With the committed support and generous knowledge exchange of her mentor, Naman Tekriwal, Co-founder of Breer and long-time mentor since the inauguration of FSI’s Mentorship Program, and ICF Hong Kong Chapter coach, Sam Yu, Kaylini transformed from someone with an idea with a partial prototype to a founder with a structured plan by the end of the six-month journey. 

Read our interview with Kaylini, Naman, and Sam to find out more about why they joined FSI’s Mentorship Program as a mentee, mentor, and coach, respectively, as they celebrate the incredible growth of Kaylini as an early-stage entrepreneur as well as the resourceful FSI program and community in empowering under-resourced, ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. 

How and why did you become an impact entrepreneur, Kaylini? 

Kaylini: I don’t feel like I set out to be an impact entrepreneur. 

I’m originally from South Africa, a country where food waste is considered a sin. When we moved to Asia, and now specifically Hong Kong, I observed imperfect and surplus fruit and veg at my local supermarket getting binned on a daily basis, knowing that this was being sent to landfill because it didn’t meet donation standards. 

I then started looking into the food waste statistics of Hong Kong, and the statistics were shocking. Living in a city that imports almost everything we eat because there’s not enough land to farm our own, it just didn’t reconcile. To me, this was a problem I feel could be solved. I also felt that if I was going to pour all my energy into building something from scratch, it had to matter.

Tell us about your business – its name, its vision and mission, and why it is needed in Hong Kong?

Kaylini: The business is called Upeeling – a combination of the words “upcycle”, “peel”, and “appealing”.

We turn imperfect and surplus produce (currently pineapples) into clean-label snacks, locally crafted in Hong Kong. Our first product is dehydrated pineapple partially coated in premium dark chocolate and topped with toasted coconut. Our flavor pipeline aims to celebrate authentic 

Asian tastes like: Sichuan Spice, Sesame, and Matcha.

Our mission is to divert surplus food waste from landfills by transforming it from a perishable to an upcycled product that is good for you and the planet. 

Our vision is to eliminate surplus produce food waste in Hong Kong and beyond, and be a brand rooted in Hong Kong that proves Asian flavor innovation and food waste diversion can live in one product that tastes incredible.

Upcycling is needed here because this city has a massive food waste problem, and the snacking culture is dominated by imported, over-processed options. Hong Kong imports over 95% of our food, yet we discard around 3,300 tonnes of food waste daily. Upeeling offers something that feels local, tastes indulgent, and carries a sustainability story people can feel good about without being preached at. Sustainability is a bonus; the deliciousness comes first.

Why did you join FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs? 

Kaylini: I joined FSI’s Mentorship Program because I lacked an entrepreneurial background. 

My background is in audiology and healthcare. Although I had the idea and concept for Upeeling, I felt scattered with tasks and direction, and I didn’t know what or how to prioritize. Also, being relatively new to Hong Kong, I felt completely alone navigating this journey. I needed structure and clarity. I wanted to connect to someone who had done this before to look at my scattered thoughts and say, “Here’s what matters first. Here’s what can wait.”

Being new to Hong Kong and from an ethnically diverse background, I also craved a community with people who were also building their businesses. FSI offered that from day one.

Sam – Why did you join FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs as an ICF Hong Kong Chapter coach? 

Sam: First of all, a big thank you to the ICF HK Chapter for lining up us coaches and the Foundation for Shared Impact. 

I have joined many NGO coaching programs in the past 10 years. This FSI Mentorship Program is the most structured one that supports ethnically diverse, under-resourced entrepreneurs. I appreciate that those entrepreneurs started their businesses not just for money but also to bring a positive ESG impact to society. Therefore, I joined without hesitation.

What was your first impression of Kaylini as your coachee? 

Sam: In our first coaching session, I found Kaylini to be an energetic person who was passionate about the business she was going to start. Most importantly, Kaylini appeared to be taking this coaching opportunity seriously. For example, she thought through a couple of questions I sent her prior to the session. From her sharing, I believed that was the outcome of deep reflection.

How has serving as a coach to an early-stage entrepreneur helped you grow as a person and a coach? 

Sam: Every coachee’s story is unique! Coaching an early-stage entrepreneur provides me with lots of “nutrition”. For example, I get to know many great ideas, the ways of thinking, how such an entrepreneur sees things, etc. These broaden my perspective and help me become a more inclusive coach.

FSI’s tripartite coach-mentee-mentor approach perfectly covers the hard and soft issues a mentee could face. 

Hard issues are the business-related, technical ones. A mentor who has solid expertise in similar business areas could provide the mentee with practical advice and shorten the mentee’s learning curve. The mentee may also come across intangible, psychological challenges, such as blind spots, lack of confidence, self-limitation, etc. I call these soft issues. A coach could support the mentee to build self-awareness and figure out the solution to break through.

Naman – What was your first impression of Kaylini as your mentee? 

Naman: My first impression of Kaylini was that she had a lot of fire in her. She came prepared, took notes throughout our sessions, and had a very clear sense of conviction about what she was building with Upeeling. 

What struck me most was her personality. She is eccentric in the best way possible, and that came through right from the start. She had her own way of seeing the world and her own way of doing things. I knew pretty early on that she was not going to be the kind of mentee who simply nods along and follows instructions to the letter, and honestly, that made me even more excited to work with her. 

There was also something really refreshing about how she approached every challenge head-on rather than shying away from it. That combination of ambition, curiosity, and a willingness to take on hard things told me a lot about who she was going to be as an entrepreneur.

Kaylini – What are the things that you did not imagine you could do but have now become possible due to your experience of the Mentorship Program? 

Kaylini: Two things stand out. First, I didn’t imagine I would be able to articulate and plan my business model with such clarity to people who aren’t in my head. My mentor, Naman [Tekriwal], pushed me to simplify and get the messaging right when talking about Upeeling, so that someone can nod and say, “I get it” within 30 seconds. That felt impossible before, and now I’ve pitched confidently to startup program panels and commercial partners. 

Second, I didn’t imagine I would have the courage to treat the business as a real, serious venture rather than a side project. The FSI program created accountability structures that forced me to stop treating Upeeling like a “one-day dream” and start acting like a founder with a timeline, production plan, and unit economics. 

Within weeks of completing FSI’s Mentorship Program, I went on to complete the Hong Kong Jockey Club Social Innovation Global Launchpad, and now I’m entering the HKSTP Ideation Programme in May. That momentum started with the FSI Mentorship Program.

Naman – What knowledge and expertise did you share with Kaylini as a fellow entrepreneur focusing on repurposing food waste? 

Naman: Having co-founded Breer, I was able to share a very direct and lived experience with Kaylini rather than just textbook advice. 

We talked through the real challenges of building in the sustainability space, from finding the right go-to-market approach, to working with food waste supply chains, to figuring out how to communicate value in a way that actually lands with consumers and potential partners. I shared both the strategic thinking I would have applied and the mistakes I personally made along the way, because I think the mistakes are often more useful than the wins. 

What made our dynamics particularly interesting was that Kaylini would sometimes take my guidance, go in her own direction based on what she believed in, and then come back having discovered through firsthand experience what I had tried to point her toward. It was one of those moments where I could have said, “I told you so!” but instead it was just great to see her learn it in her own way, because that kind of learning sticks.

Kaylini – What were the milestones you were able to achieve, as a person and an entrepreneur, as a result of the support of your mentor and coach?

Kaylini: As an entrepreneur, I moved from “idea with a partial prototype” to founder with a structured plan. With the help of Naman, a mentor who has literally walked this path, he helped me hone in on the details and taught me to prioritize. 

Through this, I created my core recipe, did market research with 200+ samples and feedback, finalized packaging design, ordered our first minimum order quantity (MOQ), secured our first shared commercial kitchen space with a food factory licence, sent our prototype for nutritional analysis, and built a milestone-based roadmap. 

Even more tangibly, I completed the HKJC Social Innovation Global Launchpad program and secured a place in the HKSTP Ideation Programme, both of which felt like distant goals when I first joined FSI.

As a person, I learned to trust my transferable skills. I spent years thinking my audiology background was a strange detour from entrepreneurship, but my coach Sam [Yu], helped me reframe it as my superpower: diagnostic thinking, active listening, building trust with people, designing protocols. 

With the help of my mentor and my coach, I learned the power of ask. So often during this process, I had times where I didn’t reach out for help when I should have, thinking I should have known this myself or I could have figured it out, but this is the precious moment when you need to put your own internal thoughts aside and decide to reach out for help or advice. 

I stopped apologizing for my non-traditional path and started owning it. I also became far more comfortable with imperfection. I used to need everything figured out before I would act. That it needed to be perfect, but truly, nothing will be perfect the first time. Now I operate in “progress over perfection” mode without any shame.

Sam – How would you describe Kaylini’s growth in the six-month journey? 

Sam: Kaylini demonstrated strong learning agility, which means she rapidly learned from experience and effectively applied the learning to deal with new challenges. Throughout the coaching journey, she became more confident and increasingly believed in herself. She changed her perspective and dared to ask for advice and support. These are critical qualities for a young entrepreneur. 

