

India’s Innovative Finance Playbook: From Pilots to Scaled Capital
Speakers:
Aparna Dua: Partner, The Blended Finance Company
Kartikeya Desai: CEO, Desai & Associates
Shruti Goel: Co-CEO, Upaya Social Ventures
About the Session:
India has become a major hub of innovative finance, with several new instruments and structures emerging to unlock private capital for climate and inclusion solutions. Yet the market faces real constraints, from regulation and pipeline development to measurement and investor behaviour.
This closed-door session will convene major funders and practitioners for a structured dialogue on what has worked in India, what is preventing these models from scaling, and what global best practices can be applied in the Indian context.
The discussion will span impact-first equity, blended finance, collaborative philanthropy, outcomes-based financing, and government-led models, each anchored by practitioners who are pioneering this work.