NESsT Extends its Acceleration Work for Indigenous-Led Enterprises in the Amazon Basin, Supported by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
June 27 2024 - 8:05AM
Business Wire
NESsT and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation are partnering
to consolidate and scale Indigenous peoples and local community
(IPLC) enterprises in the Amazon that contribute to the bioeconomy
and conserve the environment.
NESsT, in partnership with The Gordon and Betty Moore
Foundation, today announces a significant initiative to continue
supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship across the Amazon. This
effort, also backed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),
aims to amplify the role of Indigenous Peoples and Local
Communities (IPLCs) in preserving biodiversity and fostering
sustainable economic development through entrepreneurship.
IPLCs play a key role in the stewardship of forests and depend
on the biodiverse ecosystem for their livelihoods. In recent years,
enterprises led by IPLCs have gained visibility as agents of
change. From 2019 to 2023, NESsT catalyzed 29 Indigenous
enterprises in the Amazon through a regional project called Amazon
Indigenous Rights and Resources (AIRR) in a joint effort with the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), in alliance with Indigenous
organizations including Coordinadora de la Organizaciones Indígenas
de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA), Asociación Interétnica de
Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), Organización Nacional de
los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonia Colombiana (OPIAC), and
Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonía
Ecuatoriana (CONFENIAE).
Since the AIRR project concluded, NESsT has extended its
track-record in the region, continuing to engage with key project
partners and IPLC organizations that have a deep understanding of
the needs of local communities and are crucial to the growth of
local businesses to co-create regional and national governance
models. By inviting Indigenous leaders to share their expertise in
community-led entrepreneurship and territorial governance, NESsT
and its partners aim to support IPLC organizations to play a more
active role in strengthening existing governance structures, roles,
responsibilities, and decision-making mechanisms, thereby
increasing their participation in implementing Indigenous economy
programs.
Supported by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, NESsT will
provide additional business and financial assistance to a group of
IPLC bioeconomy enterprises in the Colombian, Ecuadorian, and
Peruvian Amazon. Along with offering tailored financing solutions,
NESsT provides these enterprises with technical guidance in areas
such as business and operational capacity, and sustainable resource
management and utilizes its performance management tool to monitor,
measure, and communicate each enterprise's contributions to
conservation and social outcomes. With this acceleration support,
NESsT seeks to equip the enterprises to meet market requirements
and gain access to additional financial resources, while also
ensuring that they comply with social and environmental
safeguards.
“By supporting NESsT, we aim to equip IPLC-led enterprises in
the Amazon with the financial and business resources they need to
grow their business and impact. Our collective goal is to
strengthen local economies while protecting the region’s vibrant
biodiversity and empowering its guardians,” said Maria DiGiano,
Program Officer at The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
“Investments to Indigenous enterprises make a significant impact
on the conservation of the Amazon's rich biodiversity and the
economic well-being of its Indigenous communities. Our partnership
with The Moore Foundation is a testament to our shared commitment
to supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship in the Amazon,” said
Kirsten Dueck, CEO of NESsT.
For more information about this initiative and its impact on
Indigenous entrepreneurship in the Amazon, please visit
https://www.nesst.org/amazonia.
About NESsT
NESsT invests in enterprises that create quality jobs for
underserved communities while sustaining the planet.
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.
About The Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation advances scientific
discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of
the San Francisco Bay Area.
Visit moore.org and follow @MooreFound.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240627345905/en/
Rachael Pennington, Communications Specialist NESsT
rpennington@nesst.org