NESsT

NESsT invests in enterprises that create quality jobs for underserved communities while sustaining the planet. Locally-based social enterprises are uniquely qualified to transform low-income, excluded and environmentally-vulnerable communities. These enterprises are on the ground, have the trust of the communities, and have created businesses aligned with their best interests. NESsT supports social enterprises through two businesses: (1) loan funds that provide patient debt financing to purpose-driven small and growing businesses in emerging markets and (2) an accelerator program that catalyzes impact-focused enterprises towards growth and investment readiness. Since its founding in 1997, NESsT has invested over $32M and trained and supported over 32,000 entrepreneurs across 50 countries. It has accelerated and financed 242 enterprises, in total sustaining more than 89,000 formal jobs and improving the lives of over 1.1 million people from the most marginalized communities around the world, including Black people, Indigenous peoples, the LGBTQIA+ community, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, smallholder farmers, women, and youth.