The 2026 ANDE Pan-Asia Convening (PAC 2026) marked a new chapter for entrepreneurship ecosystems across Asia. Bringing together ANDE’s South Asia and East & Southeast Asia regions for the first time, the convening recognized a simple reality: the challenges facing entrepreneurs across the Global South are increasingly interconnected, and so are the solutions.
As a platform for ecosystem builders, investors, policymakers, and practitioners, the convening fostered conversations that crossed borders and sectors, creating opportunities for collaboration, shared learning, and stronger regional partnerships to support inclusive entrepreneurship. Importantly, the convening was designed to move from conversations and knowledge building to rolling up sleeves and finding solutions to pressing common challenges.
Day 1 of the ANDE PAC 2026 focused on the foundations of strong entrepreneurial ecosystems. Across keynote discussions and thematic sessions, speakers explored how collaboration, data-driven decision-making, inclusive program design, and ecosystem partnerships can create the conditions for entrepreneurs to thrive.
Asia’s Moment: Building the Next Decade of Enterprise, Impact, and Capital
Asia already holds the talent and ideas to drive the next decade of enterprise and impact, but opportunity remains unevenly distributed. Closing that gap requires ecosystems, including funders, investors, networks, and entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), to provide entrepreneurs with knowledge, market access, capital, and connections so purpose-driven ventures can scale resiliently across communities and borders.
Ahmad Azuar Zainuddin, CEO of Satu Creative, highlighted on-the-ground signals from purpose-driven entrepreneurs to argue that social, technological, economical, environmental, and political shifts are reshaping opportunities across Asia. On geopolitical uncertainty he added, “Technology, capital, policy matter, but the future itself, of course, is human. The question is whether entrepreneurs have access to knowledge, market, network, capital, and ecosystem.”
He argued that entrepreneurship and impact are increasingly happening by choice in secondary cities and regions (Bandung, Chiang Mai, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Yogyakarta), not only in major economic centers. He went on to emphasize the role of ecosystem support organizations in dispelling the myth that only density, market size, or population drive success, noting that technology, improved infrastructure, and better connectivity are enabling entrepreneurs everywhere.
Sucharita Kamath, Asia Regional Director, ANDE, introduced the updated Ecosystem Diagnostic Toolkit as a way to identify bottlenecks, map actors, and prioritize high-impact interventions that can truly strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems. Built on 12 years of diagnostic work, it goes beyond just counting incubators or funds to distinguish between what exists and what actually produces results, and to avoid common pitfalls like copying formulas from elsewhere or intervening where the real bottleneck is not.
She explained that the toolkit is structured around four key questions: what conditions exist in the ecosystem; whether those conditions are working to deliver outcomes; who can act to improve things; and where to invest for maximum impact given limited resources. Practically, this means mapping conditions across seven domains, understanding which actors operate in which domains and how intensely, and revealing gaps, duplications, and problems in the “connective tissue” of collaboration. The process is staged: an initial, AI-enabled scan of public data to gauge ecosystem maturity, a deeper look at actors and coverage, and an optional diagnostic phase with interviews and qualitative insights that data alone might miss.
From there, the toolkit is designed to move diagnostics into action. It produces a domain radar with bottlenecks clearly identified, actor-domain maps with gap analysis, ecosystem coverage maps by stage and type, and role-based action plans for each of five actor types. Each recommendation is framed in an actionable way: not just “strengthen financing,” but concrete items such as launching an angel readiness program through local accelerators, or building a social enterprise track with a university. A case study from San Luis Potosí in Mexico shows this in practice: the toolkit highlighted tight financing and limited support for social and environmental entrepreneurs, leading local partners (not ANDE itself) to design and implement an angel readiness program and a university track, illustrating how diagnostics can catalyze targeted, locally owned solutions.
In the closing Q&A, the conversation shifted to what it took to be an ecosystem builder, not just an entrepreneur. Sucharita spoke about the “depth versus breadth” dilemma, arguing that effective ecosystem builders needed both sectoral expertise and the ability to connect dots, as well as the humility to know when to bring in others. Participants from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and other countries then raised real-world barriers that they faced: social and religious norms that discouraged entrepreneurship, the uneven role of the state in providing enabling policy and infrastructure, and changing dynamics around angel and impact investors, incubators, and accelerators. Responding to a question about incubators and accelerators, Sucharita underlined their different roles: incubators at very early stages help build pipeline, accelerators aggregate and de-risk portfolios for investors, and both are relevant to how guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms are designed.
