Violet, Poland
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CoopTech Hub: Strengthening Communities through ...

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.

CoopTech Hub: Strengthening Communities through Accessible, Inclusive Technology
Amazonia, Brazil, Bioeconomy, Latin America
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From Territories to Global Decisions: ...

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.

From Territories to Global Decisions: Communities at the Forefront of the Socio-Bioeconomy
Amazonia, Brazil, Colombia, Event, Latin America, Peru
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Heading to COP30: Strengthening the Voices and ...

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.

Heading to COP30: Strengthening the Voices and Solutions of Amazonian Territories
Violet Fund, Portfolio, Poland
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How 4 Starlings Is Scaling Its Business While ...

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.

How 4 Starlings Is Scaling Its Business While Staying True to Its Values
Event, Opinion, Blog
Chad Sachs
Reflecting on GIIN Impact Forum with NESsT CEO ...

NESsT CEO Chad Sachs shares his reflections on the GIIN Impact Forum that took place in Berlin, Germany, October 8-9, 2025.

Reflecting on GIIN Impact Forum with NESsT CEO Chad Sachs

Poland

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Rebuilding livelihoods through opportunity and belonging: Olena’s story with Women’s Entrepreneurship Foundation

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Rebuilding livelihoods through opportunity and belonging: Olena’s story with Women’s Entrepreneurship Foundation

Rebuilding a life in a new country often means navigating an unfamiliar job market, learning a new language, and living on limited resources while searching for a way to make income. After leaving Ukraine and arriving in Poland, Olena faced these 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.

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How 4 Starlings Is Scaling Its Business While Staying True to Its Values

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How 4 Starlings Is Scaling Its Business While Staying True to Its Values

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.

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Grzegorz Wach Named NESsT Country Director of Poland

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Grzegorz Wach Named NESsT Country Director of Poland

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. 

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Reflecting on the NESsT-IKEA Social Entrepreneurship 2025 Retreat

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Reflecting on the NESsT-IKEA Social Entrepreneurship 2025 Retreat

In May 2025, we were delighted to host an in-person meeting in Olsztyn, Poland, bringing together NESsT portfolio enterprises, partners from IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, and members of the NESsT regional and global teams.

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Women’s Month Feature: NESsT portfolio entrepreneurs who are leading social change through business in South America and Central and Eastern Europe

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Women’s Month Feature: NESsT portfolio entrepreneurs who are leading social change through business in South America and Central and Eastern Europe

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we are spotlighting the stories of three women entrepreneurs at the helm of enterprises in the NESsT portfolio in Central & Eastern Europe and South America.

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Intersectional Impact: 7 key learnings from accelerating social enterprises in Poland & Romania over 3 years

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Intersectional Impact: 7 key learnings from accelerating social enterprises in Poland & Romania over 3 years

We spoke to our portfolio managers and entrepreneurs in the region to uncover the lessons learned and insights gained from three years of close-up acceleration and collaboration in the region catalyzing wide-ranging, innovative business models and supporting the financial independence and stability of people from diverse backgrounds. 

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The war in Ukraine enters its third year

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The war in Ukraine enters its third year

This past February marks two years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

As of February 2024, an estimated 3.7 million people are still displaced within Ukraine’s borders, and 6.5 million refugees are in countries such as Poland and Romania. The reality is, although it has been two years since the crisis began, millions of refugees in the region still need support to find dignified work that allows them to feed their families.

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Social Fund of the Year, Europe – NESsT’s Refugee Employment Initiative: Supporting Refugees to Access Quality Jobs

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Social Fund of the Year, Europe – NESsT’s Refugee Employment Initiative: Supporting Refugees to Access Quality Jobs

The NESsT Refugee Employment Initiative (REI) is named 'Social Fund of the Year, Europe' by Environmental Finance. One judge said the fund was "an important social initiative to invest in local SMEs," and added it was "good to see investments in organizations making commitments to employ refugees".