NESsT
NESsT Lirio Fund

Deal Summary

We have committed $1m as part of a larger joint commitment with aligned partners to the NESsT Lirio Fund, a blended finance vehicle lending to cooperatives, associations, and SMEs in agricultural value chains in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. The Lirio Fund finances both working capital and capital expenditures. Following NESsT’s mission, the Lirio Fund focuses on investing in enterprises that support rural livelihoods, women, and Indigenous communities in the Andes-Amazon region. The investment supports the Lirio Fund’s portfolio expansion and anchors its senior debt needs.

Beneficiary Impact

NESsT’s borrowers are rural SMEs, cooperatives, and smallholder-linked enterprises in Latin America. Its loans provide an affordable financing alternative to inflexible traditional finance facilities, creating quality jobs and enhancing incomes for beneficiaries across the value chain. This includes smallholder farmers –often primary suppliers to the Lirio Fund’s borrowers – who gain access to markets, formal jobs, and improved livelihoods, while advancing conservation.

Intermediary Impact

As an impact fund, the Lirio Fund expands access to tailored credit in underserved Andean-Amazon markets where access to traditional finance is limited. The fund leverages NESsT’s community roots, rigorous monitoring, and technical support to borrowers. By blending NGO expertise with impact capital, the NESsT Lirio Fund builds an impactful model for financing rural enterprises and attracting future impact-focused investors.

Capital Additionality

Our combined, concessionally priced joint commitment covers a significant portion of the NESsT Lirio Fund’s near-term senior financing needs, enabling the fund to focus on growing its loan book. Ceniarth’s support is catalytic in forming a key part of a blended finance structure and unlocking growth for rural Andean-Amazon enterprises.