Impacting the SDGs
Our Focus Areas
We exist to drive change at the intersection of business and development. Sankalp is sector agnostic, but impact-focused. Here are the key focus areas that we will be exploring at the Sankalp Global Summit 2022.
Inclusive Fintech & Financial Services
Globally, 2 billion people are financially excluded, and around 200 million micro, small, & medium enterprises have little to no access to credit. We will host conversations to improve access to finance for last mile-consumers by bringing forward innovative technology partnerships & improving product affordability. We will also look beyond credit to examine micro-investing, micro-savings, & micro-insurance for millions of low-income women.
Healthcare, Water & Sanitation for Billions
COVID-19 has exposed the inadequate access to healthcare across the world - even in developed countries. The enormous pressure this unprecedented pandemic has put on the medical facilities and frontline health workers has been unimaginable. We will host conversations around the lack of access to water, adequate nutrition & sanitation that has deepened this crisis for vulnerable populations and the solutions that entrepreneurs can offer for the emerging 3 billion.
Gender Lens Investing, & Women Leaders
Women across the world have faced a disproportionate impact of the pandemic. While access to healthcare, technology and telephony, and education have dramatically improved for women, the same cannot be said for the current condition many women face in much of the developing world. Gender is a cross-cutting theme and will feature in all thematic sectors.
Agriculture - Increasing Resilience of Smallholder Farmers
Agriculture in the Global South is facing a plethora of challenges today, especially smallholder farmers. Some of these challenges include soil and resource degradation, fragmentation of land holdings, dismal gender roles, and climate change; all of which impact the farmer. We wish to support smallholder farmers transit to practices that will increase their resilience, sustainability, and profitability.
Climate Crisis - Finance, Risk, & Opportunity
The impact of climate change on vulnerable communities will be devastating. We will host conversations on climate risk pricing for financial institutions, blended finance vehicles, access to climate financing for MSMEs & the need to leverage private sector capital for on the ground solutions. We will also host conversations around off-grid & decentralized renewable energy stakeholders to increase their capacity & potential to scale across markets. Further conversations will address corporate ESG ratings for the private sector that can help drive the world to a low carbon economy.
Impact Investing, Blended Finance & Collaborative Philanthropy
Despite the global rise of impact capital, the availability of capital for innovation, early-stage ideas and enterprises still represent less than 5% of asset allocation. We will host conversations on blended finance, impact investing and collaborative philanthropic funding models as options to bridge the SDG financing gap. This Sankalp, we will broaden the conversation to connecting capital for impact.
Affordable Housing
In the backdrop of impending large-scale urbanisation, it is imperative to identify, evaluate and address the challenges faced by the affordable housing consumer. There is a need for accelerated flow of housing finance, and promotion of environment-friendly, cost-effective technology. At Sankalp this year, we will also bring you leading voices from the affordable housing ecosystem so as to help millions of communities across the Global South.
The Future of Work(ers) & Gig Economy
As we navigate a new normal, conversations have shifted to WFH, localised manufacturing, & hyper-local markets. Job security for gig economy workers, securing the livelihoods of migrant workers, and steady labour supply for MSMEs are now top of mind. We will examine strategies to maintain an adequate supply of jobs, which is the bedrock for sustained prosperity, inclusion and social cohesion in emerging economies.
Circular Economies
With 60 million people employed in the textile value chain, the impact on those working in this sector — artisans, workers, women, and other communities — has been immense during the pandemic. Further to this, the textile & apparel industry is the 2nd most polluting industry globally and we want to change this. Principles of circularity can also be applied to various sectors including agriculture, consumer goods & manufacturing. We will look beyond the textile industry to how the circular economy can help shape the impact economy in emerging economies.
