LatAm List – In January, NESsT launched a $20M impact fund to provide long-term loans at reasonable terms to small enterprises in Latin America’s poorest communities. NESsT closed a first round of $3M with social investors, including Development Finance Institutions, foundations, nonprofits and philanthropists.
The fund will loan an average of $200K tickets to small enterprises in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, increasing their ability to grow and create employment for at least 30,000 marginalized individuals.
NESsT provides a platform for investors to loan money to remote communities while generating high impact. It has already provided a $170K loan to Inka Moss, a company that purchases moss from remote communities in Peruvian highlands. This loan will increase the number of moss collectors from 350 families to 900 by 2022.
The fund measures success through increased community incomes and job security through formal contracts.
Among other entities in NESsT’s pipeline are enterprises supporting indigenous communities, biodiverse areas in the Amazon, and subsistence farmers.
Read more on LAVCA.