Naman – How would you describe Kaylini’s growth in the six-month journey? 

Naman: Kaylini’s growth over these six months was genuinely impressive to watch. She came in with a lot of ambition and raw energy, and over time, she developed real structure and discipline in how she approached her business and her learning. 

She always showed up with her homework done and her questions ready, which told me she was treating every single session as a real investment rather than just another calendar slot. She was not waiting for me to lead the conversation. She was driving it. 

What I am most proud of is seeing her get accepted into multiple programs during this journey, alongside building Upeeling and her attempt to be active on all social media platforms. That does not happen by accident. That is a reflection of how seriously she took her growth and how she put herself out there consistently. She also got better at something that is genuinely hard, which is learning not just from guidance but from her own decisions, including the ones that did not go as planned. Watching her close that loop on her own was one of the highlights of the journey for me.

Kaylini – Were there any memorable moments for you as a mentee entrepreneur of the program?

Kaylini: For me, doing the goal-setting plan and timeline with my mentor was a powerful moment, because it truly felt like I was creating the action plan to bring this concept to life. 

My other favorite and most memorable parts of the program have been the group learning sessions we had together as a cohort. I looked forward to our Saturday morning sessions, as every week I got the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow mentees and hear their wins, challenges, and feed off their energy and enthusiasm, which truly has been a highlight for me and this program. 

Describe the support that FSI offers to you as an early-stage entrepreneur beyond the Mentorship Program? 

Kaylini: FSI’s support hasn’t stopped. They have continued creating visibility for us, like this interview, which helps me reflect on our brand journey and founder story. 

FSI has been incredible in creating many opportunities for upskilling and learning for new entrepreneurs, like the legal contract and pitching workshops with their partners. 

Their website also has a wealth of resources for entrepreneurs, but it’s truly the people in the organization that are the greatest resource. Knowing there’s a community that wants to amplify us and what we are building gives me confidence when I walk into rooms where I might be the only founder who looks like me. Isolation has turned into connection, and that matters in this stage.

What’s next for Kaylini Naidoo and Upeeling?

Kaylini: I officially entered the HKSTP Ideation Programme in May. Q2 and Q3 are all about market validation: Completing my first-batch production run, and launching pop-up tastings in corporate and co-working spaces, paired with educational moments about food waste and better-for-you snacking. The goal is to secure my first two to three paid B2B pilot partners and start gathering real willingness-to-pay data. 

I’m also laying the groundwork for a soft Direct-to-Consumer launch. In the longer term, it’s about the HKSTP Incubation Programme and scaling production. I have got my hands full, but the ability to learn and grow every single day is truly something I wouldn’t change.

Will you continue to stay connected with and contribute to the FSI community? Why or why not? How?

Kaylini: Yes, without hesitation. I plan to stay connected by sharing my progress milestones so the FSI team can see the downstream impact of their work, and by showing up, virtually or in person, for future cohorts who might be exactly where I was six months ago. 

As Upeeling grows, I hope to return as a mentor or speaker to share my skill sets and the learnings from this entrepreneurial journey. Representation isn’t just seeing someone succeed; it’s seeing someone with a story that echoes your own. If I can be proof that this path is possible, I want to be that for someone else.

What advice would you give to people who are looking to start their own impact business? 

Kaylini: Start before you are ready. I didn’t have everything figured out when I made my first batch of pineapple bites in my home kitchen. I didn’t have suppliers lined up, a food licence, or packaging designed. But I started.

The second thing: find your people. Entrepreneurship is glorified as this solo hero’s journey, but it’s not. It’s lonely and hard, and you need mentors, coaches, and peers who believe in you before you believe in yourself. That’s what FSI gave me.

And finally, impact doesn’t require perfection. My brand is not perfect; there is a lot I still need to figure out. But I’m honest about it, and I’m moving forward. Progress, not perfection. That’s my current mantra.

Would you recommend FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs to others – fellow early-stage entrepreneurs, seasoned entrepreneurs, and coaches? Why or why not? 

Kaylini: Absolutely! If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or early-stage founder in Hong Kong, this program is designed for you. It understands the challenges you face, the network and skill gaps, and the impostor syndrome. It’s good business support. You get a mentor who has walked the path, a coach who strengthens your mindset, and a community that celebrates your wins like their own. I came in feeling scattered and alone. I’m leaving with clarity, confidence, and genuine friendships. It’s been an incredibly successful experience for me.

Naman: Yes, and I would recommend it to both aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs without hesitation. 

For aspiring entrepreneurs, this program gives you access to people who have genuinely been through the grind of building a company, and that kind of guidance is hard to find and incredibly valuable in the early stages when you need both practical advice and someone in your corner. You are not just getting theory here. You are getting real experience from people who have made the mistakes, so you do not have to repeat all of them. 

For experienced entrepreneurs, it is a genuine opportunity to give back, to stay connected to the energy and hunger of early-stage building, and to keep growing through the mentoring relationship itself because you learn more than you expect. 

FSI has built something rare with this program. It is not just another networking event or a series of workshops that feel disconnected from reality. It actually creates impact on the ground and has real success stories to show for it. My simple recommendation is to come, join, learn, and grow. You will not regret it.

Sam: Definitely, yes. To the potential mentees who have great ideas and passion, the FSI Mentorship Program, which has fruitful resources, is a great platform to back you up, just like you are jumpstarting from a giant’s shoulder. What you need to do is dare to dream! 

I also encourage experienced young entrepreneurs to join as mentors. Your expertise and success (and also failure) stories serve as a lighthouse to the mentees. This is also your practical way to contribute to society. I believe you will get paid back more than you give away.

Naman – At FSI, we truly appreciate the time and effort you put into mentoring the mentee entrepreneursof our Mentorship Program throughout the past years. What makes you keep coming back as a mentor? How has mentoring early-stage or aspiring entrepreneurs helped you grow as a person and entrepreneur? 

I keep coming back for a few reasons. At the most personal level, this is my way of giving back to a community that gave me a lot when I was building Breer. 

But honestly, beyond the giving back part, this is one of the very few spaces where I get to relive the zero-to-one journey of building a startup, every single time, through completely fresh eyes and new experiences. Every mentee brings a different context, a different set of challenges, and a different way of thinking, and that keeps me on my toes in ways I did not expect when I first joined as a mentor. 

I also deeply value the fact that mentorship is never one-directional. I always walk away from these six months having learned something from my mentee, and I think that mutual learning is something really special about this format. And then there is FSI itself. This is genuinely one of the only programs I have come across that creates real, tangible, on-the-ground impact and has given birth to so many success stories over the years. That track record and that community are a big part of what keeps pulling me back each cohort.

The post FSI Mentorship Program: Leveraging Cross-sector Collaboration to Empower This Entrepreneur to Turn Food Waste into Healthy Snacks appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

Spanning from February to April 2026, four ethnically diverse youths were matched with ethnically diverse micro and small businesses, including restaurants, grocery shops, and small traders, based on their interests and language or cultural fit. 

From providing ethnically diverse entrepreneurs with support in branding, design, digital marketing, and community outreach, the interns were tasked with increasing the visibility and professionalism of the businesses that they were matched with, while introducing FSI’s Project GuideFong and Google Business listings to neighborhoods like Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai.

Meet the 2026 Spring Cohort of CBI Interns 

Comprising ethnically diverse youths who grew up and studied in Hong Kong and speak multiple languages native to the ethnically diverse communities, the Spring 2026 cohort enriched the program experience with a mix of academic backgrounds (e.g., education, social work, and social science) and lived experiences in neighborhoods like Jordan, Yuen Long, and Tin Shui Wai. 

Before reading about the youths’ internship experience and the impact they created, meet them here:

Gurung Bharosa 

• Ethnicity: Nepalese, born and raised in Hong Kong
• Education: Year 3 student at The Education University of Hong Kong, studying English with the goal of becoming an English teacher.
• Self-intro: Her motivation comes from childhood experiences of not being understood when she could only speak her native language, which showed her how limiting language barriers can be. She brings strengths in writing, community engagement, and cultural sensitivity, and hopes to develop project management, social entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. In the long term, she aims to empower ethnically diverse communities by helping them build confidence and reach through language.

Khan Soha

• Ethnicity: Pakistani, raised in Hong Kong
• Education: Year 2 social science student at HKU SPACE Community College.
• Self-intro: A social science student passionate about social issues and community engagement. She brings skills in graphic design, social media marketing, writing, photography, and research on social problems, and is curious about social entrepreneurship and community projects. As a side goal, she hopes to build her own website on social needs, and sees this internship as an eye‑opening way to explore community‑driven change.

