It all started when we had the fateful encounter in 2022 with the Hong Kong Club Foundation, a funder who shares our mission of building equity and resilience into the Hong Kong society, and whose trust in our expertise allows us to focus our resources in ensuring everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to reach their full potential, drive collective social impact, and enable society to change for the betterment of all.
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.
