Life cannot be easy for someone who, despite claiming to be happy in their place of birth, don’t envision themselves living in that place in 10 years’ time. In fact, this is the story of half of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse youth, who struggle with gainful employment and social exclusion due to language barriers.
With the population of ethnically diverse youth increasing significantly by 37% from 2011 to 2021, and Hong Kong facing an impending talent shortage of 180,000 workers by 2028, it is no longer just a moral obligation but an economic and social imperative to nurture this invaluable pool of homegrown talents.
Realizing that equitable access to resources, knowledge, information, and networks is key to unlocking the potential of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse youths, we inaugurated our Community Business Internship (CBI) Program in 2023 to empower ethnically diverse youth, aged 16-24 years, coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, to become future leaders and business consultants.
The beauty and sustainability of this program lie in its mutually beneficial nature: while under-resourced youths gain equitable access to hands-on training in entrepreneurship, skills building, and career development, they are also providing valuable business consultations and solutions to grassroots and socially impactful businesses in Hong Kong.
With the dedicated support of Linklaters Asia for the second year, we launched the 2025 CBI Program from October to December for five ethnically diverse youths. To enhance the effectiveness of the engagements between the youth and the business owners/entrepreneurs, we matched them based on an alignment of skill-sets and business challenges, so that youths skilled in marketing and storytelling could support business owners looking to increase their business’ visibility and reach, for example.
Meet the 2025 October-December Cohort of CBI Interns
Each representing a unique cultural background, the five CBI interns brought with them respective skills and multidisciplinary knowledge, ranging from Social Policy and Social Governance to English Literature, Business Management, and Sociology, to support under-resourced grassroots businesses through community-led entrepreneurship.
Before reading about the youths’ internship experience and the impact they created, meet them here:
- Richelle Gabucan
- Ethnicity: Filipino
- Education: Currently studying English Literature at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU).
- Self-intro: An “open book” and passionate about social impact. She brought strong technical skills in photography, videography, and Canva to the team. With a prior background in creating zines, she specialized in storytelling and leadership, often taking the lead in group presentations.
- Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah
- Ethnicity: Indonesian
- Education: Currently a Year 2 student at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), majoring in Social Policy and Social Governance.
- Self-intro: Originally motivated by “top-down” social change, she sought to explore “bottom-up” community impact. She is highly proficient in organizational tools like Notion and has a keen interest in urban planning and graphic design.
- Imama Dawood
- Ethnicity: Pakistani
- Education: Recently graduated from Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College (HKDSE); currently a Year 1 student at The University of Hong Kong.
- Self-intro: Having arrived in Hong Kong in 2018, she has a deep understanding of the Yau Tsim Mong community. She is skilled in content creation via CapCut and Canva. Though she describes herself as appearing introverted, she is highly communicative and extroverted in professional outreach settings.
- Angeela Gurung
- Ethnicity: Nepali
- Education: Currently a Year 2 student pursuing a degree in Business Management.
- Self-intro: A polyglot who speaks six languages. She has a strong creative background in music, painting, and design, which she applied to her branding projects for grassroots shops.
- Gurneev Maria Singh
- Ethnicity: Indian (Punjabi)
- Education: Currently a Year 1 student at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), planning to major in Psychology and Sociology.
- Self-into: Gurneev is fluent in six languages. His background in social sciences makes him particularly interested in human interaction and the sociological challenges faced by marginalized entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.
CBI Program: Where Disadvantaged Youth Build Confidence, Clarify Career Pathways, and Create Social Impact through Small Business Support
Describing themselves as beginners in their professional journeys in communications, marketing, research, and project coordination, the five CBI interns were selected amongst dozens of applicants for their unequivocal desire to support Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse small businesses as well as their interest in learning more about creating positive social impact.
It was also through the CBI Program that the interns hoped to clarify their career direction and pathways, and hone their respective skills and become workplace-ready through the support and deliverables they were going to provide to under-resourced entrepreneurs.
Our CBI Program, now in its fifth iteration, is designed precisely to respond to common challenges facing Hong Kong’s disadvantaged youth and empower them to resolve those challenges through experiential learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and building self-awareness.
Throughout the two-month internship, we led multiple GuideFong Tours and community outreach sessions to connect the interns with ethnically diverse entrepreneurs who run micro and small businesses in Hong Kong. The interns were tasked with identifying lesser-known ethnically diverse-owned businesses in target districts, building trust and collecting stories through in-person interviews with the business owners, and co-designing practical marketing and branding solutions with the business owners.
