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.

Charities in Hong Kong: Section 88 Tax Exemption Status and Related Matters

If your charitable organization holds tax exemption status under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, it is important to be aware of the ongoing compliance requirements that must be fulfilled to maintain that status. In addition, a charity’s Section 88 status does not guarantee that all of its income will be tax-exempt, so it is important to understand the specific conditions for tax exemption before embarking on revenue-generating activities.  

With the contribution from Ernst & Young (EY), PILnet has created a practical guide on these topics, covering the ongoing compliance requirements for Section 88 organizations (e.g. notification and reporting obligations owed to the Inland Revenue Department), the conditions for income to be tax-exempt, and practical tips for charitable organizations. 

powered by Advanced iFrame

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On 13 April, the 2026 Spring cohort of Impact Lab students gathered for the final seminar focusing on systems change. Building on previous sessions around impact-driven entrepreneurship and learning from failure, this seminar encouraged students to shift their perspective from solving individual problems to understanding the broader systems that shape them. The session opened with a thought-provoking question:

If you had access to a time machine, would you choose to live in another period of time?

While it seemed simple, this question prompted students to reflect on how societies evolve as well as how the systems we live in today, from education and technology to finance and capitalism, are shaped by historical decisions, constraints, and collective behaviors.

When Systems Are Tested

To understand how systems change, the seminar explored moments in history where existing structures were disrupted.

One example examined the 1967 Hong Kong riots, a period marked by violence and instability, where over 1,500 bombs were placed across the city, including in everyday objects. This moment highlighted how fragile systems can become under extreme pressure and how social, political, and economic forces are interconnected.

Another example examined how Singapore responded after separating from Malaysia, particularly in securing its water supply. Faced with uncertainty, Singapore developed independent systems to reduce reliance on external resources, showing how constraints can drive long-term structural innovation.

Students also reflected on Hong Kong’s economic growth since the 1960s, recognizing that while GDP has increased significantly, this has not always translated into social innovation or a willingness to take risks.

Systems Change in Practice

The discussion then shifted to one of the most well-known examples of systems change: the US Civil Rights Movement.

Students explored how systemic inequality was not only maintained through laws and policies but also through deeply embedded mental models: the beliefs that shape how people think and act. Through collective action and sustained dialogue, the Civil Rights Movement demonstrated that meaningful change requires not only policy reform but also a transformation in how society understands fairness, access, and equality.

Understanding Systems in Hong Kong

To apply these ideas, students examined a real-world issue closer to home: housing in Hong Kong.

The discussion revealed that systems are shaped not only by policies and structures, but also by mental models. One of the dominant beliefs identified was that property ownership is one of the most important and reliable forms of investment. This perception continues to drive high demand and influence market behaviour.

At the same time, several structural factors reinforce the system:

• Only around 25% of Hong Kong’s land is developed
• Approximately 45% of the population lives in government housing, with long-term targets aiming higher
• Government revenue is partially linked to real estate activity, creating complex and sometimes conflicting incentives

Students also discussed how housing supply is concentrated in specific areas, further intensifying demand and limiting accessibility. These interconnected elements highlighted how policies, incentives, and public perception interact, making systemic challenges difficult to address through isolated solutions.

Tackling Problems at the Root Causes

A key takeaway from the seminar was that systems operate on multiple levels. While policies and regulations shape outcomes, bigger change often requires addressing the beliefs and assumptions that sustain these systems in the first place. Students were encouraged to think about root causes, rather than symptoms, and to recognize that meaningful change often requires collective effort and long-term thinking.

In one discussion, the idea of collective action emerged as important, as without open dialogue and collaboration, systems tend to remain unchanged. However, when individuals and communities come together, they can challenge existing structures and drive transformation.

Empowering Youth to Envision and Drive Collective, Long-term Impact

As the last one of the Impact Lab series, the seminar on systems change marked an important conclusion to the students’ learning journey. Rather than focusing only on building solutions, students were encouraged to ask broader questions:

What systems shape the problems we are trying to solve?
And how can we begin to change them?

