At Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), youth empowerment and uplifting the ethnically diverse community in Hong Kong are integral to our vision for a future where everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to reach their full potential. This not only guides the programming of our impact-based experiential learning initiatives to transform today’s youth into tomorrow’s leaders, but the experience we continue to glean from running youth empowerment and leadership training programs has also enabled us to fill the gaps of needs that are not being effectively addressed.
One such initiative is the Community Business Internship Program. In 2023, we introduced the Community Business Internship (CBI) Program aimed at empowering ethnically diverse youth aged 16-24 years to become future leaders and business consultants. By offering participants hands-on entrepreneurship training and career development opportunities, the program also empowers them to provide valuable business consultations and support, such as conducting market research, developing growth strategies, and creating marketing collaterals to under-resourced, socially impactful businesses in Hong Kong.
2025 Community Business Internship
From June to July 2025, we engaged six Community Business Interns who were high school or early-university students for a two-month internship. Contributing 57 working hours each, Subhana Gurung, Abeer Sayed, Fahad Tanveer Muhammad, Riley Garcia, Sandip Sunar, and Wafee Khandakar worked together to complete four community business outreach sessions to meet ethnically diverse businesses in Kwai Chung, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Jordan, and listed 18 businesses in our GuideFong Directory – Hong Kong’s first-ever directory dedicated to grassroots ethnically diverse businesses.
Amongst the highlights of the interns’ work was the pre-event preparation and on-site support they provided to the FSI team for the Know Your GuideFong: TST, an immersive community event organized by FSI’s Project GuideFong on 6 July.
In addition to creating promotional content and stickers, coordinating with participating GuideFong businesses, and planning for the venue layout prior to the event, the interns also diligently assisted with booth set-up, content creation to document the event, visitor engagement, and support for the GuideFong businesses featured in the TST GuideFong Map (designed for the Treasure Hunt). Impressively, the 12 social media assets created by the interns have garnered approximately 14,000 views on GuideFong’s Instagram page.
Gaining New Skills and Personal Growth through Meaningful Work
Through their two-month internship, the Community Business Interns all gained essential human skills and transferable skills such as communication, collaboration, marketing, networking, and editing. But their learning journeys encompass so much more, ranging from improvements in self-confidence, adaptability, leadership, to intercultural exchange, compassion, and more.
“Prior to this internship, I struggled to communicate with people who were much older than me,” said Subhana Gurung, whose first work task was creating an Instagram reel to capture PayPal Hong Kong’s Impact Day on 11 June, when the company mobilized its employees to help us prepare for the goodie bags for the Know Your GuideFong: TST event as our event sponsor. “As a result of this internship, I now find myself with more confidence and ease when talking to adults, and when I asked for guidance and advice on listing GuideFong businesses and meeting business owners. I gained a lot of valuable skills and got to apply them firsthand. Receiving constructive feedback also helped me identify areas for growth and improved my adaptability to new challenges and changes, enhancing my problem-solving skills.”
“I have improved on my leadership skills, as I helped out with occasionally managing the other interns and taking initiative to lead certain projects,” said Abeer Sayed, who worked with other interns to create digital content to promote the Know Your GuideFong: TST event, including a spotlight on the participating GuideFong businesses, as well as listing businesses on the GuideFong Directory. “A lot of the work was done through collaborative teamwork. We were able to get things done efficiently because everyone was working towards the same goal. The Know Your GuideFong event was a success. The visitors came from diverse backgrounds and were there for different purposes, but they had one common aim, which was to see what GuideFong is.”
“I learned more about effective strategies in social media marketing through workshops with Mahum Shaikh, Founder of KOLture and a content partner of the Know Your GuideFong: TST event,” said Fahad Tanveer Muhammad. “This was helpful because the main project I worked on in this internship was making reels for two GuideFong businesses, Matbakh and NourishScrubs. The objective of the project is to expand the customer reach and engagement on Instagram for both businesses. I also took many videos that showcased the products the business owners were selling, transactions that happened at their booths, and their overall experience before and during the event. This internship allowed me to improve my communication skills in a professional setting and also with peers, step out of my comfort zone, and learn how to set clear goals for my work tasks and achieve them.”
