The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), a World Bank Group program, announced the three top winners of the Africa AgTech & Inclusive Insurance Challenge, a competition for technology-led enterprises in Africa to offer innovative solutions for agriculture and inclusive insurance.

The 1^st place Winner was Omishtu-Joy from Ethiopia which will obtain financial support of US$ 25,000. Omishtu-Joy is an agritech startup that develops hardware that measures soil PH, NPK, moisture, humidity, and temperature level, supported by an AI system that matches crops to farmlands. The use of technology for development coupled with the ability to improve farmer yield is yet another example of innovation and ingenuity in solving real problems. Omishtu-Joy today works directly with 5,500 farmers who use their device and is currently training an additional 4300 farmers. The company targets to onboard 18,000 more farmers by end of 2022.

The 2^nd place Winner was Rural Farmers Hub from Nigeria which will obtain financial support of US$ 15,000. Rural Farmers Hub collects and analyzes primary and secondary data from farmer groups and uses that data in e-extension and consulting services for smallholder farmers, showing how data can impact the agriculture sector significantly. They work with an extension worker network of over 200 members and has since reached over 25,000 smallholder farmers. The company targets 10 key corporate customers and an estimated 250,000 small-holder farmers within the next 24 months.

The 3^rd place Winner was Agrotech+ from Kenya which will obtain financial support of US$ 10,000.  Their digital platform LendIt enables small-holder farmers access digital services such mobile money payments for commodities sold, micro-lending/input financing, crop insurance and pension scheme for the informal sector. They have 6,800 registered smallholder farmers with 2,800 actively using the service, and are currently training over 4,000 farmers using SSD technology.

Each of the 3 winners help solve complex social challenges through cutting edge innovations and high potential entrepreneurship, and each of them have shown ability to scale, disrupt and transform the sectors with their promising ideas.

“The role of technology and innovation will be critical to driving growth in underpenetrated financial and insurance sectors across Africa, where a young and growing pool of tech talent and a dramatic increase in digital connectivity will directly boost Africa’s economic value,” said James Smouse, Global Head of Insurance in IFC’s Financial Institutions Group. “We are very excited to support Africa’s young entrepreneurs through the Africa AgTech & Inclusive Insurance Challenge.”

“This was a great opportunity for start-ups in this space to collaborate with IFC and its partners and bring to the fore game-changing ideas that will contribute to the transformation of Africa’s agricultural sector,” said Fatou Assah, GIIF Program Manager.

The challenge received 208 applications from 23 countries across Africa.  Innovations included crop and livestock insurance products, innovative credit scoring technologies, crop, and water stress detection technologies, to name a few.

According to Arielle Molino, VP of Intellecap Africa and Lead Sankalp Africa, “The Challenge will help start-ups solve a real-time problem, the underlying impact of which is significant. We are excited to work with IFC and all the start-ups joining us in this journey to help identify innovative ideas that will benefit smallholder farmers across Africa.”

Powered by Sankalp Forum, the Africa AgTech & Inclusive Insurance Challenge aimed to celebrate and support young entrepreneurs who are working at the intersection of agriculture, insurance, climate, and gender to build resilience for rural populations.

The Africa AgTech & Inclusive Insurance Challenge offered an opportunity to the most promising enterprises to win various awards for a total of $50,000 USD across three categories (Data & Analytics, Agricultural Productivity, and Financial Inclusion for Ag). Through participating in the Sankalp Africa Summit 2022, the top innovators are expected to gain exposure on investment readiness, network with potential impact investors and improve their business models. Collectively, this will make their innovations more competitive in future funding rounds.

One of the biggest challenges for smallholder farmers is getting the right inputs and at the right price. Inputs have increasingly become crucial as climate change continues to roil farming in uncertainty.

Elisha Caleb’s start-up Agrotech Plus seeks to ease some of that uncertainty by offering credit through agricultural inputs.

