Overview

The third edition of the Sankalp Bharat summit, themed “The Bharat Story: Climate, Culture & Compute”, will be held on 28 October 2026 at Clarks Avadh in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The event is organized by Aavishkaar Foundation and Intellecap and is expected to bring together more than 600 founders, investors, institutions and policymakers.

Participants and Speakers

The summit will open with Manu Nair, founder of the reusable‑rocket company EtherealX. The “Bharat Bol” founder series will feature Surya Prakash Yadav (UnORG, Lucknow), Tanutejas Saraswat (ShopKirana, Indore – recently acquired by Udaan), Divya Hegde (Baeru, Udupi), Prof. Nagaraja Prakasam (Nativelead, Madurai), Mausmi Ambastha (Shifu Foundation, Patna) and Tushar Suhalka (Regrip, Jaipur/Gurugram). A delegation led by Vineet Rai, Founder and Vice Chairman of Aavishkaar Group, and U.K. Sinha met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister during the second Sankalp Bharat summit on 12 December 2025.

Aavishkaar Foundation Impact

Aavishkaar Foundation’s programmes operate across 25 districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, reaching more than 30,000 students in over 500 government schools and colleges. Its Entrepreneur Investment Programme has supported 40 first‑generation entrepreneurs, of whom 80 % are women, including the Pravidhaan Farmer Producer Company in Gorakhpur (supporting 2,000 farmers) and Shiksha Saathi in Varanasi (connecting 237 schools and 6,700 learners). Young entrepreneurs from the programme will pitch their ideas to a jury of investors, policymakers and established founders at the summit.

Financing Sessions

The agenda includes sessions on impact investing, venture capital, capital markets and corporate‑social‑responsibility financing. Specific programmes comprise an angel‑investing primer for Uttar Pradesh, an NSE‑led Social Stock Exchange masterclass, a presentation by Ajay Sharma of Edelweiss Public Alternatives titled “The Two Indias: Which One Are You Building?”, and a UN Women ARISE workshop designed to help women‑owned SMEs access finance.

Climate, Culture & Compute Themes

  • Climate: GIZ and Intellecap will host a closed‑door round‑table on financing climate adaptation, highlighting opportunities for GIZ’s i‑Adapt Climate Adaptation & Innovation Hub.
  • Culture: A main‑stage discussion titled “Climate‑Informed, Culturally Relevant: Building Liveable Cities for All India” will explore climate‑responsive, culturally rooted urban planning as Uttar Pradesh plans to create 100 new townships over the next five years.
  • Compute: EkStep Foundation, Caret Capital and JanAI will discuss how open digital infrastructure, job‑matching platforms and local‑language voice AI can expand access to identity, employment and services beyond metropolitan areas.

Syna Dehnugara, Director of Sankalp, emphasized that climate, culture and compute are inter‑linked and will shape whether India’s next growth phase is inclusive and sustainable.

Intellecap Profile

Intellecap, a member of the Aavishkaar Group, was founded in 2002 and works across sectors such as agriculture, livelihoods, climate change, clean energy, financial services, gender & inclusion, healthcare, water and sanitation. To date it has delivered more than 800 global engagements in over 70 countries and has syndicated investments exceeding USD 2 billion. The organization provides consulting, research and investment‑banking services to multilateral agencies, development finance institutions, social enterprises, corporations, investors, policymakers and donors. More information is available at www.intellecap.com.

Contact

For further details, please refer to the attached summit agenda or visit the Aavishkaar Foundation website at aavishkaarfoundation.in.