Global Sankalp Summit, one of the world’s leading Summit for inclusive development will bring together over 1000 global practitioners focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.
April 2, 2015: As the Global Sankalp Summit 2015 changes gears with a move to New Delhi this year with a focus on furthering an inclusive innovation economy. Innovation is at the heart of India’s resurgence as the fastest-growing economy of the world and India’s unique differentiation in the global innovation landscape is because its innovations work at scale and are frugal.
Continuing its partnership with The Lemelson Foundation and Villgro, the Summit will bring a special focus on Impact Inventing and the support that invention-based enterprises need to scale. The Lemelson Foundation and Villgro have long been working together on what is called “the invention pathway” – a process that helps transform nascent ideas into tangible, life-improving products, and successful industries that stimulate the economy. The Foundation inspires, educates and incubates inventors all over the world, while Villgro works with entrepreneurs in India to help build impactful for-profit businesses. Together, the two organizations believe that the world’s biggest problems need lasting, sustainable solutions.
“The Lemelson Foundation is focused on inventions that yield impact—projects like sanitation systems for the developing world, cost-effective medical devices, and more efficient, affordable sources of renewable energy. Rather than investing in invention for invention’s sake, we are focused on what we call Impact Inventing. This approach results in products that have positive social impact, are environmentally responsible, and become financially self-sustaining,” said Carol Dahl, Executive Director, The Lemelson Foundation.
This vision will be spotlighted at the Global Sankalp Summit 2015, being held at the Vigyan Bhawan on April 9-10, 2015, with the theme ‘Fueling the Innovation Economy: Role of Government, Private Sector and Capital’. Taking this “systems-view” of innovation is important for any industry, but more so for those focusing on low income and underserved communities.
India completely eradicated polio in a span of 4 years. This happened not because vaccine was available but because of a persistent social campaign that changed the vaccine seeking behavior of parents. Rotavirus disease annually infects 140 million and kills 440,000 people in developing countries. Less than a month back, Bharat Biotech India announced the development of a rotavirus vaccine priced at US$ 1, the cheapest in the world. At this price point, the vaccine becomes affordable to those who need it the most. At the summit we bring you many such eclectic individuals and groups of innovators, and industry thought-leaders to decipher the drivers of innovation and innovations at scale.
Through several sessions, our partners, The Lemelson Foundation will expand on its concept of impact inventing and how it can solve big problems and transform lives and Villgro will complement this with its on-the-ground perspective through sessions that talk about successful models and the ecosystem available for inventors and entrepreneurs in India.
“The Summit is a good platform for Villgro to bring these themes to a global stage, particularly with the potential for greater government and corporate sector engagement this year. We are also seeking to balance the big-picture views with practical perspectives on how entrepreneurs in India can build impactful businesses,” said PR Ganapathy, President (India), Villgro.
“Villgro and the Lemelson Foundation have been fantastic partners for us over the past few years. It is great to work with organizations who don’t just back our ambition to take Indian entrepreneurs and voices to the global stage but also bring in their regional and global networks into the Summit, and contribute intellectually to making the dialog richer,” said Aparajita Agrawal, Director – Sankalp Forum at Intellecap
About Intellecap:
Intellecap is a pioneer in providing innovative business solutions that help build and scale profitable and sustainable enterprises dedicated to social and environmental change. Founded in 2002, Intellecap has grown into a Group with more than 900 employees and 300 engagements across 25 countries.
Intellecap creates a holistic ecosystem to amplify the impact that businesses can deliver, shaping development outcomes in the process. It delivers access to critical know-how through its Consulting, Research and Investment Banking Services, builds access to finance through Arohan and IntelleGrow, and aggregates global networks through critical initiatives Sankalp Forum and I3N. The Group works with Multilateral Agencies, Development Finance Institutions, Social Enterprises, Corporations, Investors, Policy Makers and Donors from around the world.
For more details please visit, www.intellecap.com
About Sankalp Forum:
Sankalp Forum, an Intellecap Initiative, aims to influence the global inclusive development discourse through its work with entrepreneurs, impact investors and inclusive businesses in developing markets. Keeping entrepreneurs and the social impact that they create at its core, Sankalp engages Governments, corporations, influential platforms like the G8 and G20, media and civil society to drive a paradigm shift in inclusive development approaches. Sankalp’s global Summit, held in India annually, brings together over a 1,000 of these engaged stakeholders from around the world to discuss, debate and create a roadmap for development. The Forum expanded to Africa in 2013, and is actively looking to engage with other developing markets in Asia. Since its inception in 2009, it has connected over 400 enterprises to investors and funders, and built an engaged community of over 23,000. For more information, please visit www.sankalpforum.com
About Villgro
Villgro is India’s oldest and foremost social enterprise incubators, supporting innovators and social entrepreneurs during their early stages of growth. Since 2001, Villgro has incubated 103 such enterprises, who have generated around 4000 jobs, secured Rs873 million in follow-on funding, and touched over 6.8 million lives. www.villgro.org
About The Lemelson Foundation
Based in Portland, Oregon, USA, The Lemelson Foundation uses the power of invention to improve lives. Inspired by the belief that invention can solve many of the biggest economic and social challenges of our time, the Foundation helps the next generation of inventors and invention-based businesses to flourish. The Lemelson Foundation was established in the early 1990s by prolific inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy, and is celebrating its 20th Anniversary throughout 2015. To date the Foundation has made grants and other investments totaling more than $185 million to hundreds of organizations around the world. For more information, visit http://lemelson.org.