And when they take up their credit, Agrotech Plus links them to crop or index- insurance products to cushion them against climate change, boost their productivity and earnings.

“We are bundling agricultural inputs and insurance to smallholder farmers through credit,” says Caleb, 25-year-old data scientist who started the firm in 2019.

The start-up utilises village agents and agro-dealers to offer the inputs on credit.

At the start of the season and where the farmer needs inputs, they are issued with a scratch card by the dealers with a code that is sent to Agro-tech Plus to activate their accounts.

Upon taking the credit, farmers are asked to pay at least 10 percent of the value of the input and the rest of the payment made in bits before the end of the crop season or after harvest, depending on crop type.

The start-up uses geographic information system (GIS) mapping software and satellite data to map where the farmer is and know whether it’s low agricultural are, medium or high, the firm size and value chain to get an insurance package suitable for the farmer.

“This is how we are able to get a package that works for the farmer. If the farmers agree, they take the input. If there is germination, the crops are insured. If they fail, we give a farm input of equal value to start again,” noted Sharon Chacha, head of operations with Agrotech Plus.

The firm is currently working with 2,000 small-scale farmers across the country.

It’s planning to raise Sh22.8m from investors to scale up.

Sankalp Forum, an initiative of Intellecap, is hosting its 9^th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit, one of Africa’s largest inclusive networking platforms focussed on entrepreneurship and the impact investing ecosystem, in a hybrid format, from the 1^st to 4^th March 2021.

This year, the Sankalp Africa Awards 2022 winner is Zuri Health a healthcare startup from Kenya. Zuri Health brings to its customers, an innovative virtual hospital that allows patients to talk to a doctor, purchase medication from a pharmacy, schedule lab and diagnostic testing, and have a doctor come to their home. So far, they have clocked impressive numbers with over 20,000 doctor engagements and 250+ on boarded doctors.

The very idea of using innovation and technology in improving access to healthcare in Africa through mobile phone applications and services, against the backdrop of the pandemic, is yet another testimony to the promising innovators who are solving complex problems.

In Africa 30% of the waste and in Kenya over 38% of the waste remains uncollected due to population growth, costs of waste disposal and lack of necessary infrastructure. This presents a significant opportunity and the First Runner Up is Ecodudu, a Circular Economy startup in Kenya.  This waste-to-value company again brings innovation to the fore, making bio fertilizer and insect feeds for chickens, pigs, and fish using the black soldier fly. The company employs a circular production approach that makes use of small-scale farmers’ capability in the production process.

The Second Runner Up was Mobility for Africa, a Clean Energy startup from Zimbabwe, provides fully serviced three-wheeled electric vehicles (Hamba) that can travel up to 100 kilometers and carry up to 400 kilograms on a single charge. The vehicles are equipped with purpose-built batteries, and MFA provides on-site charging stations for battery swapping, as well as after-care services to ensure that small-holder farmers and other users are always on the move.

Renewable community-based transport solutions for Sub Saharan Africa that are affordable, efficient, and environmentally friendly is an idea which serves a dual purpose on both energy efficiency and the need for transportation services that serves the multitude.

Each year, the Sankalp Summit recognizes and rewards high impact enterprises in the Africa region which are keen to tackle key development challenges. The finalists get the opportunity to pitch their enterprises to a jury panel comprising of eminent business leaders and investors, as well as global investors around the world.

They also instituted a new innovative category, the Sankalp Africa Ecosystem Award. The winner was chosen by voting by stakeholders and ecosystem players, and the winner was Greenpot Enterprises, an environmental startup from Kenya and an integrated bamboo company that operates large-scale nurseries, establishes bamboo plantations, and processes the bamboo into products used in the construction industry.

