Nairobi, March13th, 2023: Sankalp Forum, an initiative of Intellecap, one of Africa’s largest convening on impact entrepreneurship and sustainable development, hosted its 10th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit, at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, from the 1st and 2nd of March 2023.

Every year, the Summit recognizes and rewards high impact enterprises from a pool of promising finalists, in the Africa region which are tackling key development challenges. The finalists also get the opportunity to pitch their enterprises to a jury panel comprising of eminent business leaders and investors.

This year the winners of the 10th Sankalp Africa Awards 2023 were four most innovative young entrepreneurs in Africa, whose ideas are well poised to deliver significant impact outcomes, whilst solving some of the most complex social challenges. The 10 outstanding finalist impact enterprises representing the region were– Vetsark, an agri startup, Zivanae Afya Bora, a healthcare startup and ThinkBikes, a Circular Economies startup, all from Nigeria, Omajalands, an agri startup from Zimbabwe, Hearty Engineering, an agri startup from Ethiopia, Kwikbasket and Afriagrimark, both agri startups from Kenya, Agki Medical Laboratory, a healthcare startup from Tanzania and Legendary Foods, an agri startup from Ghana.

The Sankalp Africa Awards 2023 Winner was Legendary Foods from Ghana. A food tech startup, Legendary Foods (LF) is on a mission to produce West & Central Africa’s most cost-effective, nutritious, resource-efficient and accessible form of protein, palm larvae, with technology and farming systems proudly built in Ghana.

The First Runner Up was Vetsark Limited from Nigeria. An agri financing startup, Vetsark helps farmers and agribusinesses in Africa access finance, increase productivity, and improve their profitability. They bridge the gap between farmers and financial institutions and is helping unlock the potential of African agriculture by providing farmers with the financing and support they need to grow their businesses.

The Second Runner Up was Agki Medical Laboratory from Tanzania. A healthcare startup, Agki Medical is working to solve the problem of Anemia in pregnant women and children under the age of five living in rural communities. It uses an Electric car to offer a digital mobile dispensary for rural patients by providing affordable laboratory tests for diagnosis, clinics, medications for treatments and Free Health education.

In a unique format the Fourth Winner, called as the ‘Sankalp Ecosystem Award’ is given through a voting process from practitioners from the developmental ecosystem. This year the winner was Hearty Engineering from Ethiopia, an agri tech startup that provides an Intelligent and IoT supported technology device that helps monitor and treat Livestock’s health thereby showing how innovation can make significant impact when wrapped in technology.

“Sankalp today, in its 10th year in Africa, celebrates a decade of impact and the Sankalp Africa Awards has truly been a regional trailblazer when it comes to identifying and supporting hundreds of impact enterprises whose business promise and potential is a crucial to solving economic and development challenges. This year we were once again inspired by the ideas and the cutting edge innovation of our winners, each of whom demonstrate the ability to drive action and influence positive outcomes,” said Arielle Molino, Sankalp Lead and AVP Intellecap Africa

The Summit, supported by Visa Foundation, GIZ, Villgro Africa, FSD Uganda, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Energy Catalyst, engaged over 1,400 stakeholders, from 70+ countries around the World, including participants from 40+ African countries.

Mumbai,  13^th  February –Siddharth Lulla, Principal, Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), Intellecap was recently featured on the Times of India blogs through his article, “Building the supply chain infrastructure for a Circular Apparel industry” which highlights how CAIF is working with upstream supply chain partners primarily SMEs to reduce carbon emissions,

Under the aegis of UN Climate Change, brands and retailers worked during 2018 to identify ways in which the broader textile, clothing and fashion industry can move towards a holistic commitment to climate action. As a result, industry players made bold commitments to enable circularity, reduce 45% emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2050. Initially these commitments were focused on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which are produced by the companies directly or through the purchase of energy. However today, most companies have pledged to reduce their Scope 3 emissions generated in the upstream and downstream value chain. This is a crucial step since, for many companies, Scope 3 accounts for 80% of their overall climate impact.

Given the scale of the problem, it is imperative to set ambitious targets and implement a well thought approach to deliver on them. Achieving net-zero for Scope 1 and Scope 2 themselves requires overcoming formidable economic and technical challenges. Scope 3 presents an additional layer of complexity such as aligning internal stakeholders on goals and milestones; working collaboratively with supply chain partners, customers; keeping all partners engaged in multiyear change efforts; non-transparent carbon accounting and tracking mechanisms.

