18th Geneva Forum to bring industry and finance together around impact entrepreneurship at the UN

Geneva hosts the 18th Geneva Forum from December 7 to 11, 2026, welcoming industries, businesses and financial operators at the Palais des Nations. Two Global Impact Projects, Drone for Climate and One Health Centers, illustrate opportunities rooted in Western Switzerland.

Since 2001, the Geneva Forum has brought together finance, research, NGOs, business and public institutions to turn ideas into concrete, structured and fundable impact projects. These projects are rooted in the economic profile of Western Switzerland, where the organizations that draw on its role as a financial center and investment destination, its industrial base in life sciences, precision and cleantech, and the scientific ecosystem of International Geneva look to base their activities.

The 18th edition, from December 7 to 11, 2026 at the Palais des Nations and elsewhere in Geneva, will host industries, businesses and financial operators at the United Nations. It includes a pro-to-pro Boot Camp dedicated to impact, designed to advance consortia, business models and joint business opportunities. Registration is through the Forum’s Event Membership.

Two Global Impact Projects

Two Global Impact Projects illustrate opportunities already active in the market.

Drone for Climate (Drone Citizen Alliance for Climate) is building an international network of NGOs, UN agencies, international organizations, scientists, local operators and citizens to produce precise, usable climate observations by drone. The project positions Geneva as a coordination platform for climate services and exportable observation infrastructure, at the intersection of cleantech, data and investment.

On the ground, Objectif Sciences International, an NGO with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has run a pilot since 2022 at the Moiry Glacier in the Val d’Anniviers. Presented at the Geneva Forum by HES-SO, the pilot aims to establish a reproducible protocol for glacial photogrammetry.

One Health Centers integrate human, animal, plant and environmental health into locally adapted, globally connected care systems. By linking research, healthcare, communities and authorities, they open industrial and scientific opportunities around life sciences, prevention and planetary health. The project invites collaboration with universities, hospitals, NGOs, research institutes and international organizations, actors typical of Geneva’s Health Valley, to validate scalable One Health models across the Global North and Global South.

Preparing projects for impact finance

These projects advance each month through the Geneva Sustainable Management Workshops, which prepare their professional concept design and make them readable for impact finance.

The Geneva Forum was founded in 2001 by Thomas Egli, an expert for the United Nations in impact finance, who continues to lead it. For 25 years, it has served as a platform where professional spheres that do not usually meet co-build impact projects.