Speaking about the Sankalp Africa Awards, Arielle Molino, Sankalp Lead and AVP Intellecap Africa, said “Sankalp Forum is one of our largest initiatives that aim to bring the community together to help solve the problems that face us through cutting edge innovation and high potential entrepreneurship. Sankalp Awards and the Africa summit, today, in its 9th year in Africa, continue to showcase some of the most innovative and game changing ideas that have shown immense promise and ability to scale, disrupt and transform their respective sectors.”

Overall, the finalists highlighted some interesting ideas from innovators which include Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services (Cropnuts), an agricultural, food safety, and environmental laboratory and agronomy advisory service company that helps farmers achieve long-term profitability by rebuilding and restoring soil fertility, Vintz Plastics, a waste recycling company that turns plastic trash into Plastic pellets, Steamledge which provides Primary and Secondary School learners early and affordable access to Technology skills that match the needs of the changing workforce, Natal Cares which combines mobile technology, machine learning and low-cost innovation to combat maternal and infant mortality, The Pathology Network (TPN) which has an online platform-based operations enabling on-demand access to standardized specialized lab diagnostic tests for rural and urban hospitals and Swiftlab Limited, a Kenyan manufacturer and operator of drones for medical deliveries to increase access to safe, effective, high quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

The Summit is hosting over 2,000 stakeholders, from 50+ countries around the World, including participants from 30+ African countries.

This year, the Sankalp Africa Awards 2022 winner is Zuri Health a healthcare startup from Kenya. Zuri Health brings to its customers, an innovative virtual hospital that allows patients to talk to a doctor, purchase medication from a pharmacy, schedule lab, and diagnostic testing, and have a doctor come to their home.

So far, they have clocked impressive numbers with over 20,000 doctor engagements and 250+ onboarded doctors.

The very idea of using innovation and technology in improving access to healthcare in Africa through mobile phone applications and services, against the backdrop of the pandemic, is yet another testimony to the promising innovators who are solving complex problems.

In Africa 30% of the waste and in Kenya over 38% of the waste remains uncollected due to population growth, costs of waste disposal and lack of necessary infrastructure. This presents a significant opportunity and the First Runner Up is Ecodudu, a Circular Economy startup in Kenya. This waste-to-value company again brings innovation to the fore, making bio fertilizer and insect feeds for chickens, pigs, and fish using the black soldier fly. The company employs a circular production approach that makes use of small-scale farmers’ capability in the production process.

The Second Runner Up was Mobility for Africa, a Clean Energy startup from Zimbabwe, provides fully serviced three-wheeled electric vehicles (Hamba) that can travel up to 100 kilometers and carry up to 400 kilograms on a single charge. The vehicles are equipped with purpose-built batteries, and MFA provides on-site charging stations for battery swapping, as well as after-care services to ensure that small-holder farmers and other users are always on the move.

Renewable community-based transport solutions for Sub Saharan Africa that are affordable, efficient, and environmentally friendly is an idea which serves a dual purpose on both energy efficiency and the need for transportation services that serves the multitude.

Each year, the Sankalp Summit recognizes and rewards high impact enterprises in the Africa region which are keen to tackle key development challenges. The finalists get the opportunity to pitch their enterprises to a jury panel comprising of eminent business leaders and investors, as well as global investors around the world.

They also instituted a new innovative category, the Sankalp Africa Ecosystem Award. The winner was chosen by voting by stakeholders and ecosystem players, and the winner was Greenpot Enterprises, an environmental startup from Kenya and an integrated bamboo company that operates large-scale nurseries, establishes bamboo plantations, and processes the bamboo into products used in the construction industry.

Speaking about the Sankalp Africa Awards, Arielle Molino, Sankalp Lead and AVP Intellecap Africa, said “Sankalp Forum is one of our largest initiatives that aim to bring the community together to help solve the problems that face us through cutting edge innovation and high potential entrepreneurship. Sankalp Awards and the Africa summit, today, in its 9th year in Africa, continue to showcase some of the most innovative and game changing ideas that have shown immense promise and ability to scale, disrupt and transform their respective sectors.”