“I was lucky to be given the opportunity to join Vivian (Seo) and Dani (Adnan Riaz) for an RTHK interview for its Vibrant Hong Kong program, where I shared my experience as a Filipina born and raised in Hong Kong, and as a GuideFong Ambassador supporting grassroots businesses run by ethnically diverse entrepreneurs,” said Riley Garcia, who created Instagram reels to introduce the GuideFong businesses featured in the Treausre Hunt and gauge visitors’ feedback at the Know Your GuideFong: TST event as well as listing businesses in the GuideFong Directory.
During the internship period, Riley also supported Project Empowerment (PEME), an FSI community partner, at their Building a Multicultural Workplace Job Fair 2025, where she interviewed employers to gain insights on job opportunities available to ethnically diverse youth in Hong Kong.
“This internship offered new perspectives, knowledge, skills, and opportunities that I didn’t know I could gain through working on Project GuideFong,” added Riley. “The experience was refreshing and one-of-a-kind that you wouldn’t find anywhere at all. I truly cherish my time here with everyone, and I would be glad to do work for Project GuideFong as my first internship in a heartbeat.”
“After we did our Tsim Sha Tsui outreach, my team and I decided to start filming right there and then to create an Instagram reel to promote the Know Your GuideFong: TST event,” said Sandip Sunar. “I edited the reel, sought opinions from the team, and posted it on GuideFong’s Instagram page – the reel reached 4.4k views! At the event, I worked with Mahum Shaikh to document the happenings like the Treasure Hunt and the Walking Tour led by Dani. This internship was such a great learning experience. Everyone in this internship was professional, mature, and kind, and they were willing to help me when I was struggling.”
“I enjoyed interacting with diverse communities and using creativity to highlight their cultural contributions,” said Wafee Khandakar, who joined the others to visit different neighborhoods to connect with local businesses, assisted in onboarding them to the Guide Fong Directory, and created Instagram reels to showcase their unique offerings and help them reach a wider audience. Like Riley, Wafee also supported PEME’s career event during the internship period, as a photographer. “This experience deepened my appreciation for Hong Kong’s multicultural small-business scene while improving my digital marketing and communication skills.”
A Highly Recommended Youth Empowerment Initiative
The feedback from our Community Business Interns is a testament to the impactful work we do in youth empowerment and youth leadership training. We are delighted to learn that the interns rated the internship program an 8.5 out of 10 in terms of career development relevance, and a similar rating for the program’s enhancement of their awareness of the challenges facing the city’s ethnically diverse entrepreneurs. The interns are also unanimous in their inclination to recommend the internship program to others.
Said Abeer: “This is a one-of-a-kind internship that truly leaves a lasting impact on the community. It doesn’t only let you hone your own skills, but also helps those who need a bit of extra help with their businesses. It is meaningful, and teaches you many skills and opens a lot of doors for different opportunities.”
“I was quite intimidated since this was my first internship and I didn’t know what to expect,” said Riley. “However, everyone was so supportive, patient, and understanding. They created a safe space for those with no prior internship experience to thrive in. You’ll definitely learn a lot of new skills and knowledge and meet a lot of people. It’ll all help you out in the long run.”
Riley’s sentiment is echoed by Sandip: “The internship is actually manageable and it’s not too much even for a beginner such as myself. Everyone is willing to offer a helping hand and guidance, so I think it’s great for other youths to make use of this opportunity as they can learn other things rather than just content creation.”
Said Fahad: “I would highly recommend this internship to anyone who is passionate about empowering the local community and wants to add some work experience to their portfolio.”
Support Our Youth Empowerment Work
As is with previous years, this year’s Community Business Internship Program could not have happened without the dedicated support of Linklater Asia, our valued partner who has joined us to empower ethnically diverse entrepreneurs through the Virtual Legal Clinic and pro bono legal support through our Impact Jams.
If your organization also shares our passion for empowering youth and disadvantaged communities, get in touch with us at info@shared-impact.com to explore bespoke engagements to help your organization accelerate your ESG, CSR, and/or sustainability initiatives.
