Across India and Africa, millions of people depend on locally rooted livelihoods closely adapted to their distinct environments. Today, these systems are being reshaped by increased economic fragility, pressures of climate change, conflict, and geopolitical instability. Already, progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is far too slow and global poverty reduction has slowed to a near standstill this year. However, programmes like India’s National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), show that large-scale, government-led economic inclusion initiatives, when adapted to local realities and grounded in community institutions, can strengthen livelihoods and promote inclusive growth. Their emphasis on self-reliance, collective action, and whole-of-society participation demonstrates how targeted investments can expand opportunities for the most vulnerable. Sustained cooperation between India and Africa can build on these lessons to deepen knowledge exchang.

• How can India-Africa cooperation accelerate the shift towards sustainable livelihood models that protect both people and ecosystems?
• What institutional, financial, and policy innovations are needed to help rural communities diversify income sources, withstand shocks, and achieve long-term poverty reduction?
• What role should technology, such as digital tools, early warning systems, and mobile finance, play in promoting sustainable rural livelihoods?

Interventionists

Uzoamaka Ugochukwu, Country Director, Management, Precision Development, Nigeria

Siviwe Mhlana, Researcher, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Julia Wanjiru Nikiema, Policy Analyst, South Africa Project Lead, Egypt Focal Point, Clean Energy Finance & Investment Mobilisation (CEFIM), The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Priscilla Gatonye, Programme Officer, UNESCO-UNEVOC

Mejda Khaled, Founder, Ecobees, Tunisia

Linet Kwamboka, Director, Data and Digital Transformation, DataScience LTD, Kenya

Moderator

Sunaina Kumar, Director and Senior Fellow, Centre for New Economic Diplomacy, Observer Research Foundation, India