Bengaluru, January 21, 2026: Sambhav Foundation marked the beginning of its 20th year with Built Up, a cross-sector convening held at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru. The event brought together leaders from philanthropy, academia, industry, grassroots organisations and public systems to reflect on two decades of work and to discuss the future of long-term, inclusive systems change.
Over the past 20 years, Sambhav Foundation has worked across education, livelihoods and disability inclusion, impacting over 3.5 million lives across more than 20 states. Its programmes, implemented in partnership with governments, corporates and communities, have focused on education-to-employment pathways, community-owned skilling models and inclusive livelihoods, with an emphasis on local ownership and sustainability.
The Built Up convening served as both a moment of reflection and a forward-looking dialogue on how social change is designed, owned and sustained, particularly in the context of rising automation, demographic pressures and the continued exclusion of women, persons with disabilities and first-generation learners from formal economic systems. Speakers included leaders from organisations such as ATF Labs, Youth4Jobs, MITTI Cafe, IT for Change, BBC Media Action, and representatives from philanthropy, media and industry.
During the event, Sambhav Foundation also launched its 20-year compendium, “Companions in the Journey: Sambhav at 20”, which documents reflections and learnings from partners, practitioners and communities. Launching the publication, Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan, Chief Impact Officer, Sambhav Foundation, said, “Our work has never been about scaling for the sake of numbers, or about education or livelihoods in isolation. It is about nurturing small sub-clusters of change and then giving up ownership so that communities can carry the work forward… What matters is staying with the work, learning honestly from failure, and continuing the journey without walking away midway.”
Reflecting on skilling and employment systems, Dr. Ashwin Mahesh, Founder and CEO, LVBL, said, “Too often, skilling is treated as a corrective measure for those who are seen to have failed within the education system… Education is complete only when it leads to meaningful work.”
Dr. Valli Arunachalam, nuclear scientist and philanthropist, emphasised adaptability, noting, “Change is inevitable, but adaptation is what determines survival… When systems recognise and bring together these strengths, the whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts.”
Ravi Venkatesan, Founding Trustee, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), said, “Every system is perfectly designed to deliver the outcomes it produces… Most systems change efforts take at least 15 years to show results… Sambhav’s refusal to give up over two decades is precisely what makes this work matter.”
As part of its 20-year journey, Sambhav Foundation plans to release practice-led publications, host field immersions for partners and policymakers, and deepen collaborations focused on education-to-employment pathways, disability inclusion and community-owned skilling models through the year.
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