An in-depth assessment through in-person consultations with Textile & Apparel (T&A) stakeholders, which included industry leaders such as H&M, IKEA, Marks and Spencer and their manufacturing partners, and learning’s from our initiatives have identified key gaps that need to be addressed to develop the supply chain infrastructure for circular and net-zero apparel:

Hence Intellecap, through its initiative Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), is working with upstream supply chain partners primarily SMEs to reduce carbon emissions, through testing, validating and commercial adoption of circular and low-carbon solutions in resource efficiency (energy, water), alternate materials (low-carbon dyeing alternatives, etc.), and from recovering value from waste (fiber2fiber recycling). Based on our learnings, we believe that four steps need to be followed by organizations that are committed to multiplying their own efforts and decarbonizing the supply chain through supplier engagement. They are:

Research findings have indicated that existing solutions which include renewable electricity, sustainable materials and processes, alternate fuels, etc., have the potential to reduce supply chain carbon emissions by 47%. However, for the balance there is a need to test, validate and adopt innovative technologies and business models such as next generation materials, waterless dyeing, dry processing just to name a few. In order to address this, through our ongoing initiatives we have successfully worked towards building a strong business case for low carbon / circular supply chain solutions available in India. Project ACE, a two-year program (2021-2023), designed as a common action platform with the singular purpose of establishing a business case (economic value creation for the private sector organizations while reducing their environmental footprint). To create a robust business case, CAIF designed demonstration pilots with multiple stakeholders (brands and their manufacturing partners) to test, validate and commercially deploy high potential low-carbon solutions in areas including energy efficiency, water efficiency, alternative dyes and chemicals, digital solutions in textiles waste traceability, etc.

In the last 12 months alone, we have undertaken six pilots and delivered the below outcomes:

According to our private sector partners, three key aspects were critical in design /execution of the pilots along with expediting the buy-in from leadership / board teams for eventual long-term commercial contracts:

Hence based on these learnings we believe there is a need for and are working towards designing long term transformation programs with brands and their supplier networks to lay the foundation of a circular supply chain infrastructure and catalyze their journey to NetZero.

Mumbai 24^th Jan– Mint’s story (Print and Online) titled ‘Voluntary Carbon trades to start in 2023’ featured the Intellecap report on carbon markets and highlighted the India’s carbon trading framework with details from  Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) with whom the Intellecap Climate team works extensively.

India’s carbon trading framework is getting ready for its rollout, with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) picked to administer the market. The framework may be released this year and the market for voluntary carbon trading too will open during the year.

“BEE will be the administrator. It will formulate the complete framework, set the systems, along with the methodologies for both voluntary market and the compliance market for certain sectors, which will come later,” BEE director general Abhay Bakre said in an interview.

BEE will assist the ministries of power and environment, which will separately come up with notifications on the carbon market, he said, adding an inter-ministerial body will take the final decision on the framework.

“We expect that within this year 2023, the framework will be rolled out and the voluntary market will be there. The compliance market will take time because targets and timelines need to be given to the industries. It would take about 2-3 years,” he said, adding that the current Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme would be transitioned into the compliance market.

PAT is a flagship BEE programme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, and is a regulatory instrument to reduce the specific energy consumption in energy-intensive industries.

“We are doing compliance-backed trading in PAT; so, we have to transit it to the compliance carbon market. We have to give the industry time to gear up for that.”

Power exchanges which enable the trading of the energy saving certificates (ESCerts) converted from the excess energy savings, are likely to be the trading platform for carbon credits too, under the carbon market framework, Bakre said.

Last month, the Indian Energy Exchange announced the setting up of a wholly-owned subsidiary, International Carbon Exchange Pvt. Ltd, to explore business opportunities in the voluntary carbon market.

Parliament passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 on 12 December 2022, setting the stage for a carbon market in the country.

The draft blueprint of the national carbon market was released for stakeholder consultations in 2021. It proposed to initiate the development of a voluntary carbon market in India to overcome the barriers of ‘ESCerts’ market and to encourage voluntary entities to participate in meeting Nationally Determined Contributions commitments of India.