Overall, the finalists highlighted some interesting ideas from innovators which include Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services (Cropnuts), an agricultural, food safety, and environmental laboratory and agronomy advisory service company that helps farmers achieve long-term profitability by rebuilding and restoring soil fertility, Vintz Plastics, a waste recycling company that turns plastic trash into Plastic pellets, Steamledge which provides Primary and Secondary School learners early and affordable access to Technology skills that match the needs of the changing workforce, Natal Cares which combines mobile technology, machine learning and low-cost innovation to combat maternal and infant mortality, The Pathology Network (TPN) which has an online platform-based operations enabling on-demand access to standardized specialized lab diagnostic tests for rural and urban hospitals and Swiftlab Limited, a Kenyan manufacturer and operator of drones for medical deliveries to increase access to safe, effective, high quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

The Summit is hosting over 2,000 stakeholders, from 50+ countries around the World, including participants from 30+ African countries.

Mumbai,  22^ND February – Sankalp Forum was initiated in India in 2009 by Intellecap, a social sector advisory firm, to build collaborative entrepreneurial ecosystems. In an interaction with Economic Times (ET) Online, Urvashi Devidayal, Sankalp Lead–India and AVP of Intellecap, outlines the organisation’s thrust areas, the scope of social entrepreneurship and the utility of the idea of a united ‘Global South’. The interaction also highlighted how ‘Business models along the South-South corridor can spur regional trade’  and Sankalp’ s overall mission of creating ecosystems for impact led businesses.

Economic Times (ET): How did Sankalp come into being? What does the name signify?

Urvashi Devidayal (UD): In 2009, Sankalp Forum was started with the singular goal to put together an impact ecosystem that can support business-led solutions focusing on the world’s most pressing issues. These include climate crisis, smallholder farmers, sustainable agriculture, financial inclusion, livelihoods, water and health & sanitation, among others. Back then, very few understood what an impact ecosystem is. With Sankalp, we are attempting to simply bring the most promising entrepreneurs, most committed investors, policymakers, government officials, and others under one roof at least once a year and build a platform like none other.

Sankalp means a solemn promise one makes to oneself to resolutely follow a chosen path. The concept of entrepreneurship-led development evolved as a practice as far back as 2001, but the term impact investing was coined only in 2009.

In 2007, the Rockefeller Foundation got a group of foundations, investors and entrepreneurs together at the Bellagio Centre. There was a consensus to term this type of investing impact investing. Along with this, there was a need to convene the stakeholders — entrepreneurs, investors, foundations, private sector, development finance institutes, and governments — to collaborate and foster the growth of this ecosystem. This was the start of Sankalp, which held its first convening in India. In 2014 we took the concept to east Africa.

ET: One mission Sankalp has is to create an ecosystem for impact-led businesses to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. How are you actualizing this?

UD: Sankalp has a three-pronged strategy to create a thriving ecosystem for impact-led businesses. Keeping the entrepreneur at the centre, Sankalp leverages knowledge, capital and networks to engage stakeholders at its summits. The organisation hosts 50-60 knowledge sessions around key impact areas. These include, financial inclusion; climate change & energy; agriculture; gender & livelihoods; WaSH (water, sanitation & hygiene); health & circular economies.

On the capital front, investors in impact-led businesses view Sankalp as the place to build their annual pipeline of potential investee companies and understand investment trends. At Sankalp, one can find access to various forms of capital based on the stage and relevance of the enterprise.

The final piece of the puzzle is networks. One can expect to meet relevant stakeholders at Sankalp summits. In the past few years, each summit has facilitated 1,500-1,600 meetings.

ET: Rural India is considered to hold immense potential in several key activities that Sankalp focuses on. How huge is this untapped opportunity, and how is Sankalp pushing social entrepreneurship across India’s hinterlands?

