How will India — the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people today — scale up new technologies to tackle climate change, addressing climate adaptation, emissions mitigation, and human development? Anjali Bansal and Swapna Gupta, co-founders of India’s first climate technology-focused venture capital fund, Avaana Capital, will discuss innovations they are pioneering at the intersection of technology innovation, capital financing, environment, and public policy.

Join CGI for a wide-ranging conversation discussing: the landscape of climate-focused venture capital funds globally and in India; the ambit of climate-focused funds serving the Global South; a novel “whole ecosystem approach” being advanced by the speakers to scale up promising climate technologies, and, a snapshot of the climate startups emerging in India in energy, mobility, construction and agriculture sectors. The speakers will also reflect on their journey as women leaders in tech.

12:00-12:30: Lunch (registration requested)
12:30-1:30: Panel Discussion

Panelists:

• Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner of Avaana Capital

• Swapna Gupta, Partner at Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund

• Moderator: Professor Anu Ramaswami, Sanjay Swani ’87 Professor of India Studies, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, & the High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University

• Discussant: Chris Greig, Theodora D. ’78 & William H. Walton III ’74 Senior Research Scientist in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

• Discussant: Elie Bou-Zeid, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, Program in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources