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.
Enterprises face a major challenge when it comes to accessing capital: limited access to credit and investment, as they are often deemed high-risk by traditional banks and investors. With this gap in funding, blended finance emerges as a strategic solution. It combines philanthropic, public, and private capital to reduce risk and attract investment in sustainable enterprises. By taking on the first risk, organizations like NESsT create the necessary conditions for banks and private investors to feel confident in supporting these businesses, thus increasing their access to credit and growth capital.
NESsT announces today that it has joined the Sustainable Connections Institute (Conexsus), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in AmazonBeEco, an unprecedented four-year initiative to support the sociobioeconomy in the Pan-Amazon region.
As we kick off celebrations for Pride Month 2025, we’re revisiting the recent efforts of the NESsT Violet Fund that have helped drive our work to bring vital financial and technical support to enterprises that are advancing equality for the LGTBQIA+ community in Central & Eastern Europe.
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.
NESsT together with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and the Cisco Foundation, have partnered to launch the NESsT Refugee Employment Initiative. This new initiative will provide financing and capacity-building support to fifteen enterprises in Poland and Romania, with the aim to benefit over 5,000 refugees.
On World Refugee Day, NESsT is launching a program to empower refugees from Ukraine to rebuild their lives with support from Cisco Foundation.
Lazarillo creates software products that enable people with disabilities to participate in digital and physical spaces of companies and public organizations that are not fully optimized for accessibility. Today, Lazarillo has more than 240,000 active users across 50 countries and supports 25 different languages.
NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship co-created a three-year accelerator programme to support enterprises in Poland and Romania that expand employment opportunities. The selected enterprises will receive market access assistance and advice, tailored business mentoring, technical assistance, in addition to flexible financing. Meet the enterprises now:
