NESsT and The Ashmore Foundation announce a three-year partnership to support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC)-led bioeconomy enterprises in the Colombian Amazon. The partnership, which marks a renewed collaboration between NESsT and The Ashmore Foundation, will help strengthen NESsT's ongoing work in the region with a specific focus on opportunities for women and young people within Indigenous enterprises.
“Echoes for the Amazon” is an impact investment fund created by Festival Cordillera and Páramo Impacta and managed by NESsT to protect this vital global ecosystem, working alongside those who have been doing so for generations. With NESsT’s support, every transaction generates sustainable cycles of care, regeneration, and long-term impact.
NESsT, in partnership with IEB and CEPF, is launching Raízes do Cerrado: Strengthening the Sustainability and Impact of Socio-Bioeconomy Enterprises for Conservation, aiming to strengthen the socio-bioeconomy as a pathway to conserving the Cerrado, one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world.
Last month we joined several partners from across the IKEA Social Entrepreneurship network in Älmhult, Sweden, for three days of dialogue, exchange, and collective reflection on how we can better support social enterprises creating positive social and environmental impact around the world.
The Regional Indigenous Incubator for the Amazon is a pilot program that strengthens Indigenous-led enterprises driving social well-being and the conservation of Amazonian territories. It does so through an innovative governance and incubation model led directly by Indigenous organizations.
The solutions to food loss and waste are already taking shape in local communities across Poland and Romania. On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, NESsT explores what we have learned from supporting social enterprises tackling these challenges and how the right support, capital, and partnerships can help more of them succeed.
International Pride Day is a moment of visibility and celebration, and a reminder that, in some contexts, dignity and inclusion are still not guaranteed in everyday life, including at work. In this blog, we look at why inclusive entrepreneurship matters for building fairer labor markets, and why supporting small and growing businesses is essential to expanding access to dignified work and strengthening more inclusive workplace cultures.
This World Refugee Day 2026, we spoke to Ruslan Syvoplias, the Ukrainian entrepreneur behind Future Leaders Project (FLP). Drawing on Ruslan’s own experience of migration, FLP offer a more inclusive model of early education for families facing displacement. In this blog hear Ruslan’s journey building FLP, why early education matters for refugee children, and how – with NESsT’s support – he is strengthening this model to reach more families rebuilding their lives in Poland.
The NESsT Violet Fund is proud to welcome 100cznia, a community-based cultural and social enterprise in Gdánsk, northern Poland. Located on the grounds of a former shipyard, 100cznia has transformed an abandoned industrial site into a community space where culture, dignified work, and belonging come together. Over the years, it has grown into a hub for concerts, workshops, markets, open-air cinema, and creative events that attract more than 100,000 visitors annually.
After leaving Ukraine and arriving in Poland, Olena faced challenges while trying to secure stability for her family. Through Women’s Entrepreneurship Foundation (WEF), she connected with several programs designed to support displaced women navigate these new systems and access clear pathways to quality jobs and entrepreneurship.
Small businesses often thrive on a friendly, family-like atmosphere. As they grow, maintaining that sense of closeness and shared purpose can become challenging. For 4 Starlings (4 Szpaki in Polish)—the first company in the NESsT Violet Fund portfolio—the solution lies in inclusion. By fostering a workplace where everyone’s voice is heard, 4 Starlings has managed to keep its authentic, connected culture even as the company expands.
NESsT announces today that Grzegorz Wach has been named NESsT Country Director of Poland, reflecting the impact investor’s expanding acceleration of social enterprises that create dignified jobs for individuals from excluded communities, including refugees, migrants, women, at-risk youth, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others facing systemic barriers to economic opportunity.
