Powering Brazil’s climate resilience: Quintessa’s mission-driven shift
A land of contrasting ecosystems, Brazil encompasses the humid Amazon, the sprawling wetlands of the Pantanal, and the semi-arid Northeast, where resilience is a way of life.
Amid this diverse landscape, where drought and floods pose threats, the Entrepreneurship Support Organisation, Quintessa, is reshaping what it means to innovate, combining technology with community-led solutions for climate resilience. A certified B Corp, Quintessa connects impact-focused businesses with community solutions, working alongside local innovators — especially women — to confront climate change head-on.
Building solutions that reflect reality
What makes Quintessa unique is its approach to resilience itself.
We’re not interested in solutions made for a boardroom. Our work begins with the people facing these problems every day, especially women who understand how climate change affects their communities and families
Carolina Ochoa, Founder of Quintessa
Their work not only includes high-tech fixes; Quintessa seeks to redefine whole systems, prioritising solutions rooted in the land and amplifying voices often left out of Brazil’s innovation economy.
From their headquarters in São Paulo and their mobile regional teams, Quintessa’s approach is focused on long-term community-based solutions. They invest in women who have already crafted practical methods to adapt to changing climates. Whether designing water-conservation systems or pioneering climate-resistant agriculture, these women bring local expertise that no outside innovation can replicate. “Scalability, for us, isn’t just about reaching more people,” Carolina explains. “We strive to create lasting and impactful solutions, generation after generation, by rethinking the outdated protocols and dynamics no longer hold in today’s world.”
Local ideas for national change
Every week, Carolina’s team connects with vulnerable rural communities, seeking projects with the potential to change lives on the ground. Many of the most powerful ideas they encounter are born from first-hand experience with Brazil’s climate extremes, developed by women who have lived these issues and crafted tangible solutions.
These women then receive structured support from Quintessa to turn their local projects into viable, scalable ventures. With a portfolio that includes open innovation with socially-driven businesses and capital access and sustainable practices aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Quintessa’s model is a blend of mentorship, technical training, and community-building. Each project begins with a simple question: “How can we take something already effective and help it reach others who need it?”
The role of strategic partnerships
Quintessa’s growth is fuelled by critical partnerships with organisations like Climate KIC, which provides more than funding. These partnerships have enabled Carolina and her team to expand their impact capacity, bringing technical guidance and additional resources to women-led climate ventures.
Their support gives us flexibility and depth in how we mentor. It allows us to innovate how we support women in ways that feel less like charity and more like solidarity
Carolina Ochoa, Founder of Quintessa
Climate KIC helps Quintessa provide a safety net for early-stage ventures, offering them a clear pathway to scale. Through this support, their actions have the potential to expand beyond their local borders, reaching more vulnerable areas with solutions that address climate challenges in an inclusive, people-first way.
As a Brazilian, Carolina has long felt the cultural and linguistic distance between her country and the rest of Latin America. Yet, through Climate KIC, she has found common ground with fellow women leaders attending the programme. “Our roots tie us to Africa, and our challenges align with Latin America,” she reflects. “The conversations reminded me that, despite the differences, we’re facing the same systemic issues — resource access, gender inequality and climate resilience.”
A network of empowerment
Quintessa’s impact grows with each success, increasing the reach of each solution and the confidence of those developing them.
Our work is about more than one start-up or one successful business — it’s important to lay out a network where women feel empowered to develop their ideas and pass them on to others
Carolina Ochoa, Founder of Quintessa
These projects are reshaping communities in rural areas where climate impacts are most severe. Women-led ventures backed by Quintessa create jobs, secure food sources, and embed environmental stewardship within local economies. Carolina’s vision is elevating the work of these women to build a Brazil that meets climate change with innovative, grounded solutions — created by those closest to the impact.
Quintessa’s work proposes practical, actionable, and urgently needed solutions for systemic impact. “The work is far from over, but every supporter we bring in helps us realise a vision of climate resilience that includes everyone,” says Carolina. Through their work, the future of Brazil’s climate resilience lies in the hands of those who understand it best.
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