After five years in the NESsT South America Accelerator program, Empanacombi graduates from the NESsT portfolio with a stronger business model, diversified revenue streams, and an expanding social impact. Discover how the enterprise turned challenge into opportunity while advancing inclusive employment for people with disabilities in Peru.
When Peru's shopping malls closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Empanacombi's main sales channels disappeared almost overnight.
For many businesses, that would have marked the beginning of decline.
For Empanacombi, it became the catalyst for transformation.
Founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Cynthia Rodríguez and Carlos Sánchez, Empanacombi was inspired by the founders' own experience navigating disability within their family. ; This Peruvian social enterprise was created with a simple but powerful purpose: to create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities while proving that inclusion and business growth can go hand in hand.
Cynthia explains, ”Our company works to address the job exclusion people with disabilities face. My sister, Nati, has Down’s Syndrome [...] When we decided to help her find a job, she faced many closed doors from companies who only saw her disability and not everything she’s capable of doing. Empanacombi was born to give Nati and other individuals in similar situations dignified jobs.”
Over the years, this mission has positioned the enterprise as one of the country’s leading examples of inclusive entrepreneurship.
In 2019, the enterprise joined the NESsT South America Accelerator program supported by IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, beginning a five-year journey that would transform the business and strengthen the foundations for future growth.
Then came 2020.
Like thousands of entrepreneurs across the country, Carlos and Cynthia suddenly found themselves facing unprecedented uncertainty. With retail kiosks located in shopping malls closed for the foreseeable future, one of the company’s main sales channels disappeared almost overnight and Empanacombi’s revenue fell by over 50%.
Faced with this dramatic drop in revenue and an uncertain future, the team quickly began looking for new ways to reach customers and continue creating opportunities for people with disabilities in an entirely different reality.
What began as a short-term response to the pandemic soon evolved into a broader transformation of the business.
Empanacombi trains people with disabilities in baking and catering, supporting them to access quality jobs.
The company strengthened its digital presence through delivery platforms, expanded its online sales channels, and deepened partnerships with coffee shops and retail stores. At the same time, it launched CABIDA para Empresas, an initiative that helps organizations build more inclusive workplaces by training customer service teams on disability awareness. More than 320 people participated in these trainings between 2022 and 2024, extending Empanacombi social impact far beyond its own workforce.
As restrictions eased, another opportunity emerged.
Rather than returning to business as usual, Empanacombi focused on strengthening its growing B2B operations, expanding its corporate catering activities and launching Open Kitchens in Huarez in 2022. Through this school cafeteria initiative, Empanacombi was able to bring inclusive employment opportunities for people with disabilities to a new community while creating an additional revenue stream.
The results soon followed.
Empanacombi’s sales grew by 85% in 2022 compared with the previous year, surpassing pre-pandemic revenue levels.
By 2024, Empanacombi had achieved its strongest commercial performance since joining the NESsT portfolio, driven by diversified revenue streams, including its B2B operations and the expansion of its Inclusive Kitchens model.
As the business recovered, Carlos and Cynthia also focused on building the foundations needed for long-term growth. During this time, they accessed financing, mentoring, and technical support from NESsT to strengthen financial management, improve production processes, develop new commercial opportunities, and build the organizational systems needed to support the company's next stage of expansion. These efforts allowed Carlos and Cynthia to move from managing day-to-day operations toward leading a more resilient and scalable organization.
Looking back on the journey, Carlos Sánchez describes working with NESsT:
Carlos Sánchez (left), Cynthia Rodríguez (middle), and Alejandra Ramírez, NESsT (right)
“Only gratitude to NESsT, because it has been a key strategic partner in our growth and consolidation as a social enterprise.:
Growth, however, involved much more than increasing sales. Along the way, Empanacombi also cultivated a strong network of strategic partnerships from Fundación Wiese, Fundación Romero, and Kunan to corporat and academic institutions such as Repsol, PUCP, and UPC. Support from the renowned chef Renato Peralta also helped strengthen the enterprise's commercial strategy, product development, and organizational capabilities.
As Carlos Sánchez, Co-founder of Empanacombi explains, one of the most meaningful aspects of their journey was the relationships it built along the way, particularly connecting with fellow social entrepreneurs in the NESsT portfolio who were also navigating the challenges of building mission-driven businesses.
"Beyond strategic partners from different sectors, we found real friends."
Today, Empanacombi approaches growth differently. Each new client, partnership, and business opportunity creates new pathways to employment for people with disabilities while helping more organizations build inclusive workplaces
The enterprise continues to create quality employment opportunities for people with disabilities employing 13 people with disabilities by 2024, all under formal contracts, while continuing to expand the reach of its CABIDA training programs for employers and workplace teams across Peru.
More than a decade after it was founded – and after five years in the NESsT portfolio – Empanacombi graduates with stronger financial resilience, sustained commercial growth, and a clear vision for the future. The company is is currently preparing to move to a larger production facility and explore expansion opportunities into new regional markets such as Chile, while continuing to strengthen its commercial and impact strategy as it enters this next stage of growth.
For Carlos and Cynthia, this milestone is much more than the end of an acceleration program. Rather, it marks the beginning of a new chapter – one built on resilience, purpose, and the confidence to continue scaling its impact independently.
Empanacombi exits the NESsT portfolio with renewed resilience and greater capacity to continue supporting people with disabilities through inclusive employment pathways.
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