NESsT announces today that Grzegorz Wach has been named NESsT Country Director of Poland, reflecting the impact investor’s expanding acceleration of social enterprises that create dignified jobs for individuals from excluded communities, including refugees, migrants, women, at-risk youth, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others facing systemic barriers to economic opportunity.
NESsT announces today that Ioana Samoil has been named NESsT Country Director of Romania, highlighting the impact investor's deepening focus on accelerating Romanian social enterprises that create dignified jobs for individuals from excluded communities, including refugees, migrants, women, at-risk youth, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others facing systemic barriers to economic opportunity.
In May 2025, we were delighted to host an in-person meeting in Olsztyn, Poland, bringing together NESsT portfolio enterprises, partners from IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, and members of the NESsT regional and global teams.
When structured effectively, blended finance can connect entrepreneurs who need support with investors who care about impact. To make this model easier to understand, NESsT has created an infographic that clearly shows how blended finance works in practice and highlights its role in the Amazon impact ecosystem. This visual tool breaks down complex financial ideas into simple language, making it valuable for entrepreneurs, policymakers, partners, and anyone interested in advancing the Amazon bioeconomy through innovative financing.
NESsT announces today that it has joined the Sustainable Connections Institute (Conexsus), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in AmazonBeEco, an unprecedented four-year initiative to support the sociobioeconomy in the Pan-Amazon region.
Located in the jungle areas of central and eastern Peru, Kulkao sources cocoa from over 400 smallholder farmers living in the remote regions of the Amazon basin. Its products include cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs that are sold to local and international markets such as Europe and North America. Due to its success, in 2023, NESsT approved a second revolving loan to Kulkao, supporting the social enterprise to continue to purchase cacao beans from local farmers committed to organic, sustainable practices.
Cooperativa Cafetalera Laguna de los Cóndores sources coffee from almost 460 smallholder farmers operating in the region, working to alleviate their severe financial strains and ensure coffee producers earn a living income. NESsT’s revolving investment will support Laguna to reach and sign contracts with more producers over the next two years, with funding provided on an as-needed basis for working capital needs.
NESsTO empréstimo da Pebani ajudará a empresa a comprar máquinas e equipamentos e a investir em marketing e desenvolvimento comercial, ampliando sua presença em novos mercados. Esse empréstimo também ajudará a Pebani a obter certificações adicionais de comércio justo e orgânico, o que fortalecerá o reconhecimento internacional de sua marca em eventos comerciais e feiras globais.
NESsTO empréstimo da Cedros Café apoiará a Cedros Café com capital de giro para aumentar o número de agricultores que pode apoiar - nos próximos dois anos, a empresa planeja trabalhar com 400 associados. A Cedros também equipará esses pequenos agricultores para que dobrem sua capacidade de produção, chegando a 1.200 quilos por hectare e, ao mesmo tempo, salvaguardando sua qualidade e certificações.
O empréstimo do Fundo NESsT aumentará a capacidade de produção orgânica de Kulkao e melhorará o rendimento de mais de 1.000 pequenos agricultores que vivem na floresta tropical peruana, expandindo as possibilidades de renda para as comunidades indígenas locais na zona tampão do Parque Nacional Cordilheira Azul, que cobre mais de 1,5 milhões de hectares de terra.