UD: Rural entrepreneurship is an integral part of the Sankalp journey. The need to bring rural India to the fore is an endeavor we started a decade and more ago. We realized it is imperative to showcase areas of excellence across rural India to bring them to the mainstream and provide them with networking and access. Be it showcasing local weavers or local entrepreneurs, Sankalp has been at the forefront of tapping into their potential, rewarding them and ensuring they have access to capital and knowledge essential to their business. We take pride in building businesses for the low-income strata and enhancing livelihoods while reducing economic vulnerabilities, and our focus on rural India continues to do just that. We continue to embolden entrepreneurs from the hinterland to chase problems worth solving, build businesses few dare to, directing capital where few will.

ET: The idea of a united Global South is very close to the ethos of Sankalp. Why do you think caring for the sustainable development of the global south is needed? How equipped are Indian organisations to play an active role in this cause?

UD: South-south transfer refers to the exchange of resources, technology and knowledge between emerging markets commonly referred to as countries from the Global South. Many enterprises that have demonstrated success in building businesses serving the low-income communities in emerging markets typically use innovative business models. These business models and technologies are often more attuned to the needs and conditions of these developing countries — generally recession-proof, and more flexible and adaptable than solutions from developed markets. Replicating business models along the South-South corridor has the potential to increase bilateral and regional trade, enable job creation, and improve access to affordable goods & services, making them more affordable for underserved communities. We have a successful track record of not just building impact businesses but also supporting ecosystems that nurture and support these businesses across South and Southeast Asia.

ET: What are the organisation’s impact numbers in India and globally?

UD: Sankalp has been recognised for its distinct enterprise focus. We have showcased and discovered more than 1,800 entrepreneurs, through 26 or more editions and connected them to 800-plus investors. Through Sankalp, we have enabled enterprises and entrepreneurs and helped raise over $290 million in funding and disbursed over $870,000 in cash grants.

ET: What are Sankalp’s plans — nationally and internationally?

UD: Our goal is to take the ecosystem-building approach to various states, cities and countries across Asia and Africa. We see an opportunity to expand, particularly in West Africa (possibly in Ghana & Nigeria). Both countries have a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and a growing impact-investor base. In Asia, the opportunity lies in emerging impact markets such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. Our plans include building locally led entrepreneurial ecosystems that use the proven global framework we have developed over the years to engage and support ventures that provide solutions that are locally relevant and are viable business ventures.

India’s pitch in the climate talks is largely centered around promoting renewable energy and controlling emissions through energy transition. In an interview with Jyoti Mukul & Shreya Jai, International Solar Alliance (ISA) Director-General (D-G) Ajay Mathur says India and the UK have combined their green grid initiatives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) on Tuesday. Edited excerpts:

How central is renewable power to the climate change discussions?

The need for combating climate change is more urgent than ever, as all developed and developing economies are witnessing rampant negative impacts. It is a fact that most of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. Thus, the need is a massive shift towards renewable energy, and as soon as possible. Climate change discussions are incomplete without talking about renewable energy. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of renewables in electricity generation globally needs to increase from 29 per cent in 2020 to over 60 per cent in 2030 and nearly 90 per cent in 2050. The annual investment in energy needs to scale up from $2 trillion annually to about $5 trillion by 2030 and $4.5 trillion thereafter.

How crucial is grid connectivity for renewable power, especially for transnational electricity trade?

While installing renewable energy capacity infrastructure on an individual level and smaller scales is simpler than large scale installations, grid connectivity is essential if renewable energy is to be widespread. The purpose of transnational trade is not limited to maintaining and strengthening diplomatic relations, but also to bring in additional revenue; the same applies for transnational electricity trade. To create a strong system of sustainable electricity, infrastructure consisting of high cross-border connectivity is required.

Will OSOWOG run through the conventional grid, or will it have a separate grid system?

