AVPN Global Conference 2026 Opens in New Delhi, Unveils $1 Billion Climate Pipeline
AVPN Global Conference 2026 opens at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, for the first time, bringing nearly 2,000 leaders together as Maharashtra unveils a USD 1 billion climate investment pipeline for Asia-led impact.
The conference has brought together close to 2,000 influential funders, investors, corporates, policymakers and changemakers from across the region to develop practical and scalable pathways for inclusive growth.
Anupriya Patel, Honourable Minister of State & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers, delivered a Special Address titled “Advancing India’s Health Agenda”, focusing on how India can translate its health ambitions into actionable and inclusive strategies.
Distinguished speakers include Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group; Boon Heong Ng, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Foundation; Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia; Professor Larry Kramer, President & Vice-chancellor, London School of Economics & Political Science; Neerja Birla, Founder & Chairperson, Aditya Birla Education Trust; Piyush Gupta, Chairman, Singapore Management University; and Tony Tan, Executive Director, CapitaLand Hope Foundation.
The conference reflects AVPN’s role as Asia’s largest platform for social impact, where more than 700 resource providers, innovators and intermediaries from across 43 markets collaborate to mobilise capital for a more prosperous and inclusive Asia.
“India has a growing role in Asia's impact story, and is no longer simply a destination for impact capital,” said Achal Agarwal, Chair at AVPN. “It is fast becoming a source of ideas, innovation and solutions that will shape Asia’s future. Hosting our Global Conference here for the first time reflects that shift. This is a strategic choice: New Delhi gives us a two-way bridge, a platform for the rest of Asia to bring forward investment-ready ideas, and for innovations emerging from India to shape solutions across the region.”
Asia faces a USD 26-trillion financing need through 2030 to maintain growth, eradicate poverty and respond to climate change, alongside a USD 1.5-trillion annual SDG financing gap requiring more coordinated capital. The urgency is reflected in this year’s conference theme, “A Blueprint for Action in Asia”, which focuses on leadership exercised in and for the region through collaboration, capital mobilisation and innovative financing approaches that create opportunities for communities and markets.
The conference is designed to move the ecosystem from fragmented efforts to coordinated action, positioning AVPN as the connective tissue that allows capital to amplify impact across Asia.
“In a year like this, our biggest breakthrough will not come from any single funder, instrument or initiative. It will come from how bravely we choose to work together,” said Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO at AVPN. “We need an ecosystem where philanthropists, investors, corporates, governments and innovators see themselves not as separate actors, but as co-owners of shared outcomes. That is what the Conference is here to build, partnerships that translate intent into coordinated action, and capital that moves in ways that honour the realities of our communities. If we can do that, Asia will not just respond to this moment; we will redefine what effective, collaborative impact looks like for Asia.”
Over three days, stakeholders across sectors will participate in discussions and sessions centred on blended finance, health impact, gender equality, economic inclusion and climate action. The conference will also spotlight cross-cutting levers including AI, policy, impact investing and faith-based giving, which AVPN is harnessing to unlock new forms of capital and innovation for Asia.
The opening day featured the “Towards a More Cohesive Asia” session and the Harmony in Diversity Fund Grantee Announcement. The fund mobilises capital to support initiatives that strengthen harmony and intercultural understanding, with the first cohort of community-based organisations from across the region set to benefit.
The Government of Maharashtra and AVPN also unveiled a USD 1 billion climate investment pipeline under the Maharashtra Climate Investment Programme: From Pipeline to Deal. The pipeline brings together investment-ready opportunities across clean transport, industrial decarbonisation, renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture. The announcement marked the programme’s move from pipeline to deployment, with the first freight electrification transaction on the JNPA corridor and plans for a catalytic fund to help unlock private capital at scale.
Nexa Lighthouse was also highlighted as an emerging regional platform aimed at strengthening collaboration across climate, health, philanthropy and innovation as climate change increasingly affects health outcomes across Asia. The platform is designed to connect capital, knowledge and partnerships with locally led solutions addressing urgent climate-related health risks.
Another key session, “A Regional Reckoning: Eliminating Tuberculosis in Asia”, examined the region’s continuing tuberculosis burden and the uneven policy ambition to match its scale. Naina Subberwal Batra, AVPN CEO, was joined by Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Mark Suzman, CEO, Gates Foundation; and Boon Heong Ng, Executive Director & CEO, Temasek Foundation, to discuss how ending tuberculosis is a political choice and how governments and policymakers can make that choice.
The conference will conclude with an Impact Investing Day focused on actionable capital flows. Leading investors, fund managers, limited partners, general partners, philanthropists and ecosystem leaders will explore how the full continuum of capital, from grants to debt and equity, can be intentionally aligned to move solutions from innovation to scale.
By convening unlikely allies and catalysing coalitions, AVPN aims to foster shared accountability among partners across sectors and enable convergence around collective outcomes.
AVPN is Asia’s largest platform for social impact, with over 700 resource providers, innovators and intermediaries from across 43 markets collaborating to mobilise capital. Grounded in deep regional expertise and partnerships, AVPN is building an ecosystem that accelerates measurable progress toward inclusive growth and empowers Asia to lead global impact.
Its mission is to translate intent into impact by bringing together people, ideas and resources for Asia. It does this by strengthening partnerships, fostering open collaboration and enabling the coordinated flow of resources across markets and borders. Together with its community, AVPN is building an impact ecosystem focused on a prosperous and inclusive Asia.
The AVPN Global Conference is the largest annual networking event for resource providers active in Asia, bringing together leaders from Asia and beyond to collectively envision an impactful future that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable. The conference provides an opportunity to build trust between resource providers, philanthropists and community impact leaders on priorities shaping Asia’s impact landscape through its 12 interconnected tracks.
Alongside the conference is a dedicated AVPN Impact Investing Day, described as the first-of-its-kind large-scale impact investment-focused convening in Asia, featuring global and Asian investors, funders and Limited Partners, including asset managers, family offices and institutional investors.
The first AVPN Global Conference in India places New Delhi at the centre of the organisation’s effort to convert capital, collaboration and innovation into coordinated action across Asia.

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