OHKF launches “Bees & Trees Alliance”
urging business sector to back social innovators
(31 March 2016, Hong Kong) Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) today launched a “Bees and Trees Alliance” project while publicizing its research report on “Social Innovation”. The project aims to encourage members of the business sector to work with local social innovators by pairing up the resources on both sides so as to further the cause of social innovation in Hong Kong, help to ease social problems, and improve the life for Hongkongers.
Executive Director of OHKF Mrs. Eva Cheng said at today’s press conference that past few years saw quite a number of start-up enterprises that care about social problems. “With ideals and enthusiasm, most of them nevertheless lack funds and business experience. On the other hand, there are not a few big firms that are knowledgeable and public-minded, willing to do actual work helping to solve social problems,” she added.
“Mr. Geoff Mulgan, a socian innovation expert in Britain, had a metaphor for such a situation,” Mrs. Cheng continued. “Big business firms and elite members of the business sector are ‘trees’ that are deep-rooted and well-funded, while social innovators are ‘bees’ that are active and smart, full of ideas and energy. Once the two sides form an alliance to work together, they bring about strong and far-reaching effects.”
The “Bees & Trees Alliance” caters for start-ups seeking to help solve social problems with innovative ideas, social projects in need of specialists’ advice for long-term development, and social enterprises hoping to expand their business and heighten their social impacts.
The alliance will be made in three stages, namely screening, pairing-up, and the presentations.
At Stage One, the chief player is the “Screening Committee” made up of five members representing the social enterprise sector, OHKF, and Education for Good. They will screen the eligible applicants, of whom 12 teams will be chosen and allowed to enter the second stage.
The Committee’s five members are: Ms. Ada Wong, Convenor of The Good Lab/ Make a Difference; Mr. Francis Ngai, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk); Mr. Patrick Cheung, Chairman of Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum; Mrs. Rebecca Yung, Founder & Chair to Golden Age Foundation; and Mr. Stephen Wong, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Public Policy of OHKF.
At Stage Two, the chosen teams will be interviewed by a 10-member “Judging Panel” on 6 June 2016. The Panel will pick out six winner teams, and decide on the pairing up of “Bees and Trees” on the same day. A training workshop will be held for them, to help them get well-prepared for the presentations that will follow soon.
The Judging Panel is headed by Mr. Bernard Charnwut Chan, member of Executive Council and President of Asia Financial Holdings Limited. The other members are Mr. Bosco Law, Deputy Chairman of LAWSGROUP; Ms. Jennifer Liu, Chairman and Founder of HABITU & The Coffee Academics; Mr. David Chun-Yee Pong, Executive Director of Shiu Wing Steel Limited; Ms. Winnie Chiu, President of Dorsett Hospitality International; Mr. Jason Chiu, Chief Executive Officer of cherrypicks; Mr. Jimmy Tao, Managing Director & CEO of Vitargent International Holdings Limited; Mr. Derek Yeung, Chief Executive Officer of SHE.com International Holdings Limited; Mr. Simon Wong, Executive Director of LH Group; and Mr. Ka-Ho Cheng, Senior Business Development Manager of Hopewell Holdings Limited.
Finally, Stage Three or the presentation session will be held on 28 July 2016. The six final paired-up teams, will be invited to present their projects to representatives of the Government, the business sector, and social welfare groups who are present on the scene when they will cast their votes according to a set of criteria for judging the teams’ performances.
The finalist teams will be judged by seven benchmarks: Their innovativeness, social impact and effect, potentiality for synergy of the alliance, quality and capability as a team, sustainability, market and business feasibility, and expandability. The aim is to pick out the alliance teams that are most innovative, down-to-earth, and promising for future growth.
As development funds, the organizer will give out Gold Award of HK$100,000 to one winner, Silver Award of HK$60,000 to two winners each, and Bronze Award of HK$30,000 to three winners each.
Social enterprises who are interested are welcome to browse http://ourhkfoundation.org.hk/ or call 3488-8747 for further details about the contest. Application deadline is 29 April 2016.