The essence of the OSOWOG is that the ‘sun never sets’ and make solar power available round-the-clock to all. A conventional grid cannot be used for a global connectivity system because it only has limited capacity. Networked cross-border grid systems will need to be put in place. While technicalities of the project are being worked out, it will be an ecosystem of interconnected green grids required to meet the needs of 140 countries.

Which countries have agreed to the OSOWOG project and which agencies are funding it?

The OSOWOG initiative was presented at the fourth assembly of the ISA, and as a key enabler of energy transition, the UK and India decided to join hands and merge the GGI and OSOWOG into GGI-OSOWOG. This is part of the bilateral cooperation, formalised during the UK-India Virtual Summit earlier this year. The UK and India have also agreed to jointly launch GGI-OSOWOG at the COP26. GGI-OSOWOG will bring together a global coalition to accelerate construction of infrastructure needed for a world powered by clean energy. At the fourth assembly of ISA, 80 member countries endorsed a political declaration, ‘One Sun Declaration’, for the launch of GGI-OSOWOG at COP26 in Glasgow. It is expected that Prime Minister Modi will launch GGI-OSOWOG on November 2 at the World Leaders’ Summit of COP 26.

Do you think it is easier for smaller countries to adopt a renewable agenda unlike India and China that are still largely dependent on coal power?

A country’s size does come into play but it works both ways. The problems are big in larger countries, and in smaller ones, the ticket size is so small that big investors choose not to invest. Many smaller countries are struggling with energy access.

How different is ISA’s experience in smaller countries in Africa and Asia?

We have received a positive response from our member countries, especially the least developed countries (LDCs); smaller states in Africa and the Pacific, Caribbean, and other island states. They were the first to join, ratify and submit their project demands to ISA. So, the demand of 4.5 Gw solar capacity that we have has largely come from LDCs. India has also gone through similar experiences and there are lessons to be learnt.

Circular economy offers a clear and credible pathway to achieve sustainably — one that equally puts focus on people, the planet and profit, said experts at Sankalp Global2021.

While deliberating about issues around sustainability, experts stressed the need for businesses to rapidly adopt industry best practices from across the globe. Forward-looking firms will leverage the idea of sustainability and circular economy, the panel said.

The virtual event, held from October 12-14, brought entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers on a platform to share ideas and grow together.

Rene Van Berkel, Representative, Regional Office, UNIDO India, said the long-term benefits of the circular economy has to be explained to all stakeholders in the ecosystem, especially consumers as their involvement is crucial for a broader acceptance of the idea. “The textile and apparel sector is a huge industry worth $1.5 trillion. If it was a country, it would have been the 14th largest country in the world or of the same size as that of Australia. However, the greenhouse gas emissions of the sector are about 10% of the global emissions, which exceeds those from the aviation and maritime industry clubbed together,” he said.

A circular economy focuses on reusing and recycling products and on sustainable business practices.

The Indian textile industry, traditionally a labour-intensive industry, has long been plagued by issues around sustainability. Due to a large number of informal players who are yet to join the circular economy bandwagon, the segment is often touted to be one of the major polluting industries in the country. However, industry and the government are trying to transform this.

Globally, customers are increasingly making their buying decision based on whether the raw materials in the product have been sourced sustainably or not. Being part of a circular value chain gives an added USP to products, say industry observers. The growing trend is leading to a big demand for products made by firms employing sustainability-driven practices. To address a lacuna in the market, industry bodies — including the Textile Association of India, Apparel Export Promotion Council, Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council — have taken the necessary initiatives.

India — along with Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia — is a major textile manufacturing hotspot in the APAC region. Rated as the leading foreign exchange earning sector for India, the sector is estimated to grow to $190 billion by FY26, according to IBEF research.

Another takeaway of the deliberations at Sankalp is that the nuances of a business remain critical for circular business models to be adopted at scale.

