10th Sankalp Africa Summit – 2023

A decade of impact!

Africa’s largest convening on impact entrepreneurship and sustainable development

The Sankalp Africa Summit is an event that catalyzes collaborations across the entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to solve global challenges sustainably. We believe that entrepreneurs are reshaping Africa’s economic opportunities to improve the lives of millions. Join us to build relationships, discover opportunities, explore sustainable development strategies, and forge unlikely alliances with new partners.

The time for transformational change is today, and at Sankalp we are bringing together a community of global entrepreneurs and practitioners who are driven by impact. We will be convening the Sankalp Global Summit on an annual basis virtually, recognizing that we are all interconnected and celebrating the opportunity of collaborating across geographic borders to achieve the SDGs. As always, we remain an entrepreneur centric convening, focused on bringing together mission driven for-profit enterprises, impact investors, development finance institutions, philanthropic foundations, angel investors, private sector, incubators, accelerators and governments. Sankalp’s framework of knowledge, capital, and networks remains at the core of our community.

#Transformingimpact Trending Topics

SciFimpact: A look at the next ten years in the age of new technology

Climate Change and Clean Energy: Clean Energy is now mainstream in the power sector

Gender and Future of Work(ers): Emergence of new challenges overlaid on long-established ones in the age of automation

Health & Wash: Availability of WASH services is a key for quality care and infection prevention

Financial Inclusion: Around 200 million micro, small, & medium enterprises have little to no access to credit

Agriculture: Agriculture in the Global South is facing a plethora of challenges today, especially smallholder farmers

Circular Economy: With 60 million people employed in the textile value chain, the impact on those working in this sector, has been immense during the pandemic

Youth & Livelihoods: Alternative livelihoods activities for youth are only effective if they enable young people to fill key gaps in the market

Affordable Housing: In the backdrop of impending large-scale urbanization, it is imperative to identify, evaluate and address the challenges faced by the affordable housing consumer

Transforming Impact

Three fundamental shifts in our thinking define the theme of Sankalp this year which is #TransformingImpact. This year, across our flagship summits, we will bring together global and regional collaborators who will transform impact to help achieve the SDGs.

As we write this theme note for the 10th Sankalp Africa Summit 2023, Kenya is suffering from the worst drought in four decades and floods are ravishing Nigeria on the opposite side of the continent. Land temperatures have recorded highs of between 40 – 60 degrees centigrade in some regions, and extreme heat waves are crippling power and water supplies across countries.

This global climate crisis threatens the lives and livelihoods of over 100 million in extreme poverty. It could destabilize local markets, increase food insecurity, limit economic growth, and increase risk for agriculture sector investors, especially across Africa. Despite the fact that Africa’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, the vast majority of its production is entirely dependent on rainfall, which is becoming more and more erratic – alternating between droughts and floods across the continent. The impact on the Global South countries is severe.

We wish we were writing about a future world but this is the reality of today. We are not yet done with the pandemic that is still taking lives and disrupting economic growth in emerging markets. Developmental progress has regressed, more people are being pushed into poverty, and already vulnerable populations continue to be adversely impacted. Empathy to look beyond our own personal world is needed now more than ever.

We would like to embrace three fundamental shifts in thinking along with the Sankalp community of practitioners as we navigate this changing world dynamic.

Transformational change versus baby steps

The pace with which the world is changing is outstripping our slow, but steady progress. Entrepreneurs need to think radically, create out of the box solutions, and accelerate unlikely alliances to drive the transformational change the world so desperately needs. Innovative, sustainable solutions need support to scale locally and be replicated globally.

Interconnectedness versus individualism

Our world is more interconnected than ever, and each individual action has an impact (positive or negative; intended or unintended) on the community and our environment. We need to think individually, but act communally in the best interest of our increasingly connected global community. Collaboration is key.

Making the change happen versus waiting for the change

This transformational change requires our proactive efforts and a sense of global empathy. Our global community is made up of individuals – and each one of us must embody the progress that the world so desperately demands. Our collective efforts will be the driving force for real, sustainable change.