Ecos por la Amazonía (Echos for the Amazon) is Colombia’s first impact investment fund supported by the country’s cultural and music sector.
Páramo Impacta and NESsT launched the fund at the fifth edition of Festival Cordillera.
Following the fund’s successful launch, the partners hope to create more opportunities to raise funds through music and cultural events.
Bogotá, 27 de octubre de 2026. At this year’s Festival Cordillera in Bogotá, Colombia, Ecos de la Amazonía raised COP 181 million for social enterprises working to protect the Colombian Amazon. The fund was created through a partnership between Páramo Impacta and NESsT, a nonprofit impact investor that finances and supports social enterprises. The money raised will go to businesses that generate sustainable income for Amazonian communities while contributing to forest conservation.
Ecos por la Amazonía was launched at the fifth edition of Cordillera Festival
The fund responds to the continued loss of forest across the Colombian Amazon. In 2024, Colombia recorded 113,608 hectares of deforestation, according to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, IDEAM. Páramo Impacta and NESsT created Ecos de la Amazonía to fund social enterprises that protect the rainforest while creating dignified jobs in the communities that live there.
Ecos de la Amazonía was launched at the fifth edition of Festival Cordillera, where it raised COP 181.4 million, equivalent to approximately US$56,000. Each ticket purchase contributed US$2 to the fund, equivalent to the stewardship of 1,200 square metres of Amazon rainforest.
“Colombia is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history for live music and large-scale events. According to industry figures, arts, culture and entertainment activities now account for close to 4% of the country’s GDP and have become one of the fastest-growing parts of the Colombian economy. Beyond their economic contribution, concerts and festivals have a unique ability to mobilise communities and bring people together around a shared purpose for the country’s future.”
”We believe the power of music can also become a force for social and environmental change. Ecos de la Amazonía is a first step in that direction. The public’s response before the festival showed us that there is real interest in supporting initiatives connected to sustainable development”, shared Páramo Impacta.
The money raised through Ecos de la Amazonía will go to social enterprises in NESsT’s portfolio of companies in the Colombian Amazon. Led by Indigenous and local communities, these enterprises work in the bioeconomy, community-based tourism and sustainable agriculture. Páramo Impacta also hopes to bring more artists and music events into the initiative.
“This partnership creates opportunities for culture and entertainment to strengthen local economies while supporting the well-being of Amazonian communities. It also contributes to protecting the biodiversity of a region that is vital to Colombia’s future.
“Every dollar raised through a festival helps strengthen an existing social enterprise in the Amazon that needs support to grow. That changes the conversation. We are supporting businesses already led by communities, with a focus on protecting biodiversity and creating dignified working conditions across the region,” said Alejandra Ramírez, Country Director, NESsT Colombia.
A contribution from each Festival Cordillera ticket purchase supports community-led enterprises working to protect the Amazon. These organisations now have access to capital and business support to sustain their work.
One of the companies supported by Ecos por la Amazonía is AMITLI, a women-led association that supports 30 people from Indigenous communities.
AMITLI, an association of Indigenous women in Vaupés that collectively produces and sells food, generating income for participating families.
Asozhonm, which offers community-based tourism and supports the livelihoods of more than 70 people who previously depended on artisanal mining, fishing or subsistence agriculture.
BioIncos, which transforms wild-harvested fruits into oils for the cosmetics industry, making sustainable harvesting a source of income and an alternative to logging.
About NESsT
Founded in 1997, NESsT is a nonprofit impact investor that finances and supports social enterprises creating dignified jobs in historically excluded communities while protecting the ecosystems where they operate. NESsT provides financing and business support to enterprises that have grown beyond the reach of microcredit but remain too small to access traditional banking. It currently operates in seven countries. In more than five years of work in Colombia, NESsT has channeled over US$2.4 million to Colombian enterprises in its portfolio. NESsT closed 2025 with 13 active portfolio enterprises in Colombia. These enterprises generated 3,765 dignified employment opportunities and reached 231,231 people.
About Páramo
Páramo Presenta is Colombia’s leading live entertainment company and produces events including Festival Estéreo Picnic and Festival Cordillera. The company also uses music and culture to support positive social and environmental change. Páramo Impacta, the company’s sustainability and impact initiative, develops projects focused on climate action and biodiversity conservation. Its work also covers the circular economy, social inclusion and community development. Páramo Impacta brings artists, businesses and communities together with organisations working on solutions that can create benefits within festivals and beyond them.
Press contact
María del Mar Ramírez
mramirez@keepup.news