From Learning to Practice: SCALE 360 Alumni Exchange
The first-ever SCALE 360 Global Alumni gathering was the first of the curated closed-door sessions designed to solve problems together. It brought together participants of ANDE’s SCALE 360 cohort from across Asia and Africa to reflect on one of the sector’s toughest questions: how can support organizations themselves become more effective and sustainable?
Two themes dominated. The first was selection discipline: alumni described moving away from choosing enterprises based on enthusiasm or volume, toward tighter criteria anchored in problem alignment, with several using tiered or funnel-based approaches that prioritize quality over reach. The second was charging for services. Organizations at different stages shared candid reflections on shifting from free to paid models: how to introduce fees without fracturing trust with entrepreneurs and stakeholders, how to diversify revenue beyond government or donor contracts, and how the value proposition has to be clear before anyone will pay. Several described redesigning their models around shared ownership and ecosystem collaboration rather than direct delivery alone.
Breakout discussions surfaced persistent constraints around sustainable business models, partner selection, and the internal introspection required before an organization can change how it operates. A survey of the alumni community found the strongest demand is for collaboration opportunities, funding partnerships, and resource sharing. In response, the session launched a global Alumni Directory and a global alumni WhatsApp group to sustain peer exchange between convenings.
PREVENT Waste Alliance – A matchmaking space for Circular Economy
A recurring theme throughout Day 1 was that promising ventures often struggle not because of weak ideas, but because of limited access to capital and partnerships.
The matchmaking session co-hosted with the PREVENT Waste Alliance examined how circular economy enterprises can become investment-ready through stronger ecosystem support. Through their platform, they are helping organizations find partners, exchange knowledge, and access finance so that circular economy initiatives can grow beyond pilot projects into scalable solutions.
Participants heard practical examples from 3R Solutions (India), which refined its investor pitch and financial strategy through PREVENT’s Investment Readiness Program, and PCX Solutions (Philippines), which demonstrated how partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms have helped expand plastic recovery efforts across multiple countries.
The session also highlighted a sobering reality: only around 3% of private sector finance currently flows to circular economy initiatives, reinforcing the need for stronger collaboration between enterprises, investors, and support organizations.
Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Where Everyone Can Thrive
Impact Hub led a thought-provoking session that encouraged participants to rethink what inclusive entrepreneurship actually looks like.
Using the metaphor of an “inclusion garden,” speakers from Impact Hub Phnom Penh, Impact Hub Kathmandu, and Impact Hub Jakarta described how inclusion grows through trust, dignity, and shared ownership; not simply accessible infrastructure.
A particularly powerful insight questioned why entrepreneurship programs for persons with disabilities are so often designed exclusively for them, rather than integrated into mainstream programming.
Instead, the Elevate program deliberately paired entrepreneurs with and without disabilities to co-create products, share expertise, and enter mainstream markets together. Rather than exhibiting only at disability-focused events, participants launched their products in Jakarta’s commercial bazaars, building practical market experience while forming lasting business partnerships.
Impact Hub also shared insights from its BEAM program, which supports women entrepreneurs with disabilities across Asia Pacific. Rather than treating accessibility as the end goal, the program emphasizes trust, psychological safety, and co-creation, recognizing that true inclusion means creating spaces where entrepreneurs feel respected, heard, and able to participate as equals. Speakers reflected on how BEAM evolved beyond a traditional incubation program into a shared learning journey, where lived experiences shaped the program itself, helping participants build confidence, strengthen their businesses, and become advocates for disability inclusion.
A Common Thread
Across every session, one idea consistently emerged: entrepreneurship does not thrive in isolation. Whether discussing ecosystem diagnostics, circular economy finance, or disability inclusion, speakers highlighted the importance of collaboration, trust, and institutions that enable entrepreneurs to succeed over the long term. Day 1 ultimately pushed the conversation beyond individual ventures, raising a broader question: what does it take to build ecosystems where innovation, opportunity, and inclusion can flourish together?