Hajira Batool 

• Ethnicity: Pakistani, born and raised in Hong Kong
• Education: Currently a Year 1 social work student at The University of Hong Kong.
• Self-intro: Hajira loves reading, journaling, cycling, and hiking. She works part‑time at an NGO, where she organizes activities and handles admin, and has already completed two internships, including a previous FSI Community Business Internship in summer 2024. She brings experience in community engagement, writing, public speaking, photography, videography, and project management, and is eager to deepen her skills in marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership while giving back to ethnically diverse communities. She is motivated by “helping and giving back to the community so that they can thrive in what they do,” and sees CBI as a way to deepen both her professional skills and her connection to ethnically diverse businesses through the lens of a prospective social worker.

Olly Carter Manson

• Ethnicity: Mixed Ethnicity – Chinese and British, born and raised in Hong Kong
• Education: Year 1 student in a foundation program at HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk, at an early stage of his tertiary journey.
• Self-intro: Very devoted to helping all communities in Hong Kong, with personal interests in gaming and sailing alongside community work. Brings and wants to deepen skills in public speaking, social entrepreneurship, cultural sensitivity, and community engagement, and is eager to grow in leadership and business consulting.

CBI Program: Empowering Ethnically Diverse Youths to Clarify Career Interests by Supporting Under-resourced Entrepreneurs

Describing themselves as still early in their respective professional journeys and unsure how to work with business clients at the beginning of the CBI Program, the four interns were nonetheless enthusiastic about supporting ethnically diverse small businesses, especially those that are lesser known or under‑recognized, by gaining an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing the business owners.

With preliminary skills in communication, graphic design, social media content creation, and research, the ethnically diverse youths were looking to improve existing skills and learn new skills through listing new businesses to the GuideFong Directory, engaging with business owners, and providing bespoke support such as digital branding. Through the experiential learning internship, they also hoped to clarify career interests in marketing, community engagement, social entrepreneurship, and design.  

Serving as business consultants, the interns had conversations with ethnically diverse business owners about pricing, customer flows, scams, location issues, and renovation costs etc., to gain a more realistic understanding of their operating environment and challenges. 

The interns then translated these insights into practical actions: listing businesses on the GuideFong Directory, creating Google profiles for the businesses, improving visual communication, and creating content for outreach. 

With their work outputs, the interns were able to increase the online and offline visibility of participating ethnically diverse businesses, allowing them to reach new and more diverse customers. 

Collectively, the four ethnically diverse youth interns: 

• Participated in five in‑person outreach visits to ethnically diverse micro and small businesses in districts such as Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, identifying new “hidden” shops for direct business support.
• Added 15 new ethnically diverse-owned businesses to the GuideFong Directory.
• Created two new or improved Google profiles for selected ethnically diverse‑owned businesses, increasing their visibility in local search and map results.
  • KebabIx
  • Zaitun
• Designed and improved three menus and leaflets for ethnically diverse-owned businesses, including a polished Cantonese menu and leaflet for Shalimar Indian Restaurant and updated menus for other restaurants and shops.
• Developed logos and other brand identity elements for one new small business, giving them clearer, more professional visual identities.
• Created two business card designs and other marketing materials for selected businesses, making it easier for the business owners to share their contact details and brand with customers.
• Curated four social media‑ready content (reels, posts, templates) to showcase ethnically diverse-owned businesses and supported ongoing digital promotion on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Measurable Personal and Professional Growth for Ethnically Diverse Youths 

While the interns entered the CBI Program with ambivalence about their employability, they rated their employability at 7 to 8 out of 10 by the end of the program, simultaneously reporting significant skills gain in stakeholder communication and outreach, confidence (especially among more introverted youth), branding, graphic design, using digital tools, storytelling, copywriting, and social media content creation.

“I’m happy with how I have been thoroughly pushed out of my comfort zone when going on outreach sessions,” said Gurung Bharosa. “Usually, I would keep talking to strangers at a minimum, but during this time, I was properly challenged to do an in-person version of cold calling. Undoubtedly terrifying, but also undeniably useful.” 

Crediting the CBI Program as a way to gain consulting‑style experience and a portfolio of real‑world outputs, the interns gained a thorough understanding of the ethnically diverse business ecosystem and the challenges facing entrepreneurs, including fierce competition and the pressure to keep prices low, lack of online presence and marketing capacity, heavy emotional and physical labor, falling victim to scams, and various hidden operational costs. 

Said Hajira Batool: “One key takeaway would be that reconnecting with my community through helping them is always going to be an enlightening experience for me, as not only do I get to know more about those ethnically diverse businesses, but I also assist them to help their businesses grow.” 

An Empowerment Program Equipping Youth with Community-based Experiences and Essential Skills

With real work experiences and a work portfolio under their belt, all four interns said they would recommend the CBI Program to their friends, especially to youth seeking hands‑on, community‑based experience and ways to build soft skills (teamwork, confidence, communication) that are otherwise hard to acquire or practise.

“During the internship, I improved my soft skills, including communication and confidence,” said Hajira Batool. “As I’m more of an introverted person, this internship allowed me to communicate with business owners and ask them questions about their business. I recommended this internship to my friend and we both joined this cohort. In the future, I would also like to recommend it to more of my friends, since I believe it is a great way to learn soft skills, such as teamwork, confidence, and communication.”

“I would recommend this program to others,” said Khan Soha. “I think it is a great way to learn and engage with the community and gain relevant skills related to business development and marketing. It’s also a way to meet and network with new people.” The impact we create to empower disadvantaged youth would not have been possible without the dedicated support of funders and skilled volunteers. If you would like to support our youth empowerment initiatives by engaging your employees or leveraging your professional skills and expertise, get in touch with us at info@shared-impact.com!  

The post FSI Community Business Internship: Equipping Ethnically Diverse Youths Essential Workplace and Human Skills appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

With the funding support of the Hong Kong Club Foundation, we were able to inaugurate our Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs in 2022, to empower Hong Kong’s under-resourced, ethnically diverse entrepreneurs to build capacity, develop personal and professional skills, and scale their businesses through high-quality mentoring and coaching, and thoughtfully curated training, seminars, and workshops. 

Our Mentorship Program has since become a widely acclaimed entrepreneur empowerment program in Hong Kong, with seasoned and aspiring entrepreneurs alike calling it the go-to initiative for hands-on entrepreneurial support, crediting it for growing and scaling their businesses in ways they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do. 

The compassionate, robust, and reciprocal entrepreneurial community we intended in the first year of the program has also grown as planned into a thriving circle of mutually beneficial knowledge exchange and mutual aid. 

The spirit of paying it forward to expand our shared impact is manifested in former mentees returning to the program to serve as mentors, such as Jerwine Que and Maryam Khan, the latter also running a digital marketing workshop for program participants; seasoned entrepreneurs generously sharing their knowledge and expertise with early-stage or aspiring entrepreneurs through mentorship, such as Naman Tekriwal, Innocent Mutanga, and Wilson Tai; and the ICF Hong Kong Chapter coaches who return year after year to volunteer their invaluable coaching service to help ethnically diverse entrepreneurs grow personally and professionally, such as Cynthia Lai, Philbert Chin, Mag Wong, John Azzo, Pam Birkett, and Hamid Naseem. 

How Trust-based Philanthropy and Broad Collaboration Drives Long-term Impact

With the funding support from not just the Hong Kong Club Foundation but also the Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation, the fourth iteration of our Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs matched 11 mentees with 10 mentors and 10 ICF Hong Kong Chapter coaches in September 2025, with the aim of empowering another cohort of under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs to build impactful community businesses that drive sustainability, community resilience, and social and economic inclusion in Hong Kong.

By facilitating broad cross-sector collaboration and free sharing of knowledge, information, and resources, we were able to support the mentee entrepreneurs through 85+ hours of direct mentorship, 51+ hours of individual coaching, and eight cohort-wide workshops that benefited 153 participants, including 15 members of the FSI community outside of the cohort.

An Effective Program Enabling Personal and Business Growth

Similar to previous years, the 2025-26 Mentorship Program garnered a high satisfaction rate from participants, who gave an average rating of 4.76 out of 5 for overall satisfaction, and 4.37 out of 5 for the relevancy and usefulness of the program’s training workshops and support. 

The growth of mentee entrepreneurs and their businesses has witnessed noticeable improvements as a result of the program. While 50% of mentees entered the program with just a business idea, all 11 mentees have progressed to either prototypes, pilots, or revenue-generating activities by the end of the program in March 2026. Additionally, the number of mentee entrepreneurs who described their businesses as financially sustainable increased from one at the beginning of the program to five by the end of it. 

Incidentally, whereas 70% of mentee entrepreneurs struggled to find a sense of connectivity and belonging to the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the beginning, the percentage dropped to 20% by the end of the program, with 80% of mentees now feeling “somewhat” or “very” connected to the ecosystem. 

Amongst the business aspects that mentees thought they had gained the most knowledge on are personal development and growth (80%), mental resilience (60%), and pitching and storytelling (60%) – all essential to the development of the entrepreneurs and their businesses in the long run. 

Said Anita Jaho, Founder of AFRIKA Kitchen ( Heritage Essence Company Limited): “The program helps me to understand how to measure where I am right now in my entrepreneurial journey, and it also helps me to get this community that I have always needed.”

