At a Glance

Location: Colombia

Impact Areas: Sustainable Agriculture, Environment

People Supported:
Smallholder Farmers

NESsT program: South America Accelerator

Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2025

Overview

SiembraCo was founded in 2020 to strengthen local agriculture in Colombia. Facing fragile food systems and food shortages, the founders launched an online platform to connect rural farmers directly with urban customers, creating a more stable, transparent, and sustainable food value chain. 

Many small-scale farmers in Colombia earn wages only slightly above the poverty line and face persistent challenges such as limited access to infrastructure, basic services such as water, electricity, internet, and dignified housing, and financial support, as well as being highly susceptible to climate change. Since 2021, SiembraCo has worked with more than 2,600 small-scale farmers across 12 regions in Colombia and Guatemala, including Piedecuesta, Sogamoso, and Garzón, improving both their productivity and livelihoods.  

Through the SiembraCo platform, local farmers can sell their crops in advance or, alternatively, sell them directly after harvesting to clients in the retail, restaurant, catering, and hospitality sectors. Its design allows for urban clients to choose which crops they want and in which quantities, while ensuring farmers secure stable incomes and fair prices by selling directly without intermediaries.  

The SiembraCo team also provides personalized technical assistance to producers to improve their farming practices and use Good Agricultural Practices that help reduce their carbon emissions. One of the types of support it provides is crop monitoring through satellite images, giving farmers direct insights on water conservation and how to prepare for climate fluctuations. 

Part of the enterprise’s mission includes working alongside companies committed to reducing their environmental impact, supporting them to source directly from small-scale producers. By eliminating intermediaries, top brands in Colombia have been able to streamline their supply chain and avoid additional transport costs, all while supporting local farming families to earn a living wage. 

NESsT Investment

With a solid track record of supporting small-holder farmers throughout the country, SiembraCo joins the NESsT portfolio to expand on its social and environmental impact. By 2026, it aims to reach an additional 1,000 farmers, supporting at least half of them to adopt Good Agricultural Practices. In this way, SiembraCo producers will improve their farming skills and grow healthier crops, ultimately accessing more stable income and contributing to thriving communities rooted in sustainable agriculture.  

To reach these goals, NESsT and SiembraCo will strengthen the way the company works, improving logistics, implementing impact management tools, and supporting its team to deliver services efficiently and reliably. Through mentoring in sales, operations, and impact measurement, NESsT portfolio managers will assist SiembraCo to reach more farmers, expand its supplier networks, and ensure that farmers gain secure livelihoods and clients receive high-quality, sustainably-grown products.