Our flagship vehicle to support social entrepreneurs is the AFI Annual Forum, an exclusive invite-only event that brings together 100 leading social innovators along with 100 influencers, drawn from the realms of impact investment, philanthropy, government, industry and public policy.
During the course of the two-day event, these participants discuss, deliberate and devise ways to promote innovation and scale impact.
The Forum is a one-of-a-kind event that provides:
✼ Access to financial, governmental, human & intellectual capital resources
✼ Interaction with mentors who can provide business process advice and long-term support to scale-up
✼ Sharing of ideas, inspiration and best practices by industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs
✼ Selected social entrepreneurs will also receive continued consulting support to scale their impact as a part of the advisory verticle - Social Entrepreneurs Advisory Service
Key Attractions
The event will witness very well established keynote speakers, panel discussions from different voices of international repute, give you an opportunity to be paired with a mentor, help you learn from leaders in your sector and give you the golden opportunity to participate in the Silicon Valley Trek.
The event will also see the launch of our brand new Social Enterprise Advisory Program (SEAS) and recognise the high potential enterpreneurs for their efforts to create change.
Upcoming Forum
The 9th edition of the Annual Forum is slated to happen in 2024. Given the pandemic, this invite-only event will be conducted virtually and thus will allow us to invite those in the social impact ecosystem beyond just India, opening us to the rest of the world particularly the US and the UK.
The Forum will focus on sectors including Agriculture, Education, Livelihoods, Health, Climate, and Financial inclusion. In addition, there will be insights for entrepreneurs covering several topics such as fundraising, sectoral trends, growth marketing, and leveraging technology for scaling impact. Based on the insights collated in the event, we plan to gauge policy reforms that would benefit the social impact ecosystem.
Theme:
India Beyond 2020 - Driving Impact Investing to Attain UN SDGs
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AS A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AS AN INFLUENCER
Previous Speakers
AFI has organized 8 Forums till now since 2012. Leading practitioners and influential voices in global impact markets have been part of the previous Forums. Here's the illustrious list:
Previous Forums
AFI Forum: 2012
"Leveraging Technology for Scaling Impact"
The first-ever annual forum was inaugurated in the presence of 200 invited guests, passionate and dedicated toward social entrepreneurship and leveraging the potential of technology to empower the future of the world. Themed, ‘Growing Social Innovation- Leveraging Technology and Government’, the forum, also witnessed the release of the report, 'Growing Social Innovation' highlighting the role of technology and government in scaling social impact.
AFI Forum: 2013
"Scaling Social Innovation in India"
Following the success of the 1st AFI Annual Forum, the 2013 forum was a 2-day event held at IIT Delhi. The theme of the event, 'Scaling Social Innovation in India' was envisioned through the emphasis of collaboration in a world that is ever so connected. The forum brought together stakeholders with a common vision in an attempt to bridge distances between industries and sectors, and encourage a culture of cross- sectoral collaborative success. A highlight of the 2013 forum was the launch of the first ever, 'Social Innovation Thinkbook'.
AFI Forum: 2014
"Building Hubs of Social Innovation for Mega Impact"
Themed 'Building hubs of Social Innovation for Mega Impact', Action For India leveraged the gathering of the 2014 Forum to start a conversation about the practical difficulties in accessibility when starting a social entrepreneurship venture. Thus, AFI launched the creation of regional hubs that were built with the aim of connecting social entrepreneurs to relevant local stakeholders thereby making the process of scaling more accessible. Mentorcloud, an online mentoring platform was launched during the forum.
AFI Forum: 2015
"Leveraging Peers, Partners & Technology: Connect. Collaborate. Co-Create."
The theme of AFI Annual Forum 2015 was 'Leveraging Peers, Partners and Technology: Connect, Collaborate and Co-Create'. The forum was held at the Infosys campus of one of the busiest, industrial cities of India, Bengaluru. The forum was inaugurated by Nandan Nilekani who articulately conveyed the importance of the Aadhar initiative with its opportunities while also stressing on how entrepreneurs could make use of governmental support in using technology to solve persistent problems of our country.
AFI Forum: 2016
"Scaling Social Impact in India"
Narendra Modi’s call for Start up India, drove Action For India to direct the 2016 Annual forum to highlight the importance of social entrepreneurs in playing an active part in promoting a business culture to solve the social problems of India. Themed 'The Scale-up weekend for social enterprises: Innovate for Impact', the attendees saw some of India's greatest entrepreneurs which included Sam Pitroda, Desh Deshpande and Sonia Singh among the many others.
AFI Forum: 2017
"Technology for Transformation - Embracing the future for mega impact"
Themed 'Technology for Transformation: Embracing the future for Mega Impact', Action For India realised the need to engage all stakeholders with the vision for social impact after seeing how the world is dramatically transforming through new age technology like artificial intelligence and robotics. Action For India sees great potential in social entrepreneurs who find solutions in technology. Suresh Babu, Amitabh Kant and R Chandrashekhar were among the few eminent people who graced the event with their presence.
AFI Forum: 2018
"Sustainable Development Goals and Impact Investing"
Recognising the United Nations thrust on the Sustainable Development Goals, AFI themed its 7th annual forum, 'Sustainable Development Goals and Impact Investing' held in Alibaug, Mumbai. A wide range of eminent personalities inspired the social entrepreneurs to align their organization goals to that of the UN's SDGs in an attempt to advance global empowerment.
AFI Forum: 2019
"Converging for Change"
The 8th AFI Annual Forum, the annual flagship event of Action For India, brought together 100 leading social entrepreneurs and 100 influencers which included donors, investors, IAS officers, technology executives, policy analysts and many more experts from various fields. Themed, 'Converging for Change', the forum was a two-day immersive experience at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad on 8th & 9th November, 2019 in partnership with the Government of Telangana.
