In the first half of 2025, Lirio Fund enterprises Kulkao, Lagunas de los Condores, and Pebani received repeat loans from NESsT, reflecting our continued confidence in the enterprises’ business models and impact.
Operating in regions where coffee cooperatives have limited access to consistent technical assistance and rural communities face high levels of poverty, these enterprises are improving the lives of local farming families by building trust-based relationships and prioritizing stable income opportunities.
After successfully repaying their previous loans on time and meeting or exceeding NESsT’s environmental and social impact targets, Kulkao, Lagunas, and Pebani will use these follow-on investments to deepen operational capacity and scale impact on the ground.
“By offering repeat loans and flexible terms, we ensure that our portfolio enterprises have access to the resources they need to provide their producers with stable, long-term income while sustaining strong social and environmental impact over time.”
A Third Loan to Kulkao to Increase the Income of Cocoa Farmers in the Amazon Basin
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, purchasing their cocoa at prices typically higher than the market price. Its products include cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs that are sold to local and international markets primarily in Europe and North America.
Kulkao provides farmers with technical support on organic farming and sustainable agriculture practices guaranteeing them a premium price for their organic products.
Small cacao producer, Kulkao
Between 2021 and 2023, NESsT extended two loans to Kulkao to support the social enterprise’s sustainability practices, increase its organic production capacity, and strengthen its position in the cocoa industry in Peru. These working capital loans also allowed the enterprise to continue to purchase cacao beans from local farmers committed to organic, sustainable practices.
By maintaining strong relationships with local farmers and developing a robust customer portfolio, Kulkao repaid both loans in full and on time. During this period, the enterprise also increased its revenue by more than double and diversified its international client base.
In addition to maintaining long-standing relationships with high-level US and UK clients, Kulkao secured deals with additional retail and B2B clients in Europe.
Due to this success, in early 2025, NESsT extended a third loan under flexible terms. The investment will cover working capital needs to source from and provide technical support to more farmers, including women and Indigenous farmers, as Kulkao continues to increase its sales and volume of organic cacao products.
“We are very excited to renew our partnership with NESsT. Their support is not only key for the growth and sustainability of Kulkao’s business but also to ensure the supply of organic cocoa beans from our farmers.”
A Second Loan to Support Coffee Cooperative Lagunas Continue to Promote Gender Equity in Peru’s Agriculture Sector
More than 40% of the smallholder farmers Lagunas supports are women.
In 2017, Cooperativa Cafetalera Laguna de los Cóndores was born as a vital support network for local rural producers and their families operating in Peru’s Amazon region. Lagunas purchases, processes, and sells coffee beans under Fair-Trade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance certifications to local and international markets with clients in Peru, the US, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, and recently Sweden.
Lagunas joined the NESsT Lirio Fund in 2023. NESsT’s first revolving investment in the company provided funds on an as-needed basis for working capital needs.
Despite facing challenges like fluctuating market prices and unfavorable weather conditions, Lagunas successfully paid every disbursement to NESsT and continued to provide their cooperative members strong support. The company also made strides in improving its financial, operational, and environmental impact.
With significant sales growth targets, Lagunas implemented a plan to increase its number of producers, whom it identified in nearby areas, trained, and certified organically, providing support to cover certification costs, inputs to increase productivity, and ongoing training. Building loyalty among new producers combined with rising coffee prices enabled the cooperative to more than double its sales while expanding its area of sustainably managed land by 80%, to 2,000 hectares.
With NESsT’s support, Lagunas also doubled the number of smallholder farmers it supports in the Amazonas region from 400 to more than 800 – 40% of whom are women.
Given the cooperative’s strong track record of repayments and significant growth, NESsT extended a second working capital loan to Lagunas in 2025. In this way, the cooperative can continue to pay its cooperative members fair prices and provide on-going farming assistance, alleviating financial strains and ensuring they continue to earn a living income.
NESsT’s support to Lagunas will also ensure gender inclusion in the coffee cultivation sector as the cooperative’s women’s association continues launches its own coffee brand.
A Second Loan to Support the Livelihoods of Indigenous Medicinal Plant Farmers in the Amazon
Pebani joined the NESsT Lirio Fund in 2022 with over two decades of experience supporting smallholder farmers and native communities in the Peruvian rainforest. Pebani sustainably sources and process over 140 species of plants, offering a wide range of nature-based products that are recognized for their high nutritional and medicinal values that are sold to national and international markets.
Today, Pebani’s supplier network comprises over 200 local farmers, 40% of whom are women. As members of Pebani, they access up to 50% more in income compared to what they would receive from local markets. In addition, suppliers receive training on forest farming techniques that increase their production capacity while conserving the forest.
In 2024, Pebani focused on expanding its client base, particularly within the cosmetics industry. With technical assistance from the Lirio Fund team in financial administration and management, the team took part in international fairs and secured new customers in Australia, France, and the US while adding potential customers to its pipeline.
Lirio Fund team visit to Pebani in October, 2024
Based on the company’s track record, NESsT approved a second loan to Pebani in 2025. This term loan will finance new equipment to produce higher-quality cosmetics products. While NESsT’s first loan to Pebani funded technology that allowed them to tailor product sizes to international customer needs, this new machinery will enable Pebani to pulverize both liquid and solid plant products, meeting rising demand from both new and existing customers.
Additionally, this second loan to Pebani will support working capital for Indigenous farmers, in new sourcing areas, supporting the enterprise to expand its social impact.
“NESsT’s financial support has enabled us to participate in international fairs to promote sustainably-sourced Peruvian products while expanding our customer base and generating greater demand. These efforts have strengthened our company and positively impacted the communities we work with through higher income and new job opportunities.”
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