A loan fund to create 30,000 jobs in Latin America.

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Why we do it

High-impact enterprises need patient, flexible capital with return expectations aligned with the costs and risks they face in achieving positive social changes.

Typical micro-finance loans go up to only $5,000, below financing need of small and medium enterprises.

Loans from financial institutions and private lenders, including friends and family, are expensive, offer little flexibility and limit ability to raise follow-on investments.

Impact investments in South America are above what small enterprises can absorb and business assistance rarely available alongside lending capital.

The NESsT Lirio Fund provides debt capital to high-impact enterprises that are advancing job creation for individuals most in need and accelerating environmental conservation in the Andes and Amazon.

An Investment Vehicle for Socially-Minded Investors

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Meets Funding Needs

Competitive interest rates and terms that are more flexible than traditional sources of capital, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth in a sustainable manner.

Strong Impact Framework

Collects employee-level metrics shared annually with investors.

Key Metric Examples:

Vulnerability | Workers operating in the informal economy and earning less than minimum wage.

Employment | Job creation impacting between 100 and 500 vulnerable individuals.

Earnings | Increase of 25% to 50% in employees' incomes.

Environment | Hectares of land sustainably managed.

Business Assistance Facility (BAF)

The NESsT Fund manages a Business Assistance Facility (BAF) to prepare enterprises for loans and to ensure that they meet their goals and repay their loans.

Client Acquisition
Business Operations
Impact Measurements
Financial Management

FUND INVESTMENTS

Fund Portfolio Gallery

Alta Montaña

Founded over a decade ago, Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Alta Montaña sources Fairtrade and organic coffee from over 400 small-holder farmers in the region, with close to 25% of its suppliers over the age of 65, and approximately 30% rural women.

Apromayo

Founded in 2015, La Asociación de Productores Amazonas – Alto Mayo (“Apromayo”) sources coffee beans from over 300 producers in remote rainforest areas of San Martín and Amazonas, supporting them to make a living income while conserving the environment. Today, the association, led by a woman and supported by a young team, has become a key player in the region's coffee industry.

Cattleya

Based in Colombia, Cattleya produces and sells roses for export to the US. Cattleya currently employs 350 individuals, primarily from rural towns, providing them with a stable source of income and fair wages.

Cedros Café

Cedros Café is a cooperative that supports smallholder coffee farmers in the region to improve their business practices and income opportunities, offering its associates 30% more than conventional buyers for their coffee beans

COAS

For over two decades, Cooperativa Agraria Sonomoro del VRAEM (“COAS”) has been working to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Junin and Ucayali in Peru. It equips farmers with resources to cultivate organic, Fairtrade cacao, highlighting the benefits of sustainable farming practices.

Cuencas del Huallaga

Located on the banks of the Huallaga River in the Peruvian Amazon, Cuencas del Huallaga sources high-quality Fairtrade, organic cocoa from over 500 smallholder farmers, paying fair prices for their products.

Greenbox

Greenbox is a social enterprise that transforms regions in the Amazon Andes of Peru from harvesting coca plants for use in drug trafficking, to harvesting organic fruit for use in value-add products. Farmers in this region are smallholders who practice subsistence agriculture, use limited technology, and sell their produce in the local market where prices are volatile each season.

Inka Moss

In the Andean Highlands, there are few opportunities for employment and reliable income for the subsistence farmers that live in these small, remote villages. Inka Moss is the only Peruvian company that collects and processes, in a sustainable way, sphagnum moss – a natural product that is highly demanded by international orchid growers.

Kulkao

Located in the jungle areas of central and eastern Peru, Kulkao sources cocoa from over 1,000 smallholder farmers living in the remote regions of the Amazon basin, purchasing their cocoa at prices typically higher than the market price. Its products include cocoa butter, powder and nibs and are sold locally and internationally.

Laguna de los Cóndores

The cooperative 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.

Organic Rainforest

Organic Rainforest sources organic cacao from lush regions of Peru’s northern and central jungle, partnering with three local cooperatives and supporting close to 400 cacao growers – 30% of whom are women.

Pebani

Pebani has 21 years of experience working with smallholder farmers and native communities to sustainably source and process over 140 species of plants, bringing to the market a wide variety of nature-based products recognized for their high nutritional and medicinal values.

RONAP

RONAP exports raw Brazil nuts, an Amazon nut rich in healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, to the U.S. and European markets. The association eliminates intermediaries and acquires nuts directly from 33 Brazil nut collectors in Madre de Dios, Peru, ensuring that they receive fair prices for their products.

Shanantina

Shanantina is a social enterprise that works exclusively with indigenous communities to cultivate sacha inchi, a nut that is native to the Peruvian Amazon, and has been used by indigenous people in Peru for at least 2,000 years.

Blog Updates

Featured

Nov 27, 2024

Summary Blog: NESsT's Pledge to Invest $6M into Amazon Conservation

Nov 27, 2024

At COP16, NESsT reinforced its ongoing commitment to improving access to funding for locally-led bioeconomy initiatives in the Amazon. This work, including its plans to invest $6 million in seed-stage financing through 2025 to support these efforts, was recently featured in Carbon Pulse.

Nov 27, 2024

Oct 1, 2024

NESsT Lirio Fund Expands into Brazil to Further its Efforts to Enhance Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Latin America

Oct 1, 2024

As part of its ongoing commitment to address the pressing challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Latin America, particularly in the Andes-Amazon region, the NESsT Lirio Fund is expanding its reach into Brazil. The fund is investing in small and medium-sized enterprises that create dignified income opportunities and improve local livelihoods while contributing to environmental conservation.

Oct 1, 2024

Dec 12, 2023

The NESsT Lirio Fund provides Kulkao with a second loan to increase the income of cocoa farmers in the Amazon basin

Dec 12, 2023

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.

Dec 12, 2023

Oct 3, 2023

Flower producer Cattleya joins the NESsT Lirio Fund to improve the livelihoods of rural women in Cundinamarca, Colombia

Oct 3, 2023

Flower producer Cattleya manages employs 350 individuals, primarily from the nearby rural towns of Suesca and Sesquilé, providing them with a stable source of income, fair wages, well-being services, and professional development opportunities. Over 50% of Cattleya’s workforce are women who are the primary earners of their families.

Oct 3, 2023

Sep 10, 2023

The NESsT Lirio Fund welcomes Cuencas del Huallaga, a cocoa cooperative using technology to prevent deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon

Sep 10, 2023

The NESsT’s Lirio Fund’s investment will provide working capital to Cuencas on an as-needed basis, supporting the social enterprise to increase the number of cacao suppliers it sources from and boost its organic cacao production capacity.

Sep 10, 2023

Aug 23, 2023

Pomario’s Journey to Investment Readiness

Aug 23, 2023

In 2022, the Lirio Fund made its first investment in Colombia, welcoming Pomario, a social enterprise that sells organic produce and provides jobs to rural communities.

Aug 23, 2023