New Delhi, January 15, 2026: In a bid to scale India’s social sector with the same ambition as its startup ecosystem, Change Engine has announced the Mission Billion Summit, scheduled for January 29, 2026 at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The summit aims to catalyze the creation of 100 ‘non-profit unicorns’ by 2030—organizations capable of impacting over one million lives each.
India has already built more than 100 startup unicorns. The summit now raises a parallel question: Can the country build 100 high-impact non-profits that operate at national scale?
Positioned as a ‘founder-first’ platform, the summit will bring together over 200 non-profit leaders, philanthropists, and policymakers to address funding gaps, evidence-building, and government partnerships required for large-scale social impact.
A critical moment for India’s social sector
The social development ecosystem is at a turning point, with a new generation of mission-driven founders emerging to tackle challenges in welfare, education, and governance. While catalytic funding and support systems are slowly taking shape, they remain fragmented. The Mission Billion Summit seeks to unify these efforts into a coherent national movement.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder, Change Engine, said:
“Just as India built a vibrant startup ecosystem a decade ago, we now need a similar movement for non-profit unicorns. This summit will help founders move beyond pilots and scale evidence-driven solutions nationally.”
Shubham Bansal, Co-founder, Change Engine, added:
“The summit will function like a startup school for non-profits—equipping leaders with practical toolkits on fundraising, government partnerships, and impact measurement.”
Two tracks, 25 speakers, 12 sessions
The one-day summit will run across two parallel tracks:
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Building Non-Profit Unicorns: Covering fundraising, evidence-building, government collaboration, and community-led scale.
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Tackling Wicked Problems: Deep dives into welfare, education, and governance, focusing on what works—and what doesn’t.
Participants will also engage in three masterclasses aimed at converting pilot projects into national-scale programs.
Launch of ‘Ease of Doing Non-Profits’ report
A key highlight will be the release of Change Engine’s first ‘Ease of Doing Non-Profits’ report, based on a nationwide survey of social entrepreneurs. Preliminary findings point to a severe shortage of ‘innovation capital’—flexible, risk-tolerant funding crucial for experimentation and scaling.
Who will attend
The summit will feature leading philanthropists including Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge), Aakanksha Gulati (ACT Grants), Murugan Vasudevan (Veddis Foundation), Chetan (Tech Mahindra Foundation), and Riti Mohapatra (Bridgespan Group).
Senior leaders from scaled-impact organizations such as Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Central Square Foundation, Rocket Learning, Agami, Sneha, and XKDR will also participate.
Change Engine’s broader mission
Change Engine supports high-potential non-profits with data, evidence, government partnerships, and catalytic seed funding. Its portfolio organizations have raised over $2 million in follow-on funding, and the organization recently published the Playbook for Nonprofit Unicorns, a data-backed guide for social founders.
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