By understanding how systems function and where their constraints lie, students are better equipped to design solutions that are not only innovative but also sustainable and impactful.

Entrepreneurship does not happen in isolation. It exists within systems that influence access to resources, opportunities, and outcomes.

By exploring how these systems are formed, maintained, and transformed, the Impact Lab seminar empowered students to think beyond individual success and towards collective, long-term impact.

In many ways, systems change begins with a shift in mindset – from working within the system to questioning how it can be improved. 

*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.

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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!  

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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.

Here, art comes in as therapy. Bypassing verbal communication and leveraging nonverbal expression, art therapy enables SEN children (and adults) to externalize their emotions and inner experiences through various artistic mediums ranging from drawing and painting to sculpting and collage-making. In many ways, artistic creation empowers SEN children to process, recognize, and express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions without the pressure of identifying the right words. 

Helping SEN Children Transcend Verbal Communication Barriers with Art Journal

On 1 March, 15 HSBC Hub for the Future community members and three FSI staff gathered at the Hong Kong Disneyland before the clock even struck 10 in the morning. The occasion? To volunteer our support for a day trip organized by the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) for approximately 227 individuals from 60 families with SEN children.

Founded in 2003, the Sovereign Art Foundation runs community outreach programs that use Expressive Arts Therapy to support children with different needs. Notably, its Make It Better Programme is a Hong Kong-based community outreach program that provides SEN children living in vulnerable communities with access to the therapeutic benefits of Expressive Arts Therapy, and the day trip to Disneyland is organized under this program. 

Having received the SEN families upon their arrival, Hub members distributed the Art Journal designed by SAF to help SEN children express their feelings and experiences during their time at Disneyland. As the families folded the A3 sheet into a journal under the instructions of Hub members, they also learned about the activities planned for the day: There were six tasks to be completed, such as documenting their experiences through writing or painting, and families who completed more than four tasks would find a small prize await at the end of the day.

Hub members also explained the safety protocols to the SEN children. For example, the children were advised to have their parents’ phone number handy and to seek help from an adult in case they became separated from their parents.

Winding Down a Fun Day Out with Gifts and Interaction

As the families returned to the meeting points after completing the day’s activities, they also received gifts from Hub members, who made meaningful conversations with the children and their parents to learn about their unique experiences as documented in the journals.

“I was very happy to accompany a SEN family to Disneyland,” said Rachel Cheng Ka Shuen, recipient of the 2025 HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship. “While waiting in line for the rides, I took the time to chat with the children and found that they were very willing to express their feelings. When I gave them compliments, they became happier and more confident. I learned how to show empathy and patience. Disneyland is a great place that allows them to be in a relaxed environment and be willing to open up. Thank you for offering this chance to me!”

Also finding the volunteering experience rewarding was Evelyne So Long Ching, recipient of the 2021 HSBC Greater Bay Area Scholarship. “This experience allowed us to help out and interact with families with SEN children in a way that wouldn’t be too overwhelming for those of us who are first-timers.

It’s great that there are organizations like SAF that do this type of work for low-income SEN kids and their families. I understand that there is a spectrum to the levels of support different SEN kids require, but after today, I realized that family structure and dynamics also play a huge role in shaping their education and future paths.”

Gratitude also flowed from SAF to the volunteering HSBC Scholars. Said Charles Chan, Expressive Arts Therapist, The Sovereign Art Foundation: “To our volunteers and FSI, thank you for showing your heart. I will remember your crouching, listening, and laughing with families, and how even a sheet of tattoo stickers became a gentle way for some children with special educational needs (SEN) to share their feelings. Your care made this Disney day a rare, treasured memory for the families we supported.”

“Our magical trip to Disneyland, in collaboration with FSI, offered the children from our Make It Better Programme a deeper and more meaningful experience through interactions with caring volunteers beyond their usual community,” said Christina Lum, Senior Art Facilitator, The Sovereign Art Foundation. “The Art Journal’s expressive arts challenges encouraged mindfulness, observation, and self-expression as they explored the park. Seeing the children’s joy, confidence, and pride grow through these supportive connections with the volunteers was truly heartwarming.” 

