UpLink Annual Impact Report 2026

Figure 13 Strategic reports Investing in Water: Aligning Investment Strategies with Water Innovation This community paper was produced in collaboration with the Forum’s Food and Water Initiative and HCL Group. It provides investment-focused insights on opportunities in water innovation, guiding investors and policy-makers through the convergence of finance, technology and water infrastructure markets. The paper showcases strategic frameworks and case studies designed to accelerate scalable solutions for water -related challenges, bridging early-stage innovation with capital deployment. Scaling Traceability Innovation to Unlock the Value of Informal Waste Management This white paper, produced in collaboration with Accenture, presents real-world examples of traceability innovations, from AI-driven fraud detection to blockchain- based chain-of-custody systems, demonstrating their technical and social viability. It also provides a practical framework for decision-makers to select suitable solutions and outlines a roadmap for scaling, highlighting shared digital infrastructure as a “leapfrog” approach to accelerate transformation in the informal waste sector. Defossilizing Industry: Considerations for Scaling-up Carbon Capture and Utilization Pathways This collaborative white paper, produced by the World Economic Forum, UpLink and Wood Mackenzie, highlights key barriers facing CCU, including fragmented policy frameworks that favour carbon sequestration over utilization, high capital costs and business model risks in early-stage technologies, and the need for cross-sector collaboration within large industrial complexes. Uplink Annual Impact Report March 2026 31