Getting S**t Done at SOCAP: Two Deals Result from the ADAP Deal Room

Kyle Westaway, Carl Jensen (Good Nature Agro), Teresa Cauvel (Neopenda), Andy Lower

ADAP is thrilled to announce partnerships with two outstanding social enterprises that participated in the ADAP Deal Room at SOCAP last week.

We met the founders of these companies for the first time on Tuesday in the Deal Room, had intensive discussions and due diligence on Wednesday and Thursday, and agreed to deal terms on Thursday. Each company is receiving an investment of $75,000, and one will be receiving a year of legal services from Westaway, the social enterprise law firm.

Neopenda

Neopenda is a global healthcare startup striving to engineer healthcare solutions that give newborns in low-resource settings the healthy lives they deserve. They have developed a low-cost, low-power wearable vital signs monitor, with initial deployment in Uganda.

Neopenda is women-led, product developed-focused, and working on the critical issue of infant mortality. We are proud to have Neopenda as the very first investment in ADAP Capital’s new early-stage fund. “ADAP’s approach embodies the true entrepreneurial spirit of ‘doing’ and not just talking,” says Neopenda co-founder Sona Shah. “As entrepreneurs in the midst of growing our venture, we appreciate the nimble but thorough due diligence process. ADAP’s investment will enable Neopenda to rapidly iterate on our product based on user feedback, so we can get it to our customers faster and begin scaling our efforts.”

Good Nature Agro

Good Nature Agro invests in small-scale farmers in Zambia to generate lasting income. We like Good Nature Agro’s comprehensive approach to helping farmers reach their potential, while at the same time improving the sustainability of farming in Zambia. Good Nature Agro is growing quickly year-on-year in revenue and in impact. Carl Jensen, Good Nature Agro’s Co-Founder and CEO, says that “it was great to experience the ADAP rapid due diligence approach — fast, relationship-driven, and focused. It all works because the ADAP team expects and provides total transparency and candor.”

Many Thanks (And a Call to Action)

We had an exhausting but exhilarating week at SOCAP, but we are incredibly grateful for all of the outstanding entrepreneurs who participated in the deal room, and we look forward to long and successful partnerships with Neopenda and Good Nature Agro. We have learned much from our experience this week that will help make the Deal Room format even better next time. Most importantly, we hope that other early-stage investors will consider adopting our action-oriented approach. Let’s get s**t done together!

SOCAP Guest Post originally published at socialcapitalmarkets.net on October 16, 2017.