As the secretariat of the HSBC Scholarship Scheme and the coordinator for Hub for the Future – a community of past and current recipients of HSBC Scholarships – FSI works to transform the Hub community into a force for good. Since July 2024, we have provided the Hub community with opportunities for mentorship, leadership development, skills acquisition, and community service activities. Learn more about our youth empowerment work here.

The post HSBC Scholars Supporting SEN Children’s Self-expression through Art Therapy at Disneyland appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

The shelters, while striving to provide abandoned animals with a loving home albeit temporarily, are often under-resourced and under-staffed, and many are run by volunteers. The urge to give these compassionate individuals a helping hand prompted us to partner with a local dog rescue shelter, House of Joy and Mercy for Rescue Dogs, to organize a volunteering activity for HSBC Scholars and Hub for the Future community members.

Hands-on Care and Support for Abandoned Dogs 

On 21 February, 10 HSBC Scholars and Mandy Yeung, FSI’s HSBC Scholarship Scheme Programme Officer, arrived at House of Joy and Mercy’s Ko Po Dog Adoption Centre in Yuen Long at 10am in the morning, sleeves all rolled up, ready to provide the shelter with much-needed support. 

Founded in 2015, House of Joy and Mercy for Rescue Dogs is a nonprofit organization committed to the care of stray animals in life, healing in sickness, and offering dignity in death. In addition to helping stray animals find loving homes and offering them a place to live in, the nonprofit also provides stray animals with free clinical treatment and humane end-of-life services. To prevent abandonment, House of Joy and Mercy offers free short-term animal foster services to owners in emergencies alongside regularly organized public education programs on animal welfare and companionship.

Initiated and led by Stephanie Chan, recipient of the HSBC Greater Bay Area Scholarship in 2023 and a current Hub Leadership Committee member, the activity kick-started with an introduction to House of Joy and Mercy by its staff, Ar Tung. 

The Ko Po Dog Adoption Centre is home to approximately 50 dogs, the majority of whom are middle- and large-sized stay dogs, abandoned by puppy mills or their owners. “The health condition of the dogs abandoned by the puppy mills is worse than that of other dogs, as they were forced to breed before they were sent here,” said Ar Tung. This is why the centre endeavors to provide the dogs with a good living environment: ample clean space with comfort added in the form of air-conditioning during the city’s hot and humid summer.

Dog Care 101: Cleaning the Kennels and Discerning Canine Emotions

After a tour of the center, Ar Tung showed HSBC Scholars how to clean the kennels and discern canine emotions by observing their tails. HSBC Scholars then followed Ar Tung to visit the dogs at each kennel, learn about their personalities and history, and the precautions to take when interacting with the dogs.

“Clean the kennels one after another, and never open more than one kennel at the same time,” said Ar Tung. “After you have cleaned the kennel, avoid pushing the dog back inside the kennel from their back, as that could frighten the dog.”

Once the cleaning was over, Ar Tung encouraged HSBC Scholars to interact with several purebred and mongrel dogs, including those abandoned by their owners and puppy mills. To say the dogs melted the scholars’ hearts is an understatement. 

“Cleaning the kennel wasn’t easy at all — the dogs sometimes barked suddenly or were reluctant to go back into their kennels,” said Stephanie Chan, our HUB leader who proposed and took the lead in this event. “It was important to be patient. I am glad that I could help with cleaning and daily care for the dogs, as a clean kennel is the foundation of a healthy rescue. As a law student, I have realized that animal law is rarely touched upon in our curriculum, yet it’s an area that has always sparked my curiosity and concern. This year, as a HUB Leader, I felt a deep desire to create a bridge—not just between our HUB members, but also between us and the voiceless. I wanted us to step beyond our textbooks into the real world, to understand not only how shelters operate, but also the quiet struggles of homeless dogs in Hong Kong.” 

