Social Enterprise Summit 2021 Brought to a Successful Close

Concluded with Delegates’ Visions to a Regenerative Future

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 7 November 2021 - The 14^th Social Enterprise Summit ("SES") has brought to a successful close today, Thousands of local and overseas delegates participated online and offline. Themed "Building Blocks of a Regenerative Future", the four-day SES 2021 curated a series of exciting events on topics covering Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Net Zero Emissions, Social Procurement, Data for Good and Entrepreneurship Exchange. It aimed at synergising the collective efforts from the civic sector, businesses, academia and government to contribute to the wellbeing of our society and planet.

Mrs. Rebecca CHOY YUNG, Chair of Social Enterprise Summit Organising Committee expressed at the Concluding Session, "SES has been dedicated to advancing the development of social innovation and entrepreneurship. We are glad to have engaged stakeholders from different sectors to co-create innovative schemes and strategies for achieving a "Regenerative Future".

The four-day Summit consisted of 14 discussion panels, 3 social innovation visits and 2 interactive workshops, with the participation and engagement of over 70 leaders from over 13 countries and locations. The three-themed tracks covered topics included: co-creating an open knowledge hub on social innovation; building alliances for regional collective impact; and examining strategies for effective resource channelling to bring sustainable growth to social enterprises.

The need to tackle climate change is more pressing than ever with extreme weather affecting every region across the globe. Many countries have made commitments to achieve carbon neutrality, or "net zero" emissions within the next few decades. Under the track of "Bridging Purpose with Actions", the "Achieving Net Zero: Unlocking Private Capital and Mobilising Resources for Success" session invited Mr Anthony CHEUNG, Board Governor and Convenor of Green Finance of Friends of the Earth (HK); Prof Christine LOH, Chief Development Strategist of Institute for the Environment of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Ms Cheuk Wan FAN, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Asia of HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth; Ms Grace HUI, Head of Green and Sustainable Finance of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX); and Mr Samuel TANG, Advisor of World Green Organization to explore how cross-sector collaboration among private investments, governments and civil society could transform pledges into plans to accelerate the success of reaching net zero targets by 2050.

Tech-driven social innovation has become the focal point of social entrepreneurs as an effective solution to respond to social issues these days. The "Data for Good" session under the track of "Co-Creating an Open Knowledge Hub for Ecosystem Development" featured Mr Leong CHEUNG, Executive Director, Charities & Community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Mr Yue Chun CHAN, Head of Spatial Data Office, Development Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and Mr Kenny SHUI, Assistant Research Director and Head of Economic Development Research, Our Hong Kong Foundation. They had a dialogue on how data-driven social innovation projects have made a breakthrough in solving complicated social challenges.

Today, Asian cities have significantly adopted innovative approach in response to social issues and crises. In particular, topics surrounding environment and technology, community empowerment, and mental health and wellbeing have drawn attention among Asian cities with the provision of increased opportunities for knowledge and experience exchange with one another. The "Asia Youth Entrepreneurship Exchange" session under the track of "Building Alliances for Regional Collective Impact" brought together young social entrepreneurs and changemakers across Asia to showcase their innovation solutions to address today's social issues. Mr Roy DAHILDAHIL, Co-founder of #MentalHealthPH, Philippines; Ms Hyeonjin KIM, Founder and CEO of KAYD, South Korea; Ms Passawee KODAKA, Founder of Folkcharm, Thailand; Ms Hazel KWEH, Founder and CEO of Bloomback Pte Ltd, Singapore; Ms Ellen LEE, COO of PackAge+, Taiwan; Mr Raymond MAK, Co-founder and CEO of Farmacy Hong Kong, Mr Paddy ROBERTSON, CEO of Smart Air, China and Ms Ovy SABRINA, Co-founder and  COO of Rebricks, Indonesia exchanged their entrepreneurial stories and explored ways to drive regional impact with delegates.

The Summit's Concluding Session themed "Beyond Sustainability" was facilitated by Dr Ilex LAM, Chairman of iEnterprise Foundation. He joined hands with Ms Naomi CHAN, National Executive Vice President of JCI, Hong Kong; Dr Eddy LEE, Founder of 350HK; Ms Nicolette TONG, Executive Vice President of The Wave; and Mr YUEN Shu Wah, Founding Chairman of Gratia Foundation Limited to examine visions of sustainability in the post-pandemic era and prospects of the future "regenerative" development.

The SIE Fund hosted a Social Innovation Exhibition with the theme of "Creating Social Value with Novelties" during the first two days of SES 2021 at the HKCEC. The Exhibition showcased its two flagship projects, namely "Gerontechnology Platform" and "FOOD-CO", as well as the first "Pay-for-Success" project, that manifested how cross-sector collaboration contributes to poverty alleviation in Hong Kong.

About Social Enterprise Summit (SES)

Social Enterprise Summit (SES) is a cross-sector platform to inspire and empower social innovation and social entrepreneurship. The flagship International Symposium builds on the experiences of over 70 speakers and attendances from 10 locations to inspire, innovate, connect and collaborate with delegates from the civic society, businesses, government and academic sectors from Hong Kong, China; Asia Pacific region and beyond to advance positive societal changes. Community engagement activities are held in nine different districts in Hong Kong during the year to expand the participation and reach beyond the conference rooms, applying knowledge, social entrepreneurship and innovative mindsets to various day to day life settings. Official Website: http://www.ses.org.hk

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