As per the draft, developing a voluntary carbon market from the existing PAT scheme will be spread over three phases, increasing the demand in the existing ESCerts market in the first phase, by focusing on making the instrument more fungible, adding more participant into the pool, and linking other markets in India with the proposed voluntary market, increasing the supply in the voluntary carbon market in the second and moving to a cap-and-trade system in the third phase. Under the cap-and-trade system, sectors and sectors-specific companies are earmarked for only a specific amount of emissions.

According to a report by Intellecap, a carbon market would help as many leading Indian corporates have made commitments to become carbon-neutral and the market will provide flexibility to entities in hard-to-abate sectors and with high reduction costs to supplement their own reduction efforts with credits from the carbon market.

The market would incentivize entities with low reduction costs to reduce emissions beyond their mandate. Trading in the carbon market could reduce the overall cost of emission reductions in India, it said.

Mumbai, 23^rd Jan:   Vineet Rai, Founder and Chairman, Aavishkaar Group has joined the sustainability task force as part of the new engagement group StartUp20,  initiated under India’s presidency of G20.

The Inception Meeting for #Startup20 marks the beginning of an incredible journey to foster innovation and growth in the global startup ecosystem. At this historic event, we will be introducing the 3 task forces that will drive the vision and mission of Startup20 India

One of the key ways that startups promote a nation’s growth and economic stability is through the aspect of employment creation. Startup20 is a significant step in the direction of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship on a global scale, which will ultimately result in more job opportunities.

Startup20 Inception Meeting – Hyderabad
Date – 28 – 29 January 2023
To know more – Click Here

Mumbai, 10^th Jan:  Listen to the two part special podcast on “How to make a Purpose Driven Startup Ecosystem a Reality”  as part of Aawaz.com and Reverie Language Technologies “ Building for Bharat”Season 2.

The two part podcast features Vineet Rai, Founder and Chairman, Aavishkaar Group and Nayan Kalnad, Founder and CEO, Avegen, and host , Arvind Pani, CEO and Co-Founder, Reverie Language Technologies, and highlights the critical factors which will play an integral role in making a thriving startup ecosystem and realizing the dream of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

In the first podcast, Vineet, Nayan and Arvind discuss the fascinating evolution of the Bharat startup ecosystem and its key challenges, the rising aspirations of a digitally empowered Bharat and delves deep into the potency of digital adoption.

Building for Bharat / Season 2 / To listen to Part 1  – Click Here

In the second podcast, the speakers dispel some myths around the Bharat consumer, dissects the anatomy of a robust and dynamic Bhaart business and discusses the role of entrepreneurs in leveraging the advances in digital to come up with solutions which make a difference, and delivers maximum impact.

Building for Bharat / Season 2 / To listen to Part 2 – Click Here  

Mumbai 23^rd Dec– The SMART AgTech Integration Facility (SAIF), a collaboration between the Government of Maharashtra and the World Bank Group, held a Bootcamp at the KISAN Agri Show in Pune from December 14-18, 2022. The event featured over 35 Disruptive Agriculture Technology (DAT) companies and was attended by more than 200 farmer collectives (CBOs). As a result of the Bootcamp, over 400 agreements were made to introduce digital and technical solutions to the CBOs throughout Maharashtra.

Over 35 Disruptive Agricultural Technologies (DAT) solution providers across India showcased their products to more than 200 farmer collectives (CBOs) at this initiative by Government of Maharashtra and World Bank.

The SMART Agtech Integration Facility 2022, powered by Intellecap, is a project led by the Hon. Balasaheb Thackeray Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) initiative in rural Maharashtra. The project, which is supported by the World Bank Group and the Korea-World Bank Partnership Fund (KWPF), is focused on supporting the development of inclusive and competitive agriculture value chains and helping smallholder farmers, collectives, and agri-entrepreneurs in Maharashtra. The Complimentary Innovation Investments (CII) sub-component of the SMART project is formulated to promote the adoption of agricultural technology solutions among selected farmer organizations in the state.

The event was organized under the leadership of Hon. Kaustubh Diwegaokar, Project Director of the SMART project, Shri. Dyaneshwar Bote, APD, Shri. Vijay Kolekar, Capacity Building Expert, and Dr. Preeti Sawairam, Technical Officer – Complimentary Innovation Investments (CII) from the SMART project.

