Development of SE Sector

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) organised the first Social Enterprise Summit (SE Summit) in 2007, and from 2008 onwards, has been providing funding support for the SE industry to organise annual SE Summit with a view to enhancing public understanding of SEs.

The SE Summit is an important platform for facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration for SE development. It gathers organisations and representatives from the community, business sector, Government and academia to co-organise an array of community activities and international symposia, and brings together people from all walks of life to promote the development of SE with innovative entrepreneurship.

Organised by Fullness Social Enterprises Society since 2011, with the funding support of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Tithe Ethical Consumption Movement (TECM) which brings together the Government, the business sector, the volunteers and the community, launches a series of events and campaigns to drive more awareness and support to the sustainability of social entrepreneurship in Hong Kong. The programme aims at encouraging consumers, corporations, education institutions and organisations to patronise SE products and services so as to help the socially disadvantaged through such consumption.

To promote social entrepreneurship among the youth, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has been providing funding to the Center for Entrepreneurship of the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2008 to organise the annual Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge (HKSEC). In HKSEC, tertiary students compete by writing their business proposal for an SE and relevant training is provided to them. HKSEC aims to nurture a new generation of social entrepreneurs by encouraging young people to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit and approach in addressing and tackling social issues.

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and Social Enterprise Advisory Committee organised the Social Enterprise Award Scheme in 2011, 2013 and 2017 in recognition of outstanding SEs which operated in Hong Kong, with the aim of sharing the best practices for the sector and promoting SEs’ caring culture of “Business for Good” in the community. Under the SE Award Scheme, a selection panel comprising representatives from different sectors (e.g. non-governmental organisations, the business sector, the academia and Government departments) interviewed the shortlisted SEs and conducted site visits as necessary. Assessment on the SEs was made based on criteria such as social impact, financial performance, business operation and development, innovation, etc.

In the SE Award Scheme 2017, awards were presented to a total of 7 SEs.

List of Awardees: 2011 , 2013 , 2017

The Friends of Social Enterprise Award Scheme was organised in 2011 and 2013, aiming at recognising the efforts of individuals and organisations in supporting SEs so as to encourage cross-sectoral collaboration. To further foster the spirit of “Friends of SE”, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Social Enterprise Advisory Committee organised the Social Enterprise Award Scheme in 2017, under which a total of 28 awardees (individuals and organisations) were presented “Friends of SE” awards.

List of Awardees: 2011 , 2013 , 2017