“As a result of the Mentorship Program, I was able to successfully register my business, develop confidence and skills to navigate challenges, complete my rebranding, run workshops, and systemize production and inventory management,” said Nisreen Muchhala, Founder of Nourish Vibes. 

Also crediting the program for building confidence to navigate challenges is Rabia Aslam, who described the six-month journey as “transformative and empowering”. “Through the program, I gained a deeper understanding of my goals and refined my strategic approach to achieving them. This clarity has helped me prioritize effectively and align my efforts with long-term objectives. The mentorship experience significantly enhanced my confidence to navigate challenges and embrace opportunities. I have developed a growth-oriented mindset, allowing me to view obstacles as learning opportunities and approach problem-solving with resilience. I also acquired valuable insights and skills in areas like decision-making, leadership, and effective communication, which have had a lasting impact on both my personal and professional growth. These learnings will continue to guide me in future endeavors.”

“Because of the Mentorship Program, I was able to validate my business concept and distribute 200+ sample packs of my products to diverse demographics in Hong Kong, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback on taste and the upcycling concept,” said Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling. “I also developed the product foundation by completing essential R&D. I was able to build a strategic network by connecting with industry peers, potential collaborators, and fellow entrepreneurs through internal and external FSI events, gaining invaluable advice on key fundamentals in building a business and brand.”

Also leveraging business as a solution to waste reduction is Junimay Cortes, Founder of Revamp Hong Kong. “In the past six months, I made connections and collaborated with other small businesses. I gave back to the community by supporting charities and organizations, such as those supporting the Tai Po Fire relief efforts, the International Care Ministries, and the Refugee Union. I learned that consistency is key. As long as you keep showing up and you schedule what needs to be done, there will be progress, no matter how small it seems.”

A Testament to the Power of Shared Impact in Driving Systems Change

As an experienced designer and provider of mutually beneficial experiences, we know that mentee entrepreneurs are by no means the only beneficiaries of our Mentorship Program. From the mentors and coaches, we learned the areas where they felt they were able to make the most effective contributions: process optimization, pitching and storytelling, and communication skills. 

Perhaps one of the most resounding affirmations of the effectiveness and success of our Mentorship Program is this: 100% of mentees, mentors, and coaches said that they would absolutely recommend the program to others, and continue to engage with and give back to the FSI community. Moreover, 93.3% of mentees, mentors, and coaches agreed that FSI has created a safe space for under-resourced, ethnically diverse entrepreneurs to support each other’s growth.

This is more than just a unanimous recognition of the impactful work we do at FSI; it is also a testament to the power of shared impact in driving systems change.  

FSI Entrepreneurial Community: Uplifting Hong Kong’s Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs Through Shared Impact

When we asked mentees, mentors, and coaches of the 2025-26 cohort to reflect on their respective experiences of the six-month journey, one theme inevitably emerged: the invaluable power of community.

Indeed, the sheer amount of impact we created in empowering under-resourced entrepreneurs through the Mentorship Program and other FSI initiatives wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated support of funders like the Hong Kong Club Foundation and Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation; mission-aligned partners such as FundFluent, ICF Hong Kong Chapter, Africa Center Hong Kong, the Hive Hong Kong, Johnson Stokes & Master, Linklaters, PayPal, and more; and the event coordination and communication support provided by Impact Lab Course interns working with FSI’s Community Business Support and Communications and Marketing teams.

Said Rabia Aslam: “My biggest takeaway from joining the Mentorship Program since September 2025 has been the value of being part of a community of like-minded individuals — people who are genuinely eager to turn their ideas into real-life, impactful products and solutions. Being surrounded by that energy and ambition has been incredibly motivating, and it has shifted my mindset from simply thinking about ideas to actively working toward making them happen. Through the program, I gained the clarity, confidence, and practical steps needed to start shaping it into something real. The combination of mentorship support and community encouragement has been exactly what I needed to transition from ideation to execution.”

“Entrepreneurship can be a lonely island,” said Jerome Bautista, Co-founder of Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness. “There is so much to do and learn, and you can easily be overwhelmed. Having a supportive community has really solidified my belief that community is a strength and that building community is a gift. I am so grateful to have a community to lean on.”

“I’m in awe of the community, which is so strong and supportive!” said Ruth Benny, Director of Top Schools Ltd and mentor to Latha Chandrakant, Founder of Minmini Early Learning Solutions. “If only I’d had this when I was starting out. It’s been a very worthwhile experience, and I have become fully emotionally invested in my mentee’s fledgling business.”

The worthiness of sharing knowledge and experiences as a mentor is echoed by Wilson Tai, Co-founder and COO of FundFluent, a third-time program mentor and mission-aligned partner of FSI, who has been supporting FSI’s mentee entrepreneurs since our inaugural Mentorship Program. “Since joining the program as a mentor, my biggest takeaway has been how valuable this community is in bringing together people who are genuinely willing to share experiences and support each other. Mentoring also reinforced for me that structured, consistent conversations can make a real difference for mentees, even when it is simply providing a sounding board and practical perspectives.”

“My biggest takeaway is: how immensely useful this community is in helping early-stage entrepreneurs!” said Deepti Mehra, an ICF Hong Kong Chapter coach who supported Latha Chandrakant. “Connecting with people in the same boat, having the support of coaches and mentors, can make a world of difference for mentee entrepreneurs to move ahead with their ideas and dreams!”

Get Involved

To quote Philbert Chin, serving as a coach for the second year, supporting Jerome Bautista for the 2025-26 program, “The noticeable improvement of the program was incorporating feedback from previous years to help fine-tune the assistance delivered and valued by the entrepreneurs.” 

As we continue to enhance our program design and offerings by gauging and incorporating participants’ feedback, our doors are open to individuals or organizations interested in sponsoring our Mentorship Program or other Community Business Support initiatives, designed to build equity, sustainability, and resilience in the long-term development and growth of the Hong Kong society. 
Email us at cbs@shared-impact.com or drop by our office near the HKU MTR Station to explore ways to leverage each other’s strengths to create greater shared impact for Hong Kong.

The post 2025-26 Mentorship Program: Reciprocal FSI Community Uplifting Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs through Shared Impact appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

With the population of ethnically diverse youth increasing significantly by 37% from 2011 to 2021, and Hong Kong facing an impending talent shortage of 180,000 workers by 2028, it is no longer just a moral obligation but an economic and social imperative to nurture this invaluable pool of homegrown talents. 

Realizing that equitable access to resources, knowledge, information, and networks is key to unlocking the potential of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse youths, we inaugurated our Community Business Internship (CBI) Program in 2023 to empower ethnically diverse youth, aged 16-24 years, coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, to become future leaders and business consultants. 

The beauty and sustainability of this program lie in its mutually beneficial nature: while under-resourced youths gain equitable access to hands-on training in entrepreneurship, skills building, and career development, they are also providing valuable business consultations and solutions to grassroots and socially impactful businesses in Hong Kong.

With the dedicated support of Linklaters Asia for the second year, we launched the 2025 CBI Program from October to December for five ethnically diverse youths. To enhance the effectiveness of the engagements between the youth and the business owners/entrepreneurs, we matched them based on an alignment of skill-sets and business challenges, so that youths skilled in marketing and storytelling could support business owners looking to increase their business’ visibility and reach, for example.  

Meet the 2025 October-December Cohort of CBI Interns

Each representing a unique cultural background, the five CBI interns brought with them respective skills and multidisciplinary knowledge, ranging from Social Policy and Social Governance to English Literature, Business Management, and Sociology, to support under-resourced grassroots businesses through community-led entrepreneurship. 

Before reading about the youths’ internship experience and the impact they created, meet them here:

1. Richelle Gabucan

• Ethnicity: Filipino
• Education: Currently studying English Literature at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU).
• Self-intro: An “open book” and passionate about social impact. She brought strong technical skills in photography, videography, and Canva to the team. With a prior background in creating zines, she specialized in storytelling and leadership, often taking the lead in group presentations.

2. Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah

• Ethnicity: Indonesian
• Education: Currently a Year 2 student at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), majoring in Social Policy and Social Governance.
• Self-intro: Originally motivated by “top-down” social change, she sought to explore “bottom-up” community impact. She is highly proficient in organizational tools like Notion and has a keen interest in urban planning and graphic design.

3. Imama Dawood

• Ethnicity: Pakistani
• Education: Recently graduated from Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College (HKDSE); currently a Year 1 student at The University of Hong Kong.
• Self-intro: Having arrived in Hong Kong in 2018, she has a deep understanding of the Yau Tsim Mong community. She is skilled in content creation via CapCut and Canva. Though she describes herself as appearing introverted, she is highly communicative and extroverted in professional outreach settings.

4. Angeela Gurung

• Ethnicity: Nepali
• Education: Currently a Year 2 student pursuing a degree in Business Management.
• Self-intro: A polyglot who speaks six languages. She has a strong creative background in music, painting, and design, which she applied to her branding projects for grassroots shops.