Across the cohort, the interns worked individually and collaborated as a team to contribute dozens of hours of work toward:
- 35+ new ethnically diverse-owned businesses listed on FSI’s GuideFong Directory;
- Five “Meet the Entrepreneur” stories published on GuideFong’s website;
- Multiple newly designed or refreshed menus, logos, banners, and business cards; and
- Tailored marketing strategies, Google profile optimization, and other “light consulting” outputs.
A Mutually Beneficial Program Empowering Youth and Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs
The 2025 October-December CBI Program’s success was encapsulated in the interns’ ratings: 9 out of 10 stars for career relevance, 8 stars for skill gains, and 10 stars for gaining an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing ethnically diverse business owners, such as digital invisibility, language barriers, high rental fees, market saturation and domination by local franchises.
“I observed two main challenges facing ethnically diverse entrepreneurs: a lack of foundational support and a reliance on informal labor,” said Richelle Gabucan. “Many owners exit their businesses prematurely because they lack the resources to navigate failures. Additionally, relying on family members for technical tasks like menu and logo design often leads to bottlenecks, as these ‘helpers’ have other commitments.”
Notably, the interns said the program enabled them to gain and hone their skills in stakeholder communication, adaptability, cultural competence, graphic design, and copywriting.
Said Richelle Gabucan: “The most significant takeaway from my internship was the necessity of adaptability. While I began with an ambitious plan, I learned that external variables can shift outcomes despite my best efforts. This experience taught me to pivot gracefully, seek help when needed, and maintain productivity independently even when leadership was occupied. Ultimately, it deepened my connection to my community and strengthened my ability to communicate through professional uncertainty.”
Rating the CBI Program a 10 out of 10 for the autonomy it gives them, the interns felt an immense sense of accomplishment from the business projects and solutions that they took ownership of, collectively adding 35+ new business listings to the GuideFong Directory, curating five comprehensive branding kits, five narrative case studies, and a series of targeted social media reels.
Said Imama Dawood: “Seeing firsthand how practical, tangible support like a well-designed menu can immediately boost a small business owner’s confidence and professionalism was incredibly rewarding.”
The sentiment is echoed by Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah: “My objective was to bridge the gap between social policy theory and grassroots reality. In addition to adding seven business listings to the GuideFong Directory and producing a series of ‘Meet the Entrepreneur’ case stories and reels, I also focused on storytelling to help business owners combat the ‘saturation’ of the market and stand out through their personal histories. Through this, I provided these entrepreneurs with a digital platform they previously lacked the time or technical expertise to manage.”
In addition to gaining sharpened professional aspirations, the interns also expressed a stronger commitment to supporting under-resourced entrepreneurs and building a more inclusive Hong Kong business community. In particular, they described feeling more confident in client communication, stakeholder management, and independent project work, and they reported a stronger sense of agency in driving positive change.
“Coming from a social policy and governance background, I used to think that change only happens from top down,” said Rafida Naqiyatur Rahmah. “This internship proved me wrong. My takeaway is that community-level support is the most direct way to foster social inclusion.”
Said Angeela Gurung: “My work had a meaningful impact by equipping two local businesses, Maiti Ghar and Hamro Fancy, with effective marketing strategies and professional branding. I shared insights on digital audience engagement, crafted targeted approaches for the owners, and designed logos, banners, and business cards, which I believe have helped them to establish a stronger online presence and professional identity, enhancing visibility and customer appeal.”
Expressing utmost satisfaction about the CBI Program, all interns agree that they would recommend the program to their peers as a highly valuable youth development experience.
“This internship is perfect for someone who wants to get out of the office, connect directly with the community, and see the very concrete results of their work,” said Imama Dawood. “You gain real skills in communication, content creation, and design while making a visible difference for local businesses.”
“I would highly recommend this internship, particularly for students or those early in their careers,” said Richelle Gabucan. “The freedom to choose from a diverse range of projects allows interns to customize the experience to their interests, helping to build a versatile skill set while making a meaningful impact on the community.”
The impact we create to empower disadvantaged youth would not have been possible without the dedicated support of funders and skilled volunteers. If you would like to support our youth empowerment initiatives by engaging your employees or leveraging your professional skills and expertise, get in touch with us at info@shared-impact.com!