Reflecting on the kennel cleaning session, Stephanie thought it was where the Scholars’ hearts and hands truly came together. “We guided the dogs out, cleaned their kennel, refilled the water, and gently led them back inside the kennel. Guiding them back in was not always easy—some barked and resisted—but we learned that patience and kindness speak louder than urgency, no matter how long it took. That moment reminded me that love is not rushed; it is shown in the small, steady acts of care. I watched our members step out of their comfort zones, clean with care, and connect with dogs who have long been forgotten. What stayed with me was the sight of purebred dogs waiting just as long for a home as any other. It reminded me that every dog, regardless of breed, is simply waiting for someone to say, ‘You matter.’” 

This volunteering experience also opened Stephanie’s eyes to the painful truths that abandonment and illegal breeding are not distant issues but are happening right now, here in Hong Kong. “I met dogs who were once used for breeding and then discarded when they were no longer ‘useful’. Some had lost their sight. Others bore physical scars. Yet their spirits remained gentle. It broke my heart and also strengthened my resolve to help with these animal friends..” 

The hardest thing to witness, for Stephanie, was the reality of long-term shelter life: “Many dogs have been waiting for over two or three years. And for mixed-breed dogs—our beloved ‘village dogs’, the wait is even longer. Seeing their hopeful eyes in person, I realized that behind every statistic is a living being longing for a second chance. I truly wish for a world with fewer abandoned animals and fewer dogs bred for profit. Dogs are lives, not commodities.”

“The main reason I participated in this event is that I really love animals,” said Tommy Wong, recipient of the 2025 HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship. “I didn’t have much knowledge about animal adoption or the process behind it. This volunteering event helped me understand how adoption centers are run and how the dogs are cared for. I don’t have a pet now, but I love animals. With today’s experience, I learned more about how to take care of and interact with animals.”

“What really inspired me is that the dog adoption center is very clean,” said Orane Lee, recipient of the 2025 HSBC Social Work Scholarship. “Although there are many different types of dogs here, mostly large dogs, the center is still very clean. There are also many different stories behind the dogs, such as abandoned dogs, stray dogs, and even sick dogs. In fact, every story behind the dogs is a human story, but the dogs can’t control these things. We need to reflect on these stories and find ways to prevent abandonment in the first place.”

The same thing dawned on Mimi Wong, recipient of the 2024 HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship, “I have learnt that there are some people in Hong Kong caring for stray animals. We should think twice before buying a pet. Instead of buying a dog from a pet shop, we should adopt one. We should support more dog shelters in Hong Kong.” 

Said Daniel Lee, recipient of the 2021 Vocational Education Scholarship: “It was a really enjoyable experience, and it was my first time interacting with dogs and helping with the dog shelter. Even though cleaning the shelter was tiring, I have developed more empathy and patience for animals in need.”

“It was a meaningful experience,” said Tasha Lam, recipient of the 2025 Innovation and Technology Scholarship. “I am a dog lover, so I am very glad that I could help. Seeing the dogs enjoying a hygienic environment at the site made me feel like my effort paid off.”

As the secretariat of the HSBC Scholarship Scheme and the coordinator for Hub for the Future – a community of past and current recipients of HSBC Scholarships – FSI works to transform the Hub community into a force for good. Since July 2024, we have provided the Hub community with opportunities for mentorship, leadership development, skills acquisition, and community service activities. Learn more about our youth empowerment work here.

The post All Paws On Deck: HSBC Scholars Supporting Local Dog Shelter’s Lifelong Care for Abandoned Dogs appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

Unlike previous Impact Jams, this session was structured as a pitch and feedback forum. During the event, the social impact organizations presented their pitches for a current project or fundraising idea, while volunteers from PayPal served as a panel of advisors offering insights and feedback. 

Meet The Social Impact Organizations

The social impact organizations that attended the business clinic were:

Future Education Centre (FEC): FEC partners with educators worldwide to empower individuals to realize their potential through experiential learning opportunities such as immersive study tours, internships, hackathons, and hands-on skill trainings.

Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness: An organization committed to addressing the mental health epidemic in Hong Kong and beyond. Sacred Space provides a tranquil space for healing and self-discovery through alternative therapies such as Music and Forest therapy.

Upeeling: A sustainability startup that addresses food waste and promotes healthy snacks by transforming imperfect fruit into healthy upcycled snacks with no additives. Through this innovative approach, Upeeling aims to fight against daily food waste in Hong Kong while advocating for healthier snacking.

Impact Business Founders Delivering Elevator Pitches

Delivering the first elevator pitch was Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling, who introduced the startup’s upcycled snacks, aiming to raise awareness for the startup and find partners for pilot programs. 

Next, Jerome Bautista, Co-founder of Sacred Space Therapy and Wellness, shared details about the impact business’ previous collaborations, including organizing workshops and retreats for companies. 

Finally, Fenix Lam, General Manager and Chief Program Coordinator of Future Education Centre, closed the session with a pitch focused on securing funding and interviewing employers to better understand what circumstances would lead them to consider hiring secondary school dropouts. 

PayPal Volunters Uplifting Social Impact Leaders and Entrepreneurs with Invaluable Feedback

After the pitches, PayPal volunteers gave feedback to the social impact organization representatives, highlighting their strengths along with areas for improvement. 

For example, they suggested Upeeling to address food safety, clarifying if the product is vegan, and sharing their vision for expanding to more fruits. 

For Sacred Space, PayPal’s advisory panel recommended providing greater detail about the therapies offered, such as duration, location, and skill level, to give the audience a clearer understanding. 

To Future Education Centre, PayPal volunteers suggested refining the terminology used. Instead of saying “interviews with employers”, PayPal volunteers suggested using market research or focus groups and narrowing the pitch to a single audience.

Throughout the session, it was evident that the social impact leaders and entrepreneurs were truly passionate about their organizations’ missions and objectives, while the volunteers were fully engaged in leveraging their respective expertise to provide meaningful suggestions from diverse perspectives. 

FSI Impact Jam: A Win-Win for Corporate and Social Impact Sectors

Once the Pitch and Feedback section was complete, the PayPal volunteers were paired with a social impact leader/entrepreneur to review their pitch decks and provide more tailored feedback. 

This breakout session was incredibly helpful for the social impact leaders and entrepreneurs, as they were able to receive specific feedback from the volunteers who had taken the time to understand their organizations’ capacity and limitations. 

Kaylini Naidoo, Founder of Upeeling, shared that “The verbal pitch and the pitch deck evaluation were incredibly helpful for me. I think the structure of the session was good, and it was nice to have group breakout discussions.”

The social impact organizations weren’t the only ones who benefited from the Impact Jam, but so did the PayPal volunteers. This experience gave them a sense of accomplishment, knowing that the ideas and suggestions they contributed offered perspectives for the social impact organizations. 

Said Bill Lau, Technical Account Manager at PayPal Hong Kong: “I enjoyed listening to distinct social enterprises sharing visions that I never imagined, from recycled food snack business, to forest and music therapy, to field trips and career program for high school dropouts. These are all initiatives I want to support and be part of!”

The sentiment was echoed by another PayPal volunteer, who shared: “It’s my pleasure to know three entrepreneurs from different industries. Listening to three pitches from different industries is inspiring.”

We would like to extend our gratitude to PayPal and the social impact organizations for being part of this event. We hope this marks the beginning of a long-term partnership. 

We would also like to thank SpiceBox Organics for providing catering support with environmentally friendly, delicious, and healthy food, such as the mini quiche lorraines, oat crunch goji berry cookies, and keto chocolate ganache. 

As this Impact Jam has shown, cross-sector collaboration is an effective way to build mutually beneficial relationships while creating greater social impact. If you would like to engage and develop your employees while achieving ESG or sustainability goals through meaningful Impact Jams, get in touch with us at communityconnections@shared-impact.com.

