After four editions of the South Asia Convening, we believe the moment is right to expand our vision. In 2026, ANDE South Asia and ANDE East and Southeast Asia bring our regional efforts together to launch the ANDE Pan-Asia Convening—a new platform designed to reflect the increasingly interconnected realities of entrepreneurship across the Global South.
As a South–South connector, ANDE is creating intentional space for ecosystem builders from across Asia to learn from one another, collaborate across borders, and co-create solutions to shared challenges. By convening investors, intermediaries, policymakers, and practitioners from diverse emerging markets, the Pan-Asia Convening will unlock new pathways for cross-regional partnerships, knowledge exchange, and investment flows, strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems at scale.
Theme: Asia’s Moment: Building the Next Decade of Enterprise, Impact, and Capital
- Track 1: Building What Lasts: Ecosystems, Institutions, and Collective Action(Consolidates: Ecosystem building, measurement, capital coordination)
- Track 2: Asia’s SGB Movement: Inclusive Entrepreneurship(Consolidates: Inclusive entrepreneurship, Asian SGBs)
- Track 3: Capital That Works: Rethinking Finance for Scale, Inclusion, and Resilience(Consolidates: Impact investing, blended finance, role of private finance, future of philanthropy)
- Track 4: Tech, Data, and the Next Wave of Entrepreneurship(Consolidates: Emerging technologies, impact measurement)
10:00-11:00 (IST) | 11:30-12:30 (ICT)
Asia’s Moment: Building the Next Decade of Enterprise, Impact, and Capital
What does it mean to build for the long term in Asia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem? Our opening session sets the stage for three days of connection, learning, and collective action – featuring a keynote, presenting sponsor remarks and a first look at ANDE’s new Ecosystem Mapping and Diagnostic Toolkit, designed to help practitioners benchmark, navigate, and strengthen the systems we’re building together. Don’t miss the session that kicks off the conversation.
11:30-12:15 (IST) | 13:00-13:45 (ICT)
Open Networking
Some of the best partnerships start with a five-minute conversation.
Our Speed Connect sessions bring the energy of speed dating to the world of impact – fast, focused, and surprisingly fun. You’ll rotate through a series of short one-on-one conversations with fellow practitioners, investors, and ecosystem builders from across Asia, giving you the chance to make more meaningful connections in 45 minutes than most conferences manage in three days.
Come with your elevator pitch, your burning questions, or just an open mind. You never know who you’ll meet or what it might lead to.
13:30-15:00 (IST) | 15:00-16:30 (ICT)
From Learning to Practice: SCALE 360 Alumni Exchange
What does it take to build institutions and ecosystems that endure? This session brings together SCALE 360 alumni for a candid, closed-door conversation on the hard-won lessons of ecosystem building – coordination challenges, collective action, and what’s required to move from individual organizations to resilient, interconnected systems across Asia and Africa.
This session is exclusively for SCALE 360 alumni.
15:30- 16:30 (IST) | 17:00-18:00 (ICT)
PREVENT Waste Alliance – A matchmaking space for Circular Economy
Session co-led with Prevent Waste Alliance
Circular economy needs cooperation along the whole circular value chain, as well as strong knowledge exchange, to scale. PREVENT, a BMZ initiative, can support this by offering a platform to connect, exchange and develop concrete collaboration opportunities.
Unpack the value through access to an international network, working groups, the Circular Economy Finance Helpdesk, co-creation formats, capacity building, and visibility opportunities.
SPEAKERS:
- Julia Körner, Advisor Circular Economy at GIZ
- Carina Martens, Junior Advisor Circular Economy at GIZ
- Rahul Juware, Co-founder of 3R Solutions
- Stefanie Beitien, Managing Director and Board Member at PCX Solutions
17:30-18:45 (IST) | 19:00-20:15 (ICT)
Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Where Everyone Can Thrive
Session co-led with Impact Hub
How do we move beyond accommodation to build entrepreneurial ecosystems where everyone thrives?
Discover practical insights from the BEAM and Elevate: Together for Accessible Entrepreneurship programs. Impact Hubs in Asia-Pacific will share proven approaches to supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities through accessible incubation, learning, community-building, mentorship, and access to finance. Through interactive peer exchange, participants will gain tangible tools to strengthen inclusion and enable entrepreneurs with disabilities to access business opportunities to thrive within Asia’s entrepreneurial ecosystems.
SPEAKERS:
- Nadilla Sari Ratman-Burnama, Elevate and BEAM Regional Program Manager at Impact Hub APAC & Impact Hub Jakarta
- Andria Puspa, Elevate Regional Program Officer at Impact Hub Jakarta
- Anh Nguyen, Elevate and BEAM Regional M&E Lead at Impact Hub Phnom Penh
- Pichmony Thay, Impact Hub Phnom Penh’s Elevate Program Manager
- Rashi Maharjan , Impact Hub Kathmandu’s BEAM Local Program Manager
- Sean Bunjamin, Impact Hub Jakarta’s Elevate Local Program Manager
9:30-10:30 (IST) | 11:00-12:00 (ICT)
Walking the Talk: Measuring Gender Inclusion Across Entrepreneur Support Systems
Session co-led with Sweef Capital
How do you measure gender inclusion within your own organization — not just in your portfolio? This interactive session introduces the Gender ROI™ framework as a practical tool for investors, accelerators, and ecosystem builders to assess their internal practices and capital allocation approaches. Expect guided exercises, peer exchange, and concrete next steps you can take back to your team.
