When Deepali Khanna speaks about development, she doesn’t begin with figures or frameworks − she starts with people and technology. “I came from a poor farmer’s family,” she says. “Suddenly the rains came when the wheat was ready to be harvested. My father couldn't harvest it. It was such a helpless situation. If only he had the tools to know”.

As Senior Vice President and Head of Asia at the Rockefeller Foundation, Khanna has spent over four decades navigating the blurred lines between philanthropy, politics, and the realities faced by millions across Asia. Her visit to Jakarta reflects not just a global agenda but a quiet conviction: lasting change must be built from the ground up.

A legacy of listening

Khanna reminds that Rockefeller Foundation’s roots in Asia go back over a century, when the foundation helped establish some of the first schools of public health in the region − including in Indonesia. “We began by listening,” she says. “We didn’t come in with ready-made answers, but with a question: what does the community need most?”

That philosophy still guides her today. Under her leadership, the foundation’s focus has expanded to four major fronts − energy, food, health, and climate resilience − all deeply intertwined in Asia’s future.

Powering change: Energy transition

Energy access remains one of Khanna’s driving missions. Across India and Indonesia, the Rockefeller Foundation has supported distributed renewable energy projects, bringing solar mini-grids to communities far from national grids.

In Indonesia, she points out, millions still rely on fossil-based energy, but the country’s vast geography offers an untapped advantage. “The more we're going to be burning coal and fossil fuel, the more we're going to be damaging air pollution, all the disease patterns. We know it.

We have a cheaper alternative to coal. It can come from solar, it can come from hydrogen, it can come from methane. And it can beat the power of your coal pipeline. If you're providing energy at this amount, it can come cheaper. It makes business sense.”

Our foundation supports the early retirement of coal power plants. There are indeed foundations willing to experiment. We can go back to the minister and say: “You don’t have to put your money. Let someone else take the risk and demonstrate it to you. Would you be prepared to listen to that? I don’t think anyone would say no.”

For example, a private company in the Philippines is leading an early retirement of a coal power plant, supported by the Singapore government and backed by all required credit ratings. The project demonstrates how coal plants can be retired 5–10 years ahead of schedule through a structured revenue model. A foundation behind the initiative aims to replicate this approach in 60–100 projects or pilots across different regions, mainly in Asia and Latin America, within the next three years.

From farm to future: Rethinking food systems

Food security, another cornerstone of her work, is where Khanna’s personal and professional worlds meet. Having grown up around agriculture, she understands both the promise and the precarity of farming.

In Asia, Rockefeller Foundation has been supporting projects that reimagine how food is produced and distributed − focusing on sustainability, nutrition, and smallholder farmer inclusion. “We’ve learned that food systems don’t just feed people − they shape economies, cultures, and ecosystems,” she says.

In Indonesia, the foundation has collaborated with the Pijar Foundation. We are working very closely with the World Food Program (WFP). We are also working with the academic institution LPM (Community Service Institution) to strengthen school nutrition programs, addressing malnutrition while linking small farmers to reliable markets. “When children eat better, they learn better − and when farmers sell better, they live better,” Khanna notes.

Health beyond hospitals

Khanna’s portfolio also includes community health initiatives, particularly in post-pandemic recovery efforts. Across Southeast Asia, Rockefeller Foundation has supported data-driven health systems, public health preparedness, and community outreach − areas where Indonesia’s vast and diverse population poses both challenges and opportunities.

“Health is not just about hospitals,” she emphasizes. “It’s about trust. Once a trust is built, then you are able to do what needs to be done.”

Climate crisis

Khanna sees the climate crisis not as an environmental issue, but as a human one. Coal, fossil, economic development, there's no compromise. All countries need to be growing.

“And now, because you're at a different stage where you've grown and you've used coal and fossil fuel, I understand that argument. But what is happening to air pollution? What is happening to the children right now? Of you and me, of everybody, right? The more we're going to be burning coal and fossil fuel, the more we're going to be damaging air pollution, all the disease patterns. We know it,” she says.

Her team works with governments and communities across Asia to develop resilience projects − from early warning systems to regenerative agriculture practices. In Indonesia, she points to coastal areas like Java and Sumatra, where livelihoods are under constant threat from rising sea levels.

“The challenge,” she says, “isn’t just about adaptation − it’s about justice.”

Indonesia’s role

In her view, Indonesia stands at a crossroads. With its young population, strategic location, and growing influence in ASEAN, it can shape how Asia approaches energy, food, and digital transformation. But she cautions against repeating the mistakes of a few other countries in the region.region’s old mistakes.

“Indonesia has the resources and the leadership potential,” Khanna says. “But the real question is whether growth can be inclusive − whether it can lift those who’ve been left behind.”

She praises the country’s efforts to promote digital inclusion, noting that technology can help improve public services, education, and healthcare − but only if data and access are managed equitably. “Digital progress means nothing if it widens the gap between the connected and the disconnected,” she adds.

Risk of “playing it safe”

Asked what distinguishes philanthropy from other sectors, Khanna doesn’t hesitate. “Philanthropy exists to take the first risk. If we only fund what’s safe, we’re not changing anything.”

She believes the sector must dare to invest in ideas that don’t fit the usual mold − projects that governments or investors might deem too uncertain. “Real transformation doesn’t come from comfort zones,” she says.

After years of traveling across Asia, Khanna has distilled her approach into one word: trust. “People open up when they know you’re not there to preach,” she says. “Once trust is built, progress follows.”

Her message for Indonesia − and the wider region − is simple but pointed: “Development isn’t about how much you can scale. It’s about how much you can listen.”