During the event, Hon. Kaustubh Diwegaokar, Project Director, SMART emphasized that “the SMART project is committed to establish the SMART AgTech Integration Facility to help farmers and their collectives in Maharashtra access innovative technologies. The Bootcamp is an important step in building partnerships between DAT solution providers and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to enable farmers to access more lucrative markets and achieve greater economic returns.” 

Rahul Agrawal, Director, Intellecap, commented on the SMART Agtech Integration Facility, stating that “Intellecap is facilitating the SMART project in the operationalization of the facility and has analyzed more than 100 AgTech enterprises for participation in the initiative. This facility is expected to benefit more than 40,000 farmers in Maharashtra.  The project aims to assist farmers and their collectives in digitizing the farming operations, improving farming systems through precision farming, leveraging urban markets through improved logistics and linkages, and increasing access to finance. SMART plans to expand the usage of DAT solutions by CBOs across the state and the deals made here will serve as a model for developing a supportive ecosystem” 

The KISAN Agri Show is India’s largest agriculture expo, running for more than 29 years, which brings together agri-professionals, policymakers, government officials, media, and like-minded individuals from across India to discuss the future of the Indian agriculture sector and is attended by over 100,000 farmers.

Dr. Dinesh Chauhan, VP, new initiatives at DeHaat, one of the 35 DAT enterprises featured at the Bootcamp, shared that “DeHaat is eagerly looking forward to work with the CBOs under SMART program and the response we received from various CBOs during the recently concluded bootcamp at KISAN 2022 in Pune is very encouraging. We will be extending our digital solutions to CBOs through our various digital applications like Farmer App, Extension App, Business App and will be offering localized crop solutions along with critical agri inputs to these CBOs along with financial products. We will be looking forward from the program to support these CBOs to avail these digital solutions and enable them to become self-sustainable. We will also be connecting these CBOS through our platform to market as well, which will eventually lead to better realization of farm produce.”

Saurabh Sharma, Lead Institutional Business at FASAL added that “through the SMART initiative, FASAL was able to reach a large number of farmers and CBOs. We plan to help these CBOs and its members increase their productivity, quality, and reduce their input costs and losses from various infestations. We are excited to see the interest of the CBOs in our enterprise and the opportunity to meet so many farmers and their collectives under one roof was very advantageous.“

Mumbai 15th Dec– Transform Rural India Foundation and Intellecap launch Climate Action platform with support of Jharkhand State Government to enable smallholder farmers– Follow the Regional Coverage

Platform will enable smallholder farmers with additional resources and knowledge to undertake climate change mitigation and adaptation activities by leveraging climate and carbon finance

Intellecap and Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF) announced the launch of a Climate Action Platform with the support of the Jharkhand State Government on the 13th of Dec at Hotel Chanakya, BNR Ranchi.

The platform, launched by Anish Kumar, MD, TRIF and Santosh Kr. Singh, MD – Agri and Climate, Intellecap, will enable smallholder farmers from the state to leverage climate/carbon finance for agriculture and allied sectors and develop their technical skills through a capacity-building program. The platform will provide support and training to smallholder farmers for climate smart agriculture and agro-forestry.  

 The Climate Action platform was launched during an exclusive workshop, where keynote addresses were made by Senior State Govt. officials, Senior Leaders from Intellecap and TRIF, and attended by the farmer organizations, academic and research organizations, NGOs, Agtechs, financiers, to create awareness about climate-resilient agriculture and the role to be played by the Intellecap-TRIF platform.

Smt. B Rajeshwari, IAS, MGNREGA Commissioner, Rural Development Dept., Dr. Shivendra Kumar, Former President, ICAR RCER, Eastern Zone, Jitendra Kumar Singh, IAS, Industry Dept., Sanjeev Kumar, IFS, Sashi Ranjan, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Khunti Jharkhand and Koyel Mandal, Chief of Programs, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation spoke at the event which also had a panel discussion on the impact of climate change on the smallholder farmers of the state and key interventions to undertake climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agri and forestry sector.

The Group was well represented through Santosh Kr Singh, MD, Intellecap who launched the platform and by Sanchayan Chakraborty, Partner, Aavishkaar Capital who spoke about the importance of Climate Finance.

In the pic- Attendees to the workshop with TRIF, Intellecap leaders and State Govt. Dignitaries

Coverage in News 11