SPEAKER:
- Brianna Losoya-Evora, Director of the Sweef Institute
11:30-12:30 (IST) | 13:00-14:00 (ICT)
Beyond Access: How Entrepreneurial Households Really Manage Money
Session co-led with EPIC World
Across India, millions of Entrepreneurial Households are building livelihoods, managing multiple income streams, and investing in their futures. Yet despite widespread access to bank accounts, smartphones, and digital payments, access has not translated into meaningful use. Drawing on insights from EH360, this session explores how households actually save, borrow, manage risk, and make financial decisions, and what these behaviours reveal about the future of financial inclusion, product design, and economic opportunity in Asia?
SPEAKERS:
- Shobha Venkataramaran, Partner at Elevar Equity and Director at EPIC World Foundation
- Bénigne du Parc, Program Director at Good Return
- Utpal Isser, Managing Director and Co-founder of SarvaGram
14:00-15:30 (IST) | 15:30-17:00 (ICT)
Pooled ESO TA Facility Design Workshop
Session co-led with Sattva Consulting and Mekong Inclusive Ventures
Access to appropriate capital remains one of the most stubborn barriers facing ESO’s across Asia even while they provide the crucial small and growing businesses pipeline to investors across the region. This hands-on workshop puts practitioners and investors in the room together to co-design an ESO finance facility — exploring what a pooled fund for ESO to draw from could actually look like on the ground. Come ready to roll up your sleeves.
This session is by invitation only. Reach out to Sucharita Kamath (ANDE Asia Regional Head) at sucharita.kamath@aspeninstitute.org or Joy Munthamraksa (ANDE East and Southeast Asia Chapter Head) at joy.munthamraksa@aspeninstitute.org to be a part of the conversation.
17:30-18:30 (IST) | 19:00-20:00 (ICT)
IMT Alumni Exchange — Reconnect, Reflect, and Shape What’s Next
This one’s for you – the leaders, and changemakers who’ve come through the IMT program.
We’ve been listening. After running a survey to hear directly from our alumni community, we’re bringing you together to share back what we found – your experiences, your insights, and what you told us matters most. But this isn’t just a presentation. What follows is a chance to reconnect with fellow alumni in a fun, interactive networking session designed to kick off something bigger: the formal launch of the IMT Alumni Group.
Think of this as the beginning of a community that will keep growing long after the event ends.
If you’re an IMT alumnus, this session was built for you. Come ready to reconnect, contribute, and help shape the future of the network.
This session is exclusively for IMT alumni.
10:00-11:15 (IST) | 11:30-12:45 (ICT)
Unlocking AI for Social Impact: From Curiosity to Capability
Session co-led with Vera Solutions
AI tools are becoming more accessible, but are ESOs equipped to use them well? This practical workshop introduces participants to how AI, including tools like Claude for Nonprofits, can be applied to real impact measurement and data challenges. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to go deeper, this session will offer tangible takeaways.
SPEAKERS:
- Shyama Sinha, Director of Solutions Engineering at Vera Solutions
- Prateek Gupta, Product Lead at Vera Solutions
- Ambareen Baig, PMU and Insights Manager at Accelerate Prosperity
- Renee Hunter, Associate Director of Advisory Services at Value for Women
12:00-12:45 (IST) | 13:30-14:15 (ICT)
Open Networking
Some of the best partnerships start with a five-minute conversation.
Our Speed Connect sessions bring the energy of speed dating to the world of impact – fast, focused, and surprisingly fun. You’ll rotate through a series of short one-on-one conversations with fellow practitioners, investors, and ecosystem builders from across Asia, giving you the chance to make more meaningful connections in 45 minutes than most conferences manage in three days.
Come with your elevator pitch, your burning questions, or just an open mind. You never know who you’ll meet or what it might lead to.
14:00-15:00 (IST) | 15:30-16:30 (ICT)
Why Humans Will Still Win: The Enduring Power of Judgment, Trust and Purpose in the AI
Session co-led with Satu Creative
Machines are fast. Humans are wise. In a world racing to automate, what should stay human?
Join this lively, hands-on session to explore why trust, gut instinct, ethics, and purpose still win in business, investing, and ecosystem building. Live quiz. Honest conversation. Real group debate. Leave with one decision you’ll protect as your own, on purpose.
Why humans will still win, let’s prove it together.
SPEAKER:
- Farouk Khalid, Senior Advisor (People & Culture) at Satu Creative
15:30-17:00 (IST) | 17:00-18:30 (ICT)
The Next Wave: Technology and AI for Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Session co-led with ONOW and DaanVeda
As technology and AI continue to evolve, what do these shifts mean for entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them? This session brings together innovators and practitioners to share emerging tools, technologies, and insights from implementation — exploring practical applications, lessons learned, and what may be on the horizon for entrepreneurial ecosystems in Asia.
This session is divided into two segments. In the first part of the session, ONOW will showcase DayTwo, an AI-powered financial companion that has supported more than 1,000 small businesses across five Entrepreneur Support Organization partners. Participants will see how entrepreneur-first technology can generate continuous business insights that benefit entrepreneurs, coaches, program managers, donors, and capital providers alike. Through live demonstrations, real program data, and practical discussion, we’ll explore how AI and behavioral data can help organizations: The second segment of this session, led by DaanVeda and facilitated by Irfan Bashir, their CEO, will focus on fundraising. The session will provide an overview of key fundraising statistics, types of donors, and fundraising strategies. This will be followed by a demonstration of AI tools for fundraising including how to automate personalized outreach at scale.
SPEAKERS:
- Matthew Wallace, CEO and co-founder of ONOW Ascent
- Irfan Bashir, Co-founder of DaanVeda
