ticks.
Annual potential market - $10 Billion US.
Market Segment
Annual Market
Potential (million USD)
Cattle $1,800
Sheep and Goats $1,500
Dogs and Cats $6,700
Total $10,000
Existing
solution
Proposed
solution
# o f T r e a t m e n t s
p / y e a r
6-12 3
A n n u a l C o s t f o r
t r e a t m e n t o f c a t t l e
$1.8-$3.6 $1.65
C o s t p / t r e a t m e n t
p / h e a d f o r p e t
$30-$60 $15
D e l a y i n A c t i o n 1-3 days 5 days
T i c k - R e s i s t a n c e High Low
E n v i r o n m e n t a l l y
f r i e n d l y
No Yes
The Opportunity:
! There are no effective bio-pesticide solutions.
! R&D phase finished, only regulation left.
! Strong IP defense.
Investment needed: $350K US
Appendix 2 – Potential companies for investments
► First bio-solution
► Large potential
market
► R&D finished
► Small investment
required
15. ► 14
Company 2
The Product – Developing an advanced and
sophisticated Cattle Health Diagnostic System
(CHDS) for the industry of beef livestock and dairy
cattle.
Annual Potential Market – $700 Million US
(only in Europe & the U.S.A)
The Opportunity:
! Has a joint venture with the international leading
company in their field.
! Short time to market – Starts selling in 2007.
! Strong managerial team.
Investment needed: $500K US
► R&D finished
► Joint venture with
world leader
DeLaval
► Short time to market
► Small investment
► Low risk
16. ► 15
Company 3
The Product –The product is a new environmentally
friendly biological mosquito larvicide based on
unique slow release formulation of granulated BTi.
Annual Potential Market - $2 Billion US
The Opportunity:
! R&D phase finished, only regulation left.
! Currently there are no other combinations of
slow release larvicides with BTi.
! The product is currently in use and is the
preferred material of Israel’s Nature and Parks
Authority.
Investment Needed: $650K US.
► R&D finished
► Simple regulation
► Large potential
market
► Product already in
effective use
17. ► 16
Company 4
The Product – Bio-pharmaceutical veterinarian
products that enable cost-effective treatments of
dry cow therapy, milk enhancement, clinical and
subclinical mastitis.
Annual Potential Market - $700 Million US
The Opportunity:
! Currently, there is no FDA approved non-
antibiotic pharmaceutical treatment for mastitis.
! Close to licensing agreement with 2 veterinary
companies.
! Strong IP defense.
► The only non-
antibiotic solution
► Simple FDA approval
– based on known
and approved
ingredients
► Close to licensing
agreements with 2
strategic customers
Proposed