Article originally published in Business Wire.
St. Petersburg, FL – October 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. The NESsT Lirio Fund was launched in 2018 to generate quality formal jobs for 30,000 individuals from marginalized communities in Latin America while addressing the root causes of poverty and accelerating climate action. Today, the impact fund supports fourteen enterprises across Colombia and Peru and is currently accepting applications from socially and environmentally conscious initiatives in Brazil.
NESsT has supported high-impact enterprises in Brazil for over a decade through its acceleration programs, providing quality jobs to those who face the greatest barriers to dignified livelihoods. By accelerating and investing in 40 social enterprises, NESsT has created over 40,000 employment and income generation opportunities, positively impacting over 500,000 lives across Brazil.
Photo: ASSOAB, NESsT portfolio enterprise in Brazil
©Bruno Kelly
“Brazil is not new for NESsT, and the Lirio Fund complements the acceleration efforts we have already accomplished here. We recognize that there is still significant potential to work in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon, to improve livelihoods for communities that have generations of traditional knowledge about the rainforest and how to protect it. Currently, the funds operating in this space tend to have much higher investment thresholds, leaving a gap between philanthropic capital and venture capital that remains unaddressed,” shared Mariana Lima, Investment Officer of the Lirio Fund in Brazil.
“To bridge this gap, we provide loans with more attractive terms, along with technical assistance, complementing the work we’ve been doing in Brazil for the past 12 years.”
The NESsT Lirio Fund provides loans between $100,000 and $500,000 USD that adapt to the specific needs of each company and offer favorable interest rates, more reasonable collateral requirements, and longer repayment schedules. In addition to financing, the fund offers tailored business assistance to support portfolio companies to set up for future success. From expanding their client bases to overcoming operational hurdles, the fund’s technical support ensures that portfolio companies not only honor their loan commitments but also position themselves for growth and access to larger, long-term financing.
Photo: RONAP, NESsT Lirio Fund enterprise in Peru
The timing of this expansion is crucial, as Brazil faces increasing economic and environmental threats, particularly in its Amazon region. The NESsT Lirio Fund’s expansion into Brazil will uphold its commitment to an impact-first strategy. To supplement its in-depth due diligence process, NESsT uses a comprehensive impact framework to monitor the effectiveness of its investments, sharing detailed employee-level metrics with investors each year. These key metrics focus on enhancements in job creation, earnings, and environmental conservation. Specifically targeting rural and marginalized workers—many of whom operate in the informal economy and earn below the minimum wage—the fund aims to boost these employees’ incomes by 25% to 50% and improve their livelihoods.
“The Lirio Fund’s strong track record in identifying stable, consistently high-performing investments is a direct result of NESsT’s rigorous due diligence and impact measurement and management processes,” commented Chad Sachs, Chief Investment Officer of NESsT. “This approach is further strengthened by our locally-based loan managers, whose deep market knowledge and close collaboration with our acceleration teams in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru ensures we can deliver strong, sustainable returns for our investors.”
The NESsT Lirio Fund intentionally targets small and medium-sized companies that drive both sustainable economic growth and social impact in sectors such as sustainable agriculture and fishing, eco-tourism in protected areas, and inclusive employment and professional development, and are deeply committed to improving gender and environmental practices. Eligible businesses must have at least $200,000 in annual sales and two years of operational history, with preference given to those aligned with organic, Fair Trade, or Rainforest Alliance standards. These criteria ensure that the fund’s investments go to businesses with strong growth potential and a proven commitment to fostering sustainability and continued development within their communities.
““We are at a critical moment, and by partnering with innovative small and medium-sized enterprises that are driving social and environmental impact in one of the world’s most unequal countries, we can offer these businesses the tailored support they need to scale sustainably. Our hope is to inspire more enterprises across the region to adopt a sustainable approach that benefits local communities and contributes to the preservation of our planet’s most valuable resources.” ”
Impact-first enterprises improving livelihoods and contributing to environmental conservation throughout Brazil can apply to the NESsT Lirio Fund at this link.
About NESsT
NESsT invests in enterprises that create quality jobs for underserved communities while sustaining the planet.
Since its founding in 1997, NESsT has invested over $37M and trained and supported over 36,000 entrepreneurs across 50 countries. It has accelerated and financed over 260 enterprises, in total sustaining more than 112,000 formal jobs and improving the lives of 1.7 million people from the most marginalized communities around the world, including smallholder farmers, Black people, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, women, and youth.
Cover photo: ASSOAB, NESsT portfolio enterprise in Brazil
©Bruno Kelly