Renata Truzzi și Filip Wadowski sprijină antreprenorii sociali din Brazilia și Polonia în crearea de afaceri care pot angaja continuu persoane din comunități marginalizate.
One of the most challenging goals for a company to achieve is the consistent growth of its team and of the number of people that it employs or provides income to. NESsT exclusively invests in these companies because it is through dignified employment that we can achieve long-term poverty alleviation.
As Portfolio Managers, Renata and Filip accompany social enterprises from the due diligence stage and continue to support them during several rounds of funding so that they can continuously grow.
They reflect on the main reasons why social enterprises stall in their development.
1) Lack of Advanced Management Skills
Social entrepreneurs that cultivate their passion for the social problem, but do not invest in building a management team with a diverse skills-set will limit the longevity of their business. As part of our due diligence, we evaluate a company’s potential for social impact as well as NESsT’s ability to create value through incubation. As impact-first investors, we look for the companies that are closest to the communities that are in the greatest need for dignified employment.
If an entrepreneur has made it into our due diligence, it’s because they have the knowledge to develop a product or service that has great demand. However, a founder or inventor is not always a great CEO. Learning to increase supply and demand for a product or service, while sustaining the impact and implementing the infrastructure of a larger company does not happen overnight.
A Solution
2) Lack of Access to Tailored Patient Capital
The type of capital available for social entrepreneurs is not ideal in most countries, including Brazil and Poland. Usually, impact investors seek more advanced businesses, deeming early-stage social enterprises as too risky. As a result, early-stage entrepreneurs resort to capital that becomes very expensive over time and that can stifle their ability to draw future investment. NESsT fills this market gap by structuring its investments to social enterprises using blended capital.
A Solution
3) Mismatched Financial Goals and Skill Set
Social entrepreneurs are optimistic about achieving their ambitious, and very legitimate, social objectives. Unfortunately, this optimism can lead them to create unrealistic financial forecasts and to become attached to them. Social enterprise CEOs should not be 100% focused on achieving their social impact. CEOs must create space to think about designing a sustainable business model and implementing it. This is where NESsT comes with its support.
A Solution
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NESsT organizează un apel deschis pentru întreprinderile sociale din Peru și Columbia care caută capital de împrumut.