Extensive research reveals critical insights to
drive better-targeted investments for Indigenous Peoples and local
communities.
Today, NESsT, impact investor and venture philanthropist,
releases an impactful study and set of recommendations to unlock
the potential of the global funding ecosystem to invest in a
sustainable Amazon bioeconomy. Informed by in-person interviews
with Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), the research
underscores the urgent need for inclusive, catalytic investment in
the bioeconomy that aligns with local investment needs.
In the past decade, the bioeconomy has emerged as a thriving
economic sector, drawing in a wide range of investors with climate
commitments. Amid a global surge in environmental funding, local
bioeconomy enterprises have emphasized their need for investments
that are more efficient and better targeted to challenges faced at
the grassroots level.
Drawing on more than 40 in-person interviews with local
smallholder farmers, community members, and leadership teams,
NESsT’s report presents a comprehensive understanding of the
financing needs and growth challenges of bioeconomy enterprises and
their impact on local communities. The ten bioeconomy enterprises
selected for the study are part of the NESsT Amazonia acceleration
portfolio and prioritize conserving local biodiversity and
improving the lives of IPLCs in the Amazon. All have directly or
indirectly received funding from Development Finance Institutions
(DFIs), International Development Agencies (IDAs), and/or private
sector investors.
In conversations with NESsT, enterprises cited difficulties
meeting intricate requisites and rigorous credit assessments to
obtain funding, in addition to obstacles in promoting and
commercializing their products or solutions to potential investors.
Local individuals interviewed also highlighted the impact of
unsustainable and underdeveloped infrastructure on their
communities and businesses, and a need for favorable market and
procurement opportunities for emerging sustainable value
chains.
“Our vision for the bioeconomy prioritizes the voices of local,
traditional communities, including Indigenous groups, riverbank
communities, and Quilombolas, recognizing the effectiveness of
their solutions and engaging them in key decision-making
processes,” stated Kirsten Dueck, CEO of NESsT. “Drawing on
insights from interviews with individuals from these communities,
the report examines opportunities for public donors and investors
to engage with and learn from IPLCs to foster a resilient
bioeconomy that strengthens local livelihoods and conserves the
biodiverse environment.”
The publication identifies nine opportunities for the funding
community – both public funders such as DFIs and IDAs as well as
private investors – to improve funding accessibility for local
initiatives while making their investments more effective and
impactful. The actionable recommendations focus on streamlining
funding processes, supporting sustainable procurement policies, and
fostering community-based infrastructure development. Many of the
strategies in the report are already being implemented by the NESsT
team via its Amazonia acceleration portfolio.
An example of this is NESsT’s work to assist enterprises in
developing emerging sustainable value chains. ASSOAB, like many
local enterprises in the Amazon, serves as the primary source of
income for its communities. The local bioeconomy enterprise
generates income for over 350 Amazon nut collectors in Indigenous
territories and reserves in the Brazilian Amazon, supporting them
to use sustainable harvesting methods that align with nature.
ASSOAB joined the NESsT Amazonia portfolio in 2021 and has since
accessed business assistance to strengthen its position as a major
nut producer in Brazil and improve the impact monitoring and
tracking processes of its conservation efforts. The social
enterprise currently safeguards 800,000 hectares of native forests
in Beruri, Brazil, a municipality with high historical rates of
deforestation.
The report also incorporates insights from conversations with
the Bioeconomy Advisory Committee, formed of representatives from
NESsT, DFIs, IDAs, and international organizations, and interviews
with key development funding stakeholders conducted in
collaboration with Global Counsel. Significantly, the research
emphasizes the potential of blended finance strategies to leverage
public and private funds, catalyzing broader investment in the
region.
"While public funders such as DFIs and IDAs represent just one
facet of the global financing landscape for the Amazon basin, the
impact of aligning their frameworks to local needs and realities is
far-reaching," added Dueck. “Given the urgency of addressing
climate change, there is a historic opportunity for DFIs, IDAs, and
private investors to contribute to making systemic changes on how
public and private investment is mobilized at ground level for
maximum impact. Working in partnership with IPLCs, NESsT can ensure
the level of investment needed to advance the SDGs and global
bioeconomy goals.”
The series of opportunities published by NESsT aims to create an
enabling financial environment that fosters IPLC-led
entrepreneurship and contributes to a thriving, sustainable, and
inclusive Amazon bioeconomy with local and Indigenous communities
at its center.
For full access to the study and in-depth recommendations,
visit: https://www.nesst.org/amazon-bioeconomy-recommendations
About NESsT
NESsT has a 27-year track record of investing in enterprises
that create quality jobs for underserved communities while
sustaining the planet. NESsT’s investment framework is rooted in
locally based enterprises: businesses that operate at the
grassroots level and are uniquely equipped to uplift low-income,
excluded, and environmentally-vulnerable communities. To support
these enterprises, NESsT also builds local teams where it invests,
hiring portfolio managers who have a deep understanding of the
realities of their portfolio.
NESsT has invested in the Amazon basin since 2015. To date, it
has sustained more than 12,000 jobs in the Pan-Amazonian region
(Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). Enterprises in the NESsT
portfolio range from Indigenous-led cooperatives that support
fishers along the Amazon River to early-stage tech businesses
delivering and scaling climate solutions in the rainforest. NESsT
provides flexible financing as well as ongoing business assistance
to its portfolio enterprises, connecting these local businesses to
investors and sustainable markets globally.
Since its founding in 1997, NESsT has invested over $36M and
trained and supported over 35,000 entrepreneurs across 50
countries. It has accelerated and financed 248 enterprises, in
total sustaining more than 112,000 formal jobs and improving the
lives of 1.7 million people from the most marginalized communities
around the world, including smallholder farmers, Black people,
Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community,
migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, women, and
youth.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240618055708/en/
Kirsten Dueck, NESsT CEO kdueck@nesst.org