5. Gurneev Maria Singh

• Ethnicity: Indian (Punjabi)
• Education: Currently a Year 1 student at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), planning to major in Psychology and Sociology.
• Self-into: Gurneev is fluent in six languages. His background in social sciences makes him particularly interested in human interaction and the sociological challenges faced by marginalized entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.

CBI Program: Where Disadvantaged Youth Build Confidence, Clarify Career Pathways, and Create Social Impact through Small Business Support

Describing themselves as beginners in their professional journeys in communications, marketing, research, and project coordination, the five CBI interns were selected amongst dozens of applicants for their unequivocal desire to support Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse small businesses as well as their interest in learning more about creating positive social impact. 

It was also through the CBI Program that the interns hoped to clarify their career direction and pathways, and hone their respective skills and become workplace-ready through the support and deliverables they were going to provide to under-resourced entrepreneurs. 

Our CBI Program, now in its fifth iteration, is designed precisely to respond to common challenges facing Hong Kong’s disadvantaged youth and empower them to resolve those challenges through experiential learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and building self-awareness. 

Throughout the two-month internship, we led multiple GuideFong Tours and community outreach sessions to connect the interns with ethnically diverse entrepreneurs who run micro and small businesses in Hong Kong. The interns were tasked with identifying lesser-known ethnically diverse-owned businesses in target districts, building trust and collecting stories through in-person interviews with the business owners, and co-designing practical marketing and branding solutions with the business owners.

Across the cohort, the interns worked individually and collaborated as a team to contribute dozens of hours of work toward: 

• 35+ new ethnically diverse-owned businesses listed on FSI’s GuideFong Directory; 
• Five “Meet the Entrepreneur” stories published on GuideFong’s website;
• Multiple newly designed or refreshed menus, logos, banners, and business cards; and
• Tailored marketing strategies, Google profile optimization, and other “light consulting” outputs.

A Mutually Beneficial Program Empowering Youth and Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs

The 2025 October-December CBI Program’s success was encapsulated in the interns’ ratings: 9 out of 10 stars for career relevance, 8 stars for skill gains, and 10 stars for gaining an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing ethnically diverse business owners, such as digital invisibility, language barriers, high rental fees, market saturation and domination by local franchises. 

“I observed two main challenges facing ethnically diverse entrepreneurs: a lack of foundational support and a reliance on informal labor,” said Richelle Gabucan. “Many owners exit their businesses prematurely because they lack the resources to navigate failures. Additionally, relying on family members for technical tasks like menu and logo design often leads to bottlenecks, as these ‘helpers’ have other commitments.”

Notably, the interns said the program enabled them to gain and hone their skills in stakeholder communication, adaptability, cultural competence, graphic design, and copywriting. 

Said Richelle Gabucan: “The most significant takeaway from my internship was the necessity of adaptability. While I began with an ambitious plan, I learned that external variables can shift outcomes despite my best efforts. This experience taught me to pivot gracefully, seek help when needed, and maintain productivity independently even when leadership was occupied. Ultimately, it deepened my connection to my community and strengthened my ability to communicate through professional uncertainty.”

Rating the CBI Program a 10 out of 10 for the autonomy it gives them, the interns felt an immense sense of accomplishment from the business projects and solutions that they took ownership of, collectively adding 35+ new business listings to the GuideFong Directory, curating five comprehensive branding kits, five narrative case studies, and a series of targeted social media reels.

Said Imama Dawood: “Seeing firsthand how practical, tangible support like a well-designed menu can immediately boost a small business owner’s confidence and professionalism was incredibly rewarding.” 

The sentiment is echoed by Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah: “My objective was to bridge the gap between social policy theory and grassroots reality. In addition to adding seven business listings to the GuideFong Directory and producing a series of ‘Meet the Entrepreneur’ case stories and reels, I also focused on storytelling to help business owners combat the ‘saturation’ of the market and stand out through their personal histories. Through this, I provided these entrepreneurs with a digital platform they previously lacked the time or technical expertise to manage.”

In addition to gaining sharpened professional aspirations, the interns also expressed a stronger commitment to supporting under-resourced entrepreneurs and building a more inclusive Hong Kong business community. In particular, they described feeling more confident in client communication, stakeholder management, and independent project work, and they reported a stronger sense of agency in driving positive change. 

“Coming from a social policy and governance background, I used to think that change only happens from top down,” said Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah. “This internship proved me wrong. My takeaway is that community-level support is the most direct way to foster social inclusion.”

Said Angeela Gurung: “My work had a meaningful impact by equipping two local businesses, Maiti Ghar and Hamro Fancy, with effective marketing strategies and professional branding. I shared insights on digital audience engagement, crafted targeted approaches for the owners, and designed logos, banners, and business cards, which I  believe have helped them to establish a stronger online presence and professional identity, enhancing visibility and customer appeal.”

Expressing utmost satisfaction about the CBI Program, all interns agree that they would recommend the program to their peers as a highly valuable youth development experience.

“This internship is perfect for someone who wants to get out of the office, connect directly with the community, and see the very concrete results of their work,” said Imama Dawood. “You gain real skills in communication, content creation, and design while making a visible difference for local businesses.”

“I would highly recommend this internship, particularly for students or those early in their careers,” said Richelle Gabucan. “The freedom to choose from a diverse range of projects allows interns to customize the experience to their interests, helping to build a versatile skill set while making a meaningful impact on the community.”

The impact we create to empower disadvantaged youth would not have been possible without the dedicated support of funders and skilled volunteers. If you would like to support our youth empowerment initiatives by engaging your employees or leveraging your professional skills and expertise, get in touch with us at info@shared-impact.com! 

The post FSI x Linklaters: Equipping HK Youth with Work Readiness, Intercultural Competence, and Essential Human Skills appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

Believed to be the month when the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, Ramadan is a sacred time observed by daytime fasting between the meal just before dawn (known as the suhoor) and another directly after sunset (known as the iftar). 

In addition to the five daily prayers, Muslims also recite a special prayer called the Tarawih prayer (night prayer) during Ramadan. In this month of fasting, worship, service, communal gathering, spiritual development, and redemption, Muslims practise self-discipline and gratitude and develop empathy and compassion for the less fortunate.

As one of our various attempts to enhance intercultural exchange and social inclusion, on 27 February, Adnan “Dani” Riaz, FSI’s Community Business Support Program Assistant, led a GuideFong Tour themed on the holy month for PayPal, our long-time corporate partner who generously sponsored our “Know Your GuideFong: TST” event in July 2025. 

Organized with the support of PayPal’s Community Impact Grant, the immersive tour offered PayPal employees an opportunity to take a deep dive into Ramadan traditions within Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse communities while supporting local entrepreneurs in Sham Shui Po, one of the city’s most vibrant, culturally rich, and impoverished districts. 

Facilitated by Dani’s introduction, participants connected with grassroots entrepreneurs from ethnically diverse backgrounds, many fasting while keeping their businesses open for fellow Muslims during Ramadan. 

Through their engagement, PayPal employees gauged the entrepreneurs’ needs for payment solutions and successfully listed three businesses in the GuideFong Directory. In leveraging their respective expertise to provide pro bono support to under-resourced entrepreneurs on the spot, the PayPal team of professionals created a positive social impact by reinforcing community bonds and solidarity with the underrepresented individuals who play a vital role in the well-being of the Hong Kong economy and society – the practices and spirit honored by Muslims during the holy month.

Getting to Know Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs

Split into groups, PayPal employees were tasked with interviewing different ethnically diverse entrepreneurs who offer a sense of home and belonging to the community of migrant workers in Sham Shui Po. 

They met Ko Apin, founder and owner of Restoran Indonesia Pondok Kita, who started the hut-like space for fellow Indonesians to gather and share classic dishes typically served at restaurants in Bali and Java. “It’s been just over a year, and we’re thrilled to be a hidden gem for both locals and visitors,” said Apin. “We stay true to authenticity, and dishes like satay, nasi kuning special, and sate sapi lontong are affordably priced must-tries. For us at Restoran Indonesia Pondok Kita, it’s about bridging cultures in Hong Kong’s multicultural identity.”

“The economic situation in Hong Kong may be challenging, but I still love Hong Kong as my home city, as I can still make a living here,” said Yunni, co-partner of Safiq Shinka Restaurant, which has acquired a presence in Sham Shui Po for 16 years, more than half the time that Yunni has been living and working in Hong Kong. “We get a mix of customers, including Pakistanis and local Chinese. We initially started as a grocery store and evolved into a restaurant specializing in Halal food.” 

“It can be challenging for people from India or Pakistan to venture out and open shops here, as they may expose themselves unnecessarily,” said Zahid Aziz, owner of Local Dhaba, a Pakistani restaurant that takes inspiration from the Hindi word for “lunchbox” and the roadside restaurants dotting highways in India and Pakistan. “I love the close-knit community here and the connections between diverse people. After coming to Hong Kong from Dubai more than 10 years ago, I quit smoking, and I used that same determination to set up the business. By next month, the renovation on the ground floor should be completed. I put a lot of effort into running the business and making sure everything complies with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s regulations.” 

