As NESsT enters a new year, NESsT CEO Chad Sachs reflects on the organization’s growth, the resilience of the social enterprises we support, and the collective impact made possible by NESsT’s extensive community of supporters.
By prioritizing privacy, autonomy, and collective governance, CoopTech Hub – an innovative tech cooperative that recently joined the NESsT Violet Fund – is supporting Polish organizations and communities to work together securely, transparently, and independently.
Indigenous Peoples remain largely underrepresented in global decision-making spaces — revealing a contradiction between their leading role in protecting nature and their absence from the forums where environmental and economic policies are defined. This exclusion is no coincidence: it reflects historical, linguistic, financial, and political barriers that limit the access of those who live in and protect the territories to the tables where the future of biodiversity and the economy is decided.
Beginning next week, NESsT will participate in COP30 Brazil, in Belém, Pará — a historic conference that will place the Amazon at the center of global climate discussions and mark the largest Indigenous presence ever recorded in UN negotiations. We will be there alongside entrepreneurs from our Amazon portfolio, bringing experiences born in the territories and showing that the most effective climate solutions come from those who live in and protect the forest.
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’s loan will help Pebani to purchase machinery and equipment and invest in marketing and commercial development, ultimately amplifying their presence in new markets. This loan will also support Pebani to obtain additional Fair Trade and Organic certifications, which will strengthen their international brand awareness in commercial events and global fairs.
NESsT’s loan will support Cedros Café with working capital to increase the number of farmers they can support – in the next two years, the enterprise plans to work with 400 associates. Cedros will also equip these smallholder farmers to double their production capacity, reaching 1,200 kilos per hectare while safeguarding their quality and certifications.
The NESsT Fund loan will increase Kulkao’s organic production capacity and improve the yield of more than 1,000 smallholder farmers living in the Peruvian rainforest, expanding the income possibilities for local indigenous communities in the buffer zone of the Cordillera Azul National Park, which covers more than 1.5 million hectares of land.
To produce specialty coffee, Cafe Compadre eliminates the intermediaries and works directly with farmers located in the remote central Peruvian jungle, training the farmers to pick only the coffee beans that are free of defects and at peak ripeness from each harvest. This way, the farmers preserve the quality and flavor of the coffee while maintaining a traceable and sustainable production process. In 2019, the social enterprise paid farmers 50% more of the average price paid to farmers for normal commercial beans.
With your support, women in Peru will have the opportunity to improve their income, receive professional training, and access micro-loans for their children and families to thrive. By lending $25 or more, you can help Housekipp reach 100% so that it can train and employ 240 women by 2021.