Siddharth Lulla, Lead-Corporate Strategy for the Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), emphasised the need to address perceived as well as real challenges associated with the concept. One such barrier is a lack of clear evidence of financial viability. “A circular business model that looks great on the balance sheet but does not have positive people and planned outcomes will ultimately fail to meet its potential.” Lulla said this issue is more critical in the context of manufacturing hotspots in Southeast Asia.

Freija Vermeer, Program Manager, Food Sustainability & Circular Economy, the DOEN Foundation, said stakeholders should not underestimate the effects of innovation even if it’s small. Some changes in the manufacturing processes can go a long way in achieving this goal.

Highlighting the role of business interventions, Vaishali Kulkarni, Founder & CEO, KBCols Sciences Pvt Ltd, said polyester is generally dyed at 130 degrees Celsius but with the firm’s unique technology, the required temperature has been reduced to 85 degrees. This has been beneficial for the sector. “We have seen that possibility with multiple fabrics. We now have tried almost every fabric,” she added.

For Gigi Mathews, Country Director, Enviu India, embracing circularity in the textile industry is “not an option” anymore. It has become an imperative. “There’s already pressure to consume less energy, use fewer resources and produce less waste. But it’s also important to scale and be profitable too. So, we have seen that conversation has started moving from CSR corridors to finance decision-makers,” she added.

A visual that most people cannot forget in a hurry is that of migrant workers walking back home as the coronavirus lockdown closed down cities in March 2020. The blue-collared workers had no jobs, incomes or the means to stay back in cities, and this started an exodus to their native villages.

This incident put the spotlight on a subject that had not been discussed with as much emphasis before — the need for responsible businesses and successful businesses to co-exist; the need to make worker welfare a top priority.

Nalini Shekar, Co-founder and Executive Director of Hasiru Dala, a member-based cooperative of waste pickers in Bengaluru, said the pandemic has clearly shown that businesses are not looking at sustainable human capital support. “What we need is a business with values,” she said, while speaking at the Sankalp Global Summit 2021. The virtual event, held from October 12-14, brings entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers on a platform to share ideas and grow together.

This community’s members know the nuances of sorting and grading waste and making it a tradable commodity, she says. “They are innate entrepreneurs. These are all skilled labourers who can sort and grade plastic into 74 categories, which none of us can do. We should not look at them as labour, but rather as people with skills, and we should leverage their entrepreneurial skills.”

Echoing similar sentiments, other industry experts were of the view that the system needs to work differently for informal migrant casual workers.

Rajiv Khandelwal, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Aajeevika Bureau, a non-profit organisation working with migrant communities, said if the bigger industries implement such practices, it will encourage the smaller players as well. “It is just not CSR activity, but if we do good and look after our workers and improve labour standards — not just within our factories, but also in the larger ecosystem — then our bottom line will also flourish and be healthier,” he said.

Factors such as enforcement, legal obligation, compliance, or law are simply not enough to bring equity and dignity to workers. Instead, he suggested, other standards should be set to achieve such a purpose. “These standards have to do around wages that make sure all workers have at least a living wage. There should be safety in the workplace. India has some of the most dangerous work conditions for workers, with the number of accidents and deaths at workplaces possibly being the highest anywhere in the world. Besides this, we should also make sure that there is gender parity and equality of opportunity, especially in terms of wages between men and women,” he said.

The role of corporations in ensuring that best business practices and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are implemented can bring greater dignity to workers. This has assumed even greater significance since the pandemic.

Namrata Mehra, Head of Design, Marketing & Customer Centricity Vikhroli; Lead – CSR & Sustainability, Godrej Properties Limited, said their workforce, of formal and informal migrant workers, is seen as an integral contributor to what they build. “Worker strength, in fact, is one of our proxies for company productivity across our organisation, which means that we check worker strength across each and every one of our sites at a daily level.”

She said they also check if workers can get a certification, as that would help them once they leave the site. “When we did some of these social context studies, we found that not everybody wanted to attend a course for skilling. We are now actively trying to see what we can do if they have learned on the job and if they can get a certification,” she added.

