Over the next decade, millions are expected to enter India's workforce. The MSME sector already contributes nearly 30% of India's GDP and employs over 110 million people, yet operates largely at low productivity, and India must create 8-9 million jobs a year, making stronger non-farm enterprises central to opportunity for women and youth.

This is the challenge behind the Reimagining Local Economies series, convened under DA's SAMUDYAM: Mission Million Livelihoods. Roundtable 1 (November 2025) established why coordinated, platform-based systems are needed; Roundtable 2 (February 2026) established that India has created enterprises at scale but not enterprises that scale, and called for deliberate system design. Roundtable 3, held on 25th August 2026 at Le Méridien, New Delhi, moved the conversation from what to how, exploring institutional infrastructure, convergence, a portfolio of solutions, and strategic nudges.

The evening opened with a fireside chat between Aloka Majumdar (HSBC India) and Dr. François Bonnici (Schwab Foundation/WEF), moderated by Shrashtant Patara, DA's Chief Executive. Kanika Verma, EVP, DA, presented "Mission Million Livelihoods: Building the Path from Vision to Action," followed by the Entrepreneurs' Chaupal a conversation with entrepreneurs on the ground realities of enterprise-led change, enterprise growth, and job creation. The session also launched the Enterprise Compendium. The centrepiece of the evening was the Roundtable Dialogue on Operationalising Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, opened with thematic presentations by Prof. Kiran Limaye (Senior Advisor, DA, and Senior Research Fellow, deAsra Foundation) and moderated by Moutushi Sengupta, Founder and CEO, OneWorld Colab. The dialogue examined the institutional infrastructure, convergence, portfolio of solutions, and strategic nudges required to help entrepreneurship create livelihoods at scale.

The evening closed with a synthesis session led by Satyam Vyas (Founder & CEO, Arthan and Climate Asia) and the launch of a new partnership between DA, Karo Sambhav and Haqdarshak -announced on stage as "The Circular Shift"-a joint initiative between Development Alternatives, Karo Sambhav and Haqdarshak to build a network of skilled repair entrepreneurs, refurbishers and circular economy enterprises working across sorting, grading and repair, expanding green livelihood opportunities while keeping more e-waste out of landfills.