The post FSI x PayPal: Pitch Lab for Social Impact Organizations in Hong Kong appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

The 2026 Spring cohort of Impact Lab students gathered on the 23rd of March for a second seminar focused on one of the most challenging yet overlooked aspects of entrepreneurship: failure and risk management.

Contrary to societal norms where success is emphasized and setbacks are hidden or even discouraged, the seminar started by encouraging students to rethink a mindset that’s commonly captured in the Chinese proverb:

“Hide the bad; glorify the good.”

Instead, students were encouraged to confront failure openly, to understand it, learn from it, and ultimately use it as a tool for growth.

Understanding Why Startups Fail

The session began with an interactive Mentimeter exercise, asking participants a simple yet important question: Why do most startups fail?

Many responses pointed to familiar challenges such as flawed business models or running out of capital. While these answers reflected common perceptions and real-life cases, the discussion was deepened by comparing them with other insights. 

Five key reasons emerged:

Running out of cash or failing to raise capital still remains one of the leading causes of failure, with many entrepreneurs struggling to secure funding or communicate their value to investors. 

Closely related is the issue of no market need, which accounts for a significant proportion of startup failures. Even well-developed ideas can fail if they do not address real demands. 

Startups also often face the risk of being outcompeted, particularly in crowded markets where differentiation is limited and competitive advantages are difficult to sustain. 

A flawed business model – such as relying on a single revenue stream or failing to scale effectively – can further undermine its long-term viability. Finally, regulatory and legal challenges, including unexpected policy changes or broader geopolitical factors such as trade tensions, can create external pressures that are difficult for early-stage ventures to navigate.

The Hong Kong Context

The conversation then shifted to the realities of building a startup in Hong Kong.

Participants identified several structural challenges, including the high operating costs, limited access to funding, and legal and administrative complexities that can slow down or even restrict growth. At the same time, many entrepreneurs are often conditioned to think in small, incremental ways rather than developing broader solutions that can grow sustainably over time. 

Recognizing these constraints is a critical step in understanding risk and also in designing businesses that can adapt to them. Under the instructions of David Bishop, Impact Lab Instructor and Co-founder of Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) as well as multiple social impact businesses, students were told to think outside the box.

Learning Through Case Studies

To bring these ideas into practice, David introduced a series of case studies, allowing students to analyze real and hypothetical ventures and identify why they failed.

One case explored a sustainability initiative centred around a revolving green loan fund, designed to support long-term environmental projects. Despite its compelling vision, the initiative faced challenges, including insufficient fundraising, bureaucratic barriers, and limited institutional support. The discussion highlighted how even impactful ideas can struggle without the right financial and structural foundations. 

Another case focused on a venture that failed due to ease of replication and governance challenges. Without a clear competitive advantage, the business was quickly outcompeted. This example showed the importance of building not only innovative solutions but also defensible and well-managed organizations, said David

Through these discussions, students were encouraged to form groups and think critically. Students had a few minutes to get into their groups and think – not just about what went wrong but also about what could have been done differently.

Failing Forward: Managing Feedback and Growth

Beyond analyzing failure, the session focused on how entrepreneurs can respond to challenges in a constructive way. One of the main points was managing negative feedback, which is an inevitable part of the entrepreneurial journey. Rather than reacting defensively, students were introduced to a practical approach:

Staying calm and listening actively, seeking clarification when needed, and taking time to reflect before responding. By focusing on understanding rather than reacting, feedback becomes a valuable source of insight rather than a barrier.

Participants were encouraged to view feedback not as criticism but as an opportunity to strengthen their strategies and improve their decision-making.

A central takeaway from the session was that failure is not something to avoid, but something to understand. By examining why startups fail, whether it is due to market misalignment, financial challenges, or external reasons, entrepreneurs can better anticipate risks and make more informed decisions.

More importantly, failure can build the resilience needed to navigate uncertainty.

In entrepreneurship, success is usually non-linear but built through experimentation, setbacks, and continuous learning.

By creating a space where failure can be discussed openly and constructively, the Impact Lab seminar empowers students who might want to enter the entrepreneurial world to move forward with greater confidence, not despite challenges, but because of what they learn from them.