The welfare of workers is an important factor in businesses that have a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG). Even investors like to look at such companies.

Farhad Forbes, Global Chair, Family Business Network, said the investment community and large institutional investors are restricting investments in certain businesses. This is putting pressure on companies to fall in line. “As a result, many Indian companies and multinationals operating in India as well and many socially responsible Indian companies are taking this on board and feeling that they need to do something about it,” he said.

Citing the example of family businesses, which contribute significantly to India’s GDP, Forbes said getting enough family businesses on board can help to maximise the impact of this effort. “We are used to dealing with paradoxes in family businesses. We have to think about profit and purpose. And so, you can think about profit and addressing ESGs as well,” he added.

Making informal workers a part of the business chain is critical if a company wants to earn respect. Corporations can no longer treat informal workers as an “invisible” workforce, and the pandemic has driven this reality home in no uncertain terms.

Trusted operators and business ecosystems are the two major challenges that Bangladeshi startups face while attracting foreign investments, said entrepreneurship specialists.

“Most of the investors are concerned about who is operating and regulating the system, and whether it is reliable or not,” Tina Jabeen, CEO of Startup Bangladesh Limited, told a session of Sankalp Global Summit-2021 on Tuesday.

Mentioning that a new startup has to have an available market and good team, Tina said, Bangladesh is the best place to invest in a startup because the country has a very large market.

She also said since startup is not the kind of business “free to all”, entrepreneurs should know their “pros and cons” first before making the move.

Sankalp’s Global Summit is an Intellecap Initiative that brings together over 1,000 startup stakeholders from around the world to discuss, debate, and create a roadmap for development.

The session, on Tuesday, of the summit titled “Emergence & Impact of the Neo Bengal Tigers’ Startup Ecosystem” was hosted by Bangladesh Angels Network (BAN), a platform that works on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Bangladesh by connecting local and global investors.

Ann Runnel, founder and CEO of Estonia-based Reverse Resource, said, “I have not seen a startup ecosystem in Bangladesh similar to India or Singapore. Bangladesh has a different market environment that pushes it back in attracting new foreign investments.”

On successful fundraising techniques, Sajid Rahman, founding general partner of MyAsiaVC, said an investor must know where and who needs to be approached for the funding.

Ahmed Jawad Yusuf, advisory lead at Bangladesh Angels, said Bangladesh has the third most active impact investing market in South Asia.

“Over the past five years, the startup ecosystem has been able to attract $400 million foreign direct investment. The majority of it, if not all, has an impact in solving critical social problems through technology,” he added.

Nirjhor Rahman, CEO of Bangladesh Angels, moderated the programme

Noble laureate and founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday emphasised on the creation of a new law for banking to help microfinance reach unbanked people and encourage the creation of social businesses. He said that currently, there is one banking law that prescribes a number of regulations for banks, most importantly of having collateral for offering loans.

“The first thing that I have been repeating for many years is that in order for microfinance to take hold in business, you have to create a new law for banking.

“Today, there is only one law for banking called banking law which defines what a bank should be. The banking law means that you have to have collateral and other requirements,” Yunus said at the 13th Sanklap Global Summit 2021.

According to him, for having a bank for the poor, there is a need for creation of a new banking structure which is not based on collateral.

“We need a complete redesign of the financial system. And within the financial system, we have to build a social business financial system-social business bank, social business investment funds, social business microcredit banks, and so on,” Yunus noted.

He also raised concerns over concentration of wealth in the hands of very few people.

Yunus said this gap can be reduced if everyone becomes an entrepreneur.

Finance is the oxygen of entrepreneurship and one cannot have entrepreneurs without having connections with the financial set-up, he said.

“Why can’t we create a new financial system, so that everyone has a connection with it. If you have a connection with it, then you change yourself and you can have a share in the wealth,” he added.