Gauging Small Business Challenges and Witnessing Community Resilience

Wrapping up the conversations with ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, participants reconvened for a tour of the lively streets bustling with small family-run shops, South Asian grocery stores, and Halal restaurants staying open during Ramadan. 

In the area with a high concentration of ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, participants saw cash-heavy operations, remittance needs, and digital adoption gaps. They also saw how the small businesses truly manifest the city’s multicultural identity and strengthen belonging and resilience, despite facing challenges in growth and expansion.

Concluding a Socially Impactful GuideFong Tour with Iftar

Slightly before sunset, Dani led tour participants back to Shafiq Shinka Restaurant for a guided iftar, the meal that breaks the fast after sunset during Ramadan.

Tucking into the communal meal with traditional Indonesian and Pakistani flavours, participants learned about the significance of iftar and the Ramadan tradition of sharing meals. PayPal employees also shared their experiences of the day, where they created a shared impact by strengthening rapport with under-resourced entrepreneurs and providing them with much-needed business support.

“The diversity and the superb dollar value of the services, commodities, and food provided by the community are truly fascinating,” said Bill Lau, Technical Account Manager at PayPal Hong Kong. “It’s eye-opening to venture deep into the neighborhood to meet the diverse ethnic groups in Hong Kong. It’s also touching to hear personal stories told by the business owners.”

“Really appreciate the event for also hosting my daughter,” said Serena Leung, a PayPal employee. “After the tour, she shared how much she enjoyed the trip, seeing diversity around her school district and understanding different cultures. She also spoke about the experience with our family members, transferring what she saw to how Hong Kong needs these small businesses.”

“One of my most memorable takeaways from the tour was learning about the Pakistani community in Hong Kong, and how their strong sense of togetherness drives both business and personal growth,” said one participant. “It was inspiring to see how they actively support one another—sharing resources, offering mentorship, and creating opportunities that help the whole community thrive. Their culture of mutual respect and collaboration truly highlights the power of community in building sustainable success.”

Added another participant: “It is an experience you would not get unless you take part in the GuideFong Tour. As Adnan brought us to visit different business stores with different cultural backgrounds, I got exposed to how the local community actually looks, which turned my unnecessary virtual fear into an actual supporting spirit.”

Work with Us to Build an Inclusive Community

We would like to thank PayPal for trusting us with the design and implementation of socially impactful opportunities to engage their employees. Our heartfelt gratitude also goes to the Impact Lab interns working with FSI’s Community Business Support team to provide support during the tour. Lastly, the GuideFong Tour would not have been meaningful and socially impactful without the participation of the ethnically diverse entrepreneurs behind Restoran Indonesia Pondok Kita, Safiq Shinka Restaurant, Local Dhaba, Cemilan Khas Indonesia, and AK Barbers Hair Salon Ltd.

If you are interested in participating in our mutually beneficial corporate engagement activities, whether to kick-start your personal social impact journey, engage and develop your talents, or achieve your corporate ESG and CSR goals, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com to learn more!

The post FSI x PayPal: An Immersive GuideFong Tour in Celebration of Ramadan and Solidarity appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

The graduation event brought together 42 participants — mentees, mentors, coaches, community members, partners, and sponsors — alongside six Impact Lab interns and the FSI team. 

Together, participants reflected on the past months of collaboration, celebrating the progress made by the entrepreneurs who participated in the program and the mutually beneficial relationships that were formed throughout this process. 

A Six-Month Journey of Mutual Learning and Support

From September 2025 to March 2026, 11 mentee entrepreneurs worked closely with 10 mentors and 10 coaches to identify their businesses’ missions, market positioning, and growth strategies while developing heightened self-awareness as entrepreneurs, leaders, and human beings.

In its fourth iteration, our Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs further contributes to the strength of the community. For instance, two mentors in this cohort were once mentees themselves, which is a testament to the reciprocal nature of the FSI community, and that the shared impact philosophy of generously sharing resources, information, and knowledge to drive systems change is not only feasible, but also an effective way to build strong communities. 

Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs Celebrating Success and Failures

The event kicked off with an acknowledgement of the cohort’s achievements and progress. Each mentee was invited to go on stage and share their reflections on their experiences in their program, offering honest insights into both the challenges and breakthroughs they encountered.

One of the most valuable aspects of the program, according to the mentees, is the sense of belonging that arises from becoming part of a supportive entrepreneurial community. As Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling said, “Without the Mentorship Program, Upeeling would not be what it is today. I want to thank my mentor, who sat there with me and helped me develop the skills entrepreneurs need — making decisions, knowing when to ask for help, and understanding how much time to give to different decisions. Finding this community was also amazing because we were able to support each other and celebrate our wins together.” 

The sentiment was echoed by Latha Chandrakant, Director of Minmini Early Learning Solutions: “There are no words to express the feeling — it was shared impact through and through.”

Some mentees reflected on how the program pushed them beyond their comfort zone, which is “an essential step in the professional and personal development as an entrepreneur”, to quote Shamsa Bibi, an aspiring entrepreneur. 

Strengthening the FSI Ecosystem

Beyond celebrating the achievements of individual entrepreneurs, the event offered a chance for group reflection on the future of the FSI ecosystem.  

Participants were divided into mixed stakeholder groups — including mentors, partners, sponsors, and community members — to discuss how this FSI ecosystem could become even more resourceful, inclusive, and supportive for ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.

From different feasible approaches to enhance teamwork, more efficient sharing of resources, to increasing opportunities for business owners facing structural limitations, the discussions again underscored the principles of FSI’s shared impact philosophy: broad cross-sector collaboration and a culture of radical candour enable a community to explore solutions to drive systems change. 

Concluding a Six-month Journey with Hopes Abound for the Future

The event concluded with a graduation ceremony, where mentees received their diplomas recognizing their commitment, perseverance, and growth over the past six months. What started out as individual entrepreneurs exploring concepts and possibilities in September 2025 had developed into a group of confident founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, equipped with the wisdom gained from trials and errors, to carve their next steps forward. 

At the networking event following the graduation ceremony, participants continued to discuss the Mentorship Program’s impact, exchanged perspectives, and took part in interviews conducted by FSI’s Impact Lab interns, reflecting on both the program’s impact and their personal growth. The room was filled with indescribable emotions: happiness, compassion, and gratitude. 

While the graduation ceremony marked the official end of the 2025-26 Mentorship Program, it also represented the beginning of the next chapter. 

The relationships formed within the cohort will continue to grow through FSI’s Entrepreneur’s Hub and future events. As shown by this year’s cohort — as well as the mentors who once stood in their shoes as mentees — shared impact multiplies when knowledge, information, and resources are passed forward. Through collaboration, trust, and a shared commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship, the FSI community will continue to build a more equitable business ecosystem in Hong Kong.

None of this would have been possible without the funding support of the Hong Kong Club Foundation and the Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation, whose trust in our expertise and capabilities in community building and effective program design enables us to empower under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.

We would like to thank our corporate partner, Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM), for allowing us to host the graduation ceremony and networking event at its office, in addition to its long-time support through the Virtual Legal Clinic, which has benefited numerous under-resourced entrepreneurs in the FSI community, including the mentee entrepreneurs of our Mentorship Program.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated program partners, including ICF Hong Kong Chapter, the Hive Hong Kong, FundFluent, Africa Center Hong Kong, Foodie Explorerz, and our Impact Lab interns, whose unwavering support is crucial to the success of the program.

Get involved

As the cohort prepares to step onto the finale stage, one thing is evident: these entrepreneurs are no longer just aspiring entrepreneurs with ideas and concepts; they are confident communicators and community builders ready to make their next ask. If you would like to support our community of under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, whether as a sponsor, subject matter expert, or skills-based volunteer, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com.

*This blog post was drafted by Sofia Becerra Liang, Communications and Marketing intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Spring 2026 semester of the Impact Lab Course.

The post FSI 2025-26 Mentorship Program Concluding with a Celebration of Growth, Community, and Shared Impact appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

With the program finale slated for early March, the entrepreneur pitch workshop marked a meaningful point in the cohort’s journey – the mentees are no longer simply refining their business models; they are also preparing to present themselves, their ventures, and their vision to investors, partners, and communities. In many ways, this workshop was about stepping into leadership.

Curating a Perfect Pitch with Enhanced Clarity and Confidence

The session began with the question, What pitching opportunities do you have coming up? The answers ranged from funding conversations to partnership meetings. The discussion then switched to highlighting the importance and practicality of pitching, which is not reserved for investor panels only. Pitching, in its various forms, happens every day: in a networking conversation, a grant application, or a meeting with a potential collaborator; it even happens in informal situations such as a short introduction at a community event.

At its core, a pitch is not just storytelling but also a strategic act of communication made to shift the targeted audience or listener toward a specific stance.

Instead of asking mentee entrepreneurs to memorize scripts, the workshop introduced a practical and adaptable structure: the AREA framework. Mentee entrepreneurs were encouraged to think first about their Audience – who they are aiming to speak to and what matters to them. From there, they were guided to clarify Relevance – why this person should care; Evidence – why they should believe in the solution; and the Ask – what specific next step they are inviting the listener to take.

