NESsT announces Renata Truzzi has been named Chief Impact & Operations Officer. Truzzi – who joined the organization in 2012 – has served in multiple capacities within NESsT, most recently as Global Acceleration & Impact Director. Her background in impact investing, business development, marketing, and fundraising will further support NESsT’s organizational effectiveness and operational excellence.
We’re delighted to release the NESsT 2024 Annual Report, highlighting a year defined by far-reaching impact and transformative growth. For nearly three decades, NESsT has worked at the nexus of people, profit, and the planet. In 2024, we reached a milestone that speaks to this mission: since its founding, NESsT has positively impacted the lives of over 3.4 million people from communities around the world.
Sweden joins as a donor to NESsT’s long-standing South America acceleration program, enabling the program to increase the number of enterprises it supports and to expand its efforts in Colombia, Peru, and into Brazil.
Our work on the ground in Brazil’s Amazon region has consistently shown that increasing women's participation is critical for the socio-bioeconomy to become a robust and sustainable national development strategy.
NESsT announces that Chad Sachs has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Sachs has held a series of senior management roles with NESsT since joining in 2019, most recently as Chief Investment Officer. He brings deep experience in the worlds of finance and social impact that will further reinforce NESsT’s mission of developing sustainable communities and building an inclusive economy.
SOCAP 2023 took place in San Francisco, California from 23–25 October. Nicole Etchart, NESsT Co-Founder and CEO, co-hosted the session ‘Scaling Impact Through Collaboration: Rallying Stakeholders Around Blended Finance,’ alongside Nele Bouchier, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer for IKEA in the United States, and Charu Adesnik, Executive Director of the Cisco Foundation and Director of Social Innovation Investments at Cisco Systems, Inc.
Diaspora.Black, a social enterprise in the tourism and events sector, joins the NESsT Racial Equity Initiative. With NESsT’s investment, Diaspora.Black will offer training and funding to local Afro-entrepreneurs, fostering a community dedicated to expanding tourist routes that bring more visibility to the history and culture of Afro-Brazilians.
Nicole Etchart, NESsT CEO and Co-Founder, spoke with journalist Valentina Llompart at the Diario Financiero. Article Summary: Founded over 26 years ago, Impact investor NESsT’s international trajectory has taken it to countries in Central and Eastern Europe and South America, including Chile – which was one of the first countries it invested in. NESsT has created significant impact in the region through investing in social enterprises that work on the ground with Chile’s marginalized communities.
Flower producer Cattleya manages employs 350 individuals, primarily from the nearby rural towns of Suesca and Sesquilé, providing them with a stable source of income, fair wages, well-being services, and professional development opportunities. Over 50% of Cattleya’s workforce are women who are the primary earners of their families.
Our portfolio enterprise Targ Pietruszkowy is celebrating a decade of creating a positive impact in its local community. Targ works with around 140 small-farm holders, almost half of whom are women. For many, selling their organically grown produce at Targ Pietruszkowy is their main source of income.
