Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of economies—driving innovation, generating employment, and contributing significantly to GDP and inclusive growth. Yet, their journey toward global expansion and diversification is often hindered by challenges related to resilience, sustainability, financing, and access to international markets.

This session brings together perspectives from policymakers, industry leaders, social entrepreneurs, and financial experts to explore how MSMEs can be empowered to compete and thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape. Discussions will focus on strengthening resilience, embedding sustainability in core operations, fostering innovation, and building portfolios of future-ready products and services. With an emphasis on actionable insights and collaborative strategies, the session will also highlight how enabling policy frameworks, inclusive financing mechanisms, and market-driven innovation can position MSMEs for long-term, diversified global growth.

Many emerging health threats such as pandemics, infectious and chronic diseases, environmental hazards, social and behavioural factors and food safety issues arise from the close connection between humans, animals and the environment. Addressing these complex challenges through fragmented efforts is not effective. The One Health approach promotes coordinated action to manage risks and encourages collaboration among various sectors and stakeholders, leading to improved public health, food safety and sustainable ecosystems.

This session will explore the critical importance of building resilience in urban systems, especially as cities remain among the most vulnerable to environmental stresses and shocks. It will examine how urban areas can be better equipped to cope with the environmental challenges of tomorrow. Key questions include: How can governments and industries work together to embed resilience at the grassroots level?

The cities of the future must be defined by robust and adaptive infrastructure that incorporates inclusive design, active mobility, renewable energy, nature-based solutions, advanced decision-support systems, and strong community participation. These elements will be vital to enhancing the regenerative capacity of local ecosystems.

The session will outline urgent priorities and actionable solutions for advancing urban resilience in the Indian context.

Positioning Nature on the Balance Sheet has become a strategic necessity for businesses in a rapidly changing risk landscape. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse among the top five long-term threats to global stability, reinforcing the urgent need to recognize nature as a core economic asset. In parallel, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework urges both governments and the private sector to adopt nature-positive approaches, with ambitious targets to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and live in harmony with nature by 2050.

For businesses, this shift demands a proactive approach: integrating natural capital into financial planning, assessing nature-related risks across operations and supply chains, and aligning global biodiversity goals. This session will explore practical pathways and strategic actions for embedding nature into financial decision making, transforming ecological responsibility into long-term business value.