Through “before and after” examples, participants saw how small adjustments in clarity and confidence could transform a pitch. A vague introduction became a compelling proposition simply by aligning the message with the listener’s needs. You must ask: What is the market at that moment? What materials do you need to make it possible? Technology is cool, but it shouldn’t be the core; focus on your passion, and let technology be the tool that elevates it. Throughout the session, the emphasis stayed on the importance of alignment with needs over performance. A strong pitch is not that much about sounding impressive; it is about being intentional.

The workshop was filled with the presence of mentees, mentors, coaches, and volunteers from FSI’s partner network, including representatives from our corporate partners Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) and PayPal. Their participation reinforced a powerful message: pitching is practical. It happens daily in boardrooms, law firms, corporate strategy discussions, and community organizations.

Guest speakers brought this reality to life. Rachel Fok, with experience at a local grant-giving foundation, reflected on how pitching is central to securing buy-in from NGO founders and stakeholders. Gordon Chan, a Community Impact Committee member at PayPal, highlighted that in the corporate world, selling an idea is not just about closing a transaction but about building long-term support and partnerships. Alan Lau, Responsible Business Lead at JSM, spoke about pitching both internally within a law firm and externally to community partners, showing how universal the skill truly is.

Importantly, “Pitch Perfect” was not structured as a competition. There were no judges and no rankings. Instead, the session was designed as a safe space for experimentation and growth. After reviewing the AREA framework, participants moved into small groups where volunteers provided constructive feedback. Mentees were then given time to develop a pitch tailored to a specific audience scenario.

All mentees presented their pitches to the full room, with feedback collected anonymously to ensure it remained supportive, allowing space for growth. Each presentation reflected months of both business and personal growth. Businesses that once existed only as ideas now displayed confidence and experience. One mentee shared that having a clear framework made pitching feel manageable rather than overwhelming, allowing for the preparation of a concise and effective pitch. Another mentee highlighted how valuable it was to receive feedback from industry professionals who could offer practical insight.

Beyond the mechanics of pitching, the session also displayed deeper transformations within the cohort. Mentors celebrated incremental progress, embraced setbacks as learning opportunities rather than something negative, and combined passion with research and practicality. As Jerwine Bonafe-Que, Managing Director of The Blomstre and a former-mentee-turned-mentor put it, “Learn to celebrate the grind itself, not just the final result. Sometimes, just voicing it and getting a fresh perspective made mountains shrink into molehills. So celebrate every step, ask the right questions, stay consistent, and never underestimate the power of talking things out.” 

And perhaps, that is the true art of pitching – not just convincing others, but also believing in your own ideas enough to want to share them boldly.

Get involved

As the cohort prepares to step onto the finale stage, one thing is evident: these entrepreneurs are no longer just aspiring entrepreneurs with ideas and concepts; they are confident communicators and community builders ready to make their next ask.

If you would like to support our community of under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, whether as a sponsor, subject matter expert, or skills-based volunteer, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com. 

*This blog post was drafted by Sofia Becerra Liang, Communications and Marketing intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Spring 2026 semester of the Impact Lab Course.

The post FSI Mentorship Program: Empowering Mentee Entrepreneurs to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

That is why we once again collaborated with our long-time program partner, FundFluent, to organize a workshop on 17 January to equip the mentees and mentors of our 2025-26 Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge and information to achieve funding readiness for their business ventures. 

Approaching Funding As A Tool

Running the funding readiness workshop in collaboration with us for the fourth year, FundFluent, our program partner since the inauguration of the Mentorship Program, took participants on a deep dive into the basics of budgeting and building funding readiness. 

Leveraging their respective experiences of coming from families of small business owners, Jenny Au, Founder and CEO, and Wilson Tai, Co-founder and COO, generously shared their knowledge on financing and budgeting, taking advantage of this time of year typically reserved for financial review and planning. 

Stressing the importance of approaching funding as a tool instead of a starting point, Jenny and Wilson encouraged participants to identify the missing piece in their business operations, and make plans for addressing that missing piece with the appropriate funding and budgeting solutions. 

For this purpose, the FundFluent team prepared a “funding readiness scorecard” for the participants to use as a self-check mechanism to understand their current situation, taking into account budget planning, cash pressure, existing systems and habits, governance, and compliance etc. 

With the scorecard, participants were better able to identify the missing pieces, prioritize areas that demand immediate actions, before coming up with a “focus statement” that would serve as a guide for subsequent funding option exploration. Here, the FundFluent team also offered their expert insights to help participants find ways to address their respective missing pieces.

Nearing the end of the workshop, participants delved into the “Funding Readiness Action Canvas” to plan out the actions to tackle the issues outlined in their respective focus statements. This was followed by a Q&A session where participants’ queries regarding financing, budgeting, and funding readiness were answered by the FundFluent team, drawing insights from their rich experience in supporting startups and small businesses secure funding with clarity and confidence. 

“Incredibly Useful” Workshop for Early-stage Entrepreneurs

We couldn’t have equipped our mentee entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills to build funding-readiness for their businesses without the long-time support of FundFluent, who has been organizing this workshop since our inaugural Mentorship Program. 

“We keep coming back to this program because we see ourselves in these founders,” said Jenny and Wilson. “Many people aren’t taught to talk openly about budgets, cash flow, or financial trade-offs, even though these factors determine whether a business survives. Our partnership with FSI is deeply aligned with our mission to make the business world more friendly to small businesses and startups. Funding itself is not the starting point; clarity on what actually needs funding is. Our hope is that participants leave with the confidence to translate that clarity into practical financing strategies that support sustainable growth.”

Indeed, the workshop was well received by the Mentorship Program participants, with 85% rating it as very satisfactory, and the rest 15% describing it as satisfactory. 

Said Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling: “I really found the session incredibly useful for me as someone only starting their business now. It’s great to know what the fundamentals are and to try build these systems and consistent habits from the start, to help with planning and budgeting as well as feeling confident in knowing your numbers.”

“Thank you for offering this session,” said Jerome Bautista, Co-founder of Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness Limited. “It was very helpful for a new entrepreneur in terms of what we need to look at and how to do so with limited resources available. The worksheets are very helpful to go through!”

“The session was an eye-opener,” said Nisreen Muchhala, Founder of Nourish Scrubs. “The use of personal examples helped simplify complex issues.”

Get Involved

The mentees and mentors of our program will convene again on 7 February for the Pitch Perfect workshop to build and practise business pitches to capture target audiences. Stay tuned to this space!

A big shout-out to the Hive Poho, our venue partner who has been supporting us and our community of under-resourced entrepreneurs through our mutually beneficial partnership. Our program’s success also owes in part to the dedicated support of FundFluent, who doesn’t only co-host the funding readiness workshop for our program participants, but its COO, Wilson Tai, has also served as a mentor to the three past annual cohorts of aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. 

If you would like to support our community of under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, whether as a sponsor, subject matter expert, or skills-based volunteer, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com. 

The post FSI x FundFluent: Empowering Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs to Become Funding Ready appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

On 29 November 2025, we once again partnered with Goldman Sachs’s Community TeamWorks (CTW) to host the “Small Business City Hunt”, a team-building and community outreach initiative under our Project GuideFong, where we engaged 19 CTW volunteers and seven FSI Community Business Support Interns, each bringing with them their respective skillsets and expertise. 

Goldman Sachs Volunteers and Ethnically Diverse Youth Providing Direct Support to Small Local Businesses

Structured to provide direct and tangible support to locally ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in the Yau Tsim Mong District through high-impact tasks, the Small Business City Hunt first placed the volunteers into four different teams, focused on market research, social media, menu design, and translation, respectively. 

Each group was tasked with completing specific objectives, including: 

1. Listing a Business on FSI’s GuideFong Directory: 

Volunteers gathered essential information about the businesses, including unique selling points, product photos, and shopfront images, to create comprehensive listings on the GuideFong directory. By listing businesses on the directory, volunteers can help the business owners increase visibility for their products and services and potentially reach a broader audience.

From this Small Business City Hunt, three new businesses were successfully listed on the directory: Hamro Fancy, V Dimpal Fusion and Pizza House, and Tree of Life.

2. “Meet the Entrepreneur” Interviews

Volunteers were introduced to selected ethnically diverse entrepreneurs to conduct the “Meet the Entrepreneur” Interviews, where they engaged with business owners to capture their stories and insights.

On the day of the event, volunteers interviewed Kamala Rai, Owner and Chef of Reeti Rivaz Griha, and Singh Tarsem, Owner of V. Dimpal Fusion and Pizza House. Stay tuned to GuideFong’s Instagram page for more interviews to come!

3. Micro Business Projects: 

Volunteers worked on tailored projects to address specific challenges faced by business owners and managers. In addition to creating marketing collaterals, a logo, and a banner for Hamro Fancy, volunteers also translated the menu for Reeti Rivaz Griha, and drafted a visibility strategy and conducted store audits for PFG Store.

