Luis Neves Presidential Address at Digital with Purpose Summit: From Bengaluru to the World, Digital Innovation with Purpose

February 2026 – During the Digital with Purpose Summit in Bengaluru, GeSI CEO Luis Neves gave a speech on the global movement that has been created through Digital with Purpose. Below we share with you his words:

Luis Neves Presidential Address

Good morning, distinguished guests, partners, and friends. It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Digital with Purpose Global Summit here in Bengaluru.

This Summit has been designed with a clear purpose in mind. Digital with Purpose is not just an event series, nor a slogan. It is a global movement led by GeSI, built on a simple but powerful conviction: that digital innovation, including AI, must serve a higher purpose for society, the economy, and the planet.

Since 2022, this Summit has travelled from Lisbon to Brussels to Taipei. Each location reflected a different dimension of global digital transformation. Today, we are here in Bengaluru for a reason.

Bengaluru’s Strategic Significance

Bengaluru is one of the world’s most influential centres of technology and digital development. It is a place where ideas move rapidly from research to deployment, where talent operates at global scale, and where digital solutions are embedded into everyday economic and social systems.

India’s digital journey demonstrates something critically important for the world: that digital transformation can be inclusive, scalable, and impact-driven when it is built on strong public infrastructure, open ecosystems, and a clear sense of purpose. From digital public infrastructure to AI-driven services, India has shown how technology can reach hundreds of millions of people in ways that strengthen resilience and opportunity.

By hosting the Digital with Purpose Summit here, GeSI aims to connect India’s dynamic digital ecosystem with our global network of policymakers, enterprises, financiers, researchers, and sustainability leaders. This is not a one-way exchange. It is about building a bridge between India and the world.

Why Digital with Purpose Matters Now

We are living through a decisive moment. Digital technologies are advancing at unprecedented speed, while societies face mounting pressures, from climate change and resource constraints to urbanisation, skills disruption, and geopolitical fragmentation.

In this context, digital transformation is no longer neutral. It can accelerate inequality, emissions, and fragmentation, or it can become a powerful lever for resilience, inclusion, and sustainable growth. Purpose is what determines the direction.

At GeSI, for the past 25 years, we have worked with our members and partners to define, demonstrate, and act on the enabling role of digital technologies in sustainability. Today, our membership collectively represents over USD 4 trillion in combined market capitalisation, reflecting the scale of responsibility, and opportunity, carried by the digital sector.

The real challenge we face now, is the gap between innovation and impact.

AI, data, connectivity, and digital infrastructure are already transforming industries. But without the right frameworks, skills, and collaboration models, their potential remains fragmented. That is why Digital with Purpose focuses not only on what technologies can do, but on how they are designed, governed, and deployed.

This Summit is therefore not about showcasing isolated solutions. It is about alignment—between policy and innovation, between investment and outcomes, and between global ambition and local realities.

The Five Pillars of the Summit

Over the course of today, our discussions will be organised around five strategic imperatives:

First, sustainable and disruptive technologies for real-world impact. From healthcare and digital water systems to precision agriculture, biotech, and climate-tech, we will explore how advanced technologies can respond to the most urgent societal challenges.

Second, sustainable digital infrastructure and green data centres. As demand for compute and connectivity grows, the sustainability of digital infrastructure becomes a defining issue for competitiveness, resilience, and climate alignment.

Third, smart cities and digital innovation for urban quality of life. Cities are where sustainability challenges and digital opportunities converge—from mobility and air quality to digital health and citizen-centred services.

Fourth, circular economy and resource-efficient systems. Digital tools can enable circular business models, optimise resource use, and support decarbonisation across value chains. This is essential for cities and industries alike.

Fifth, future-ready talent and lifelong learning in the digital age. AI and digital technologies are reshaping jobs and skills faster than our institutions can adapt. Building inclusive, future-ready talent pipelines is therefore one of the most critical challenges of our time.

India, Europe, and the Global Dimension

Bengaluru’s role also needs to be understood within a wider strategic context. With the conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, cooperation between India and Europe is moving beyond trade volumes towards a model that integrates sustainability, digitalisation, and skills into the foundation of long-term economic partnership.

Europe brings strong regulatory frameworks, industrial depth, and experience in sustainability standards. India brings scale, speed, digital public infrastructure, and a rapidly growing talent base. Connecting these strengths can create new models of sustainable growth that are globally relevant.

GeSI’s role is to help operationalise this connection—through trusted platforms, cross-sector partnerships, and global dialogue that translates ambition into action. As an organisation that was born in Europe but built with a truly global membership and outlook, GeSI is uniquely positioned to connect dynamic digital ecosystems such as India with partners, markets, and institutions around the world.

Beyond partnership with Europe, there is also a powerful story flowing outward from India to the world. India’s experience with digital public infrastructure offers powerful lessons for other regions, particularly across the Global South, where countries are seeking inclusive pathways to growth and prosperity.

Digital with Purpose is about ensuring that these lessons, innovations, and partnerships can travel—adapted to local contexts, but grounded in shared principles of sustainability, inclusion, and trust.

Conclusion

Let me conclude with a simple message. When innovation is guided by purpose, it becomes a force for lasting impact.

Over the course of today, I invite you to engage openly, challenge assumptions, and focus on what it will take to move from discussion to delivery. The future of digital transformation will be shaped not by technology alone, but by the choices we make together.

From Bengaluru to the world, let us ensure that digital innovation truly serves people, planet, and prosperity.

Thank you.