Stay Tuned

Through our Impact Lab Course, we support students to develop themselves and enhance essential human skills through experiential learning internships with impact startups as well as informative seminars. Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming seminar on systems change. 

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 Impact Lab: Helping Youth Learn from Failure and Building Resilient Entrepreneurs appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.

To kick off the seminar, participants received a friendly reminder from Shitong Wu, FSI’s Youth Empowerment Intern, to take action for the planet by recycling their trash. Students were given refreshments and encouraged to place their used items into the recycling bins — a fitting start to a session centered on mindful innovation and sustainability.

Unlocking the Creative Mind 

The session’s facilitator, Professor David Bishop, Co-founder and Director of Foundation for Shared Impact and Impact Lab Course Instructor, began by sharing how he moved from a structured legal career in the US and Hong Kong into teaching at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), where he said he could finally let ideas “flow like crazy”. His colleagues even joke that the phrase they worry about most is when he says, “I have an idea.”

This moment set the tone for the day’s key message: be open to ideas, and always record them the moment they come. The brain is like a muscle: it grows stronger the more creatively you exercise it.

The Four Stages of Design Thinking  

David then walked students through the four stages of design thinking — Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement — highlighting that innovation is rarely a straight line, but an ongoing process of exploration, failure, and refinement. 

In the Clarify stage, he stressed the importance of fully understanding the problem before jumping to solutions, reminding everyone to “think inside before outside the box” and to see failure as a natural part of the creative journey.

Moving into Ideate, participants were encouraged to generate as many ideas as possible without self-censorship. Echoing a familiar Cantonese saying, 好記性不如爛筆頭 — a good memory is not as reliable as a bad pen — he urged students to write everything down and capture every thought. 

The Develop stage subsequently focuses on combining, testing, and refining those raw ideas into more practical, workable solutions. 

Finally, in the Implement stage, David emphasized that execution should always be accompanied by reflection, asking repeatedly, “Are we solving the right problem?” so that teams remain open to revisiting earlier stages when needed.

Sustainability: Rethinking Systems and Mindsets

Next, students broke into groups to tackle a thought-provoking challenge: “How can we get Hong Kong citizens to lead a more sustainable life?” This brainstorming session illuminated a range of innovative proposals. Teams had to mind-map solutions in just five minutes, but many quickly realized the hardest part was defining the problem itself.  

For instance, when one group identified “people are lazy to recycle” or “lack of awareness” as the main issue, David encouraged them to dig deeper. Eventually, teams reframed the central issue as solid waste— whether from fast fashion or overpackaged food. One group proposed vending machines for vegan meals that reward users for returning packaging, but David reminded the class that sustainability isn’t only about the environment — it’s about rethinking systems and mindsets on a larger scale.  

Ethics, AI, and Purpose  

The seminar closed with an insightful presentation from Diego Eugenio Uribe Rodríguez, an Impact Lab student, who introduced Ethics Lab, an ongoing project and digital platform designed by David and a few Impact Lab students, to help users understand their values and lead more purposeful lives. The presentation illustrated how technology, ethics, and empathy can come together to create genuine social good within everyday decision‑making.

David ended the session with a reminder: “Don’t be afraid to do crazy things. Go wild. That’s when your brain truly opens up.” His words encapsulated the spirit of the seminar: creativity isn’t confined to design; it’s a mindset, a willingness to fail, learn, and try again with greater clarity.  

Stay Tuned

Through our Impact Lab Course, we support students to develop themselves and enhance essential human skills through experiential learning internships with impact startups as well as thematic seminars. Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming seminars on “Learning from Failure: Mastering Risk Management” and “Systems Change”. 

This blog post was drafted by Cheung Hoi Ching Karina, Communications and Marketing intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Spring 2026 semester of the Impact Lab Course.

The post Impact Lab Cultivating a Sustainability Mindset in Youth Through Design Thinking appeared first on Foundation for Shared Impact.