Positive Social Impact, Gamified

In addition to these core tasks, volunteers were also encouraged to earn bonus points by completing optional activities to promote cultural immersion and digital advocacy.

For example, they could consider visiting notable checkpoints such as Bowring Commercial Centre (known as Mini-Chungking among the Nepalese community), cultural landmarks like the Kowloon Mosque to better understand the local Muslim community, or community hubs like the Home Centre to learn about the services they provide for ethnically diverse individuals. Volunteers could also support ethnically diverse small businesses by leaving Google business reviews and becoming a follower of the businesses’ social media accounts. 

Bonus points aside, these tasks prompted participants to immerse themselves in the grassroots community to explore and understand the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse communities while gaining deeper insights into the small business landscape.

A Truly Immersive Experience of Ethnically Diverse Businesses in Hong Kong

This year’s Small Business City Hunt proved to be another great success, bringing volunteers closer to the community that they call home. By rating the event 9.5 out of 10, volunteers said that they would highly recommend the experience to others. Moreover, 91.7% of participants said that the session exceeded their expectations, and 100% of participants agreed that the session was organized and run smoothly.

Said Jialin Li, one of the volunteers: “Really enjoyed visiting the Nepalese restaurant and minibus museum in the area. It’s really a surprise for me as I live close by but never get the chance to connect with the shop owners and listen to their stories.” 

“I enjoy the interaction and conversation with different shop owners,” said Nelson Chan, another volunteer. “It helped me understand the situation that the minority-owned businesses are encountering.” 

“Ethnic minorities’ businesses are not only part of the economy, but also a part that defines Hong Kong as an international city,” noted one volunteer. “We have to provide them accessibility and visibility to the public.” 

“Many small businesses are operated by ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, some for survival, some for cultural immersion,” said Elyn Zhang. “It is interesting talking to the business owners to find out what their passions and goals are.”

Work with Us to Create Positive Social Impact

We would like to thank our long-time partner, Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks, for partnering with us on multiple Impact Jams in 2025, including this Small Business City Hunt, to empower under-resourced entrepreneurs and social impact leaders through skills-based volunteering and generous sharing of knowledge, information, and resources.

If you are interested in participating in our mutually beneficial Impact Jams, whether to kick-start your personal social impact journey, engage and develop your talents, or achieve your corporate ESG and CSR goals, FSI’s Impact Jams are customizable, impactful engagements conducive to creating lasting shared impact. Get in touch with us at communityconnections@shared-impact.com to learn more!

The post FSI x Goldman Sachs: Gamifying Meaningful Support for Hong Kong’s Ethnically Diverse Small Businesses appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

On 6 December, the mentees and mentors of our 2025-26 Mentorship Program gathered for a mid-point check-in at the Hive Poho, where the mentees took turns to share the achievements they have made and the challenges they face during their respective entrepreneurial journey, while the mentors offered tips and advice on tackling those challenges. Participants were then placed into breakout groups to engage in an “Ask Anything” session to facilitate in-depth knowledge exchange. 

Bonding Through Celebrating Small Victories and Mutual Encouragement

Amongst this cohort of mentees, some have already identified collaboration and partnership opportunities with each other. One important learning from the mentees is asking questions and seeking help and advice from FSI’s reciprocal community. 

Said Latha Chandrakant, Director of Minmini Early Learning Solutions: “In the past,I already knew what I wanted, but I felt apprehensive and didn’t take action. FSI has been the best thing because, thanks to this community, I am more confident in asking for help and no longer working on entrepreneurship alone.” 

Added Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling, who has started regularly documenting her entrepreneurial journey on her business’ Instagram page, including the pineapple snacks that she made as a sample product to test the market: “My challenge was narrowing the focus because my original goal was huge. I had to learn to think practically: defining my first product, creating a prototype, doing sample tests, and collecting data.

“One important realization was that my plan may not always work out, and I will face rejections. Even when I expect it, when it happens, I may feel despondent. But I learned that I need to actively reach out and seek help from the community when I feel stuck.”

Said Jerome Bautista, Co-founder of Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness Limited: “This program made me realize the ‘Power of Asking’ is very important.” In the past few months, Jerome and his co-founder have refurbished the studio space of Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness, and they will soon be hosting an open day. They have also signed a contract with a hotel to hold a public event.

The support of the FSI community was integral to the growth of these mentee entrepreneurs. For example, one mentee said, “There are resources and people ready and willing to help me when I need assistance, clarity, and support. I believe in myself more, and I am able to give myself grace in times when I encounter challenges and also celebrate the wins, both big and small.”

Encouragement and applause were generously given as the mentees continued to share their achievements and learning in other areas. 

Said Junimay Cortes, Founder of Revamp: “For me, the achievement I am most proud of is simply being able to collaborate with different vendors and successfully organize an event. This is a huge step because I am actually quite a shy person.” In addition to growing 100+ additional followers on her business’ Instagram page, Junimay was also interviewed by RTHK’s Philkongers program, where she talked about founding Revamp with a community-centric and social impact-focused mindset, and how her Philkong identity influences her approach to sustainable fashion and community building. 

Also interviewed by RTHK, albeit for a different program, was Rabia Aslam, who wants to empower underprivileged youth, particularly ethnic minorities, by providing hands-on coding, STEM, and AI education alongside mentorship from diverse professionals. In the interview with RTHK’s Community Involvement Broadcasting Service (CIBS), which celebrates ethnically diverse women in Hong Kong who are breaking job labels and gender stereotypes, the aspiring entrepreneur spoke about her work in AI and medicine and her advocacy for STEAM education, career and future development. 

“My biggest takeaways from joining the Mentorship Program include enhanced personal growth and increased confidence, valuable networking opportunities, and the development of key skills like leadership and communication,” said Rabia. “I have gained clearer insights into my career aspirations and learned the importance of constructive feedback and reflection. Additionally, the diverse perspectives shared by my mentor along with other mentors and mentees have broadened my understanding of various career paths and helped me set realistic, measurable goals for my future.”

“I learned a hard lesson,” said Muhammad Fahad, an aspiring entrepreneur aiming to promote sustainability, educate the general public on marine conservation, and encourage the use of eco-friendly products while supporting local artisans. “Although you might think your product is the best, it might not be the same for everyone else. My journey has also been about balancing life as a student while working on the business as an entrepreneur.”

In the discussions, mentors shared the importance of being practical, highlighting the need to conduct good market research and develop a sound business strategy before jumping into product development. As much as entrepreneurs need to focus on the final output, the mentors stressed that they should also enjoy the process and celebrate the small wins along the way. Some mentors emphasized having a clear understanding of the target customer profile, and the benefits of “failing early” so that entrepreneurs can ask the right questions to realistically overcome challenges and failures.

Participating in the Mentorship Program was a learning journey for mentors, too. Said Amanda Yik, Founder of Shinrin Yoku Hong Kong and mentor to Jerome Bautista: “Being a mentor of this program gives me the opportunity to be immersed in a very energetic and supportive environment, and to learn about the ways new entrepreneurs are launching themselves into the market now compared to when I started years ago.”

Gauging Interests and Needs for an AI Workshop for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Also joining the session was Kevin Farley, an AI trainer and consultant based in Hong Kong. Having built an AI training approach while working with Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, where he developed practical frameworks for AI applications, Kevin enabled teachers to get better output faster. In fact, his frameworks proved so successful that businesses began reaching out to him to seek the same kind of support. 

Kevin currently works with clients across professional services, wellness, and creative industries, helping them apply AI to core business tasks such as market research, planning, writing, and customer communication. Knowing his experience in delivering AI workshops to clients in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, South Africa, and the UK to help them save time, reduce frustration, and move from idea to execution faster, we are exploring the opportunity of developing a workshop with Kevin for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. 

It was with this in mind that Kevin did a quick live survey with the participants of the session to gauge their needs and challenges when using AI tools. 

Stay Tuned for the Mentee Entrepreneurs’ Continuous Growth

At this program mid-point check-in, we are glad to see that 100% of the participants are satisfied with their progress in the Mentorship Program. The mentees and mentors will gather again for the Fundraising and Budgeting workshop that we will be hosting in collaboration with our long-time partner, FundFluent, on 17 January 2026. Stay tuned to this space for the continuous growth of the mentee entrepreneurs and the FSI community.

A big shout-out to our venue partner, the Hive Hong Kong, for letting us conduct the workshop at its Poho space, and our Impact Lab Course interns working with FSI’s Community Business Support and Communications and Marketing teams for supporting the organization and coverage of the workshop! 
Drawing on the feedback from participants of the past iterations of our annual Mentorship Program, we strive to make our program as relevant and instrumental to entrepreneurs as we realistically can. The addition of the leadership and resilience workshop this year and potentially an AI workshop next year is a testament to our endeavor to provide entrepreneurs with bespoke support. If you would like to support our community of under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, whether as a sponsor, subject matter expert, or skills-based volunteer, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com.

The post Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs Celebrate Achievements and Share Challenges Midway Through FSI’s Mentorship Program appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.