Inspiring social solutions, SES Impact Booster highlights from smart young minds
Meet four of Hong Kong’s newest entrepreneurs.
Hayley Leung (16). Sheron Chan (16). Alice Loo (15), and Pearl See (17).
These four young ladies, students at the TWGHs Kap Yan Directors’ College in Sheung Shui, were awarded the Social Enterprise Summit (SES) “Impact Booster 2024” prize. This year’s competition focused on Reimagining a Sustainable Tsuen Wan Community.
It is often said that women are driven to start businesses to fix problems they observe. That sentiment perfectly encapsulates the motivation behind the innovative product developed by “Safety First”, one of twelve teams of student social entrepreneurs entering the Chinachem Group supported competition. The challenge set by the judges was to create inventive real-world innovations designed specifically to assist the residents of Tsuen Wan, the neighbourhood home of Chinachem, an organisation committed to enhancing community life.
Hayley, Sheron, Alice, and Pearl had observed an issue common to the beating heart of every Hong Kong community – slippery floors in the wet market. For young able-bodied users like themselves, that might not be an issue. But these four weren’t thinking about themselves. They were conscious of the many visitors who are not quite so nimble on their feet, the continual presence of water underfoot posing a significant hazard.
So, the girls took it upon themselves to visit the Yeung Uk Road market in Tsuen Wan to investigate further. On interviewing shoppers, they discovered that a shocking 20% of those surveyed had slipped and fallen due to the condition of the floors.
With guidance from mentors, the team closely analysed the underlying problem, the design, durability, orientation, and materiality of standard market floor tiles.
Then the design process commenced, and the four teenagers grabbed the opportunity to deploy advanced technology wherever possible to develop, simulate, sample, and test different solutions, the support teams from their College, One Bite Design Studio, and Chinachem Group, vital in guiding this process.
Thinking of the needs of the broader community was a key element to what made this entry stand out to SES Chair, Rebecca Choy Yung. “Social enterprises prove that it's possible to create businesses which have both a positive economic and social impact. And we believe that the business world has a responsibility to make use of their activities to help solve social issues,” Rebecca remarked.
When congratulating the winning team, she added, “The Tsuen Wan District Officer is very receptive to these new ideas and could adapt and implement them. Even though these ideas come from students, it’s the thought that counts, as well as the connection created between young people, the Government, and business.”
So, watch your step the next time you venture into your local wet market – perhaps you’ll see the innovative products created by these four smart young ladies.
Meet four of Hong Kong’s newest entrepreneurs.
These four young ladies, students at the TWGHs Kap Yan Directors’ College in Sheung Shui, were awarded the Social Enterprise Summit (SES) “Impact Booster 2024” prize. This year’s competition focused on Reimagining a Sustainable Tsuen Wan Community.
It is often said that women are driven to start businesses to fix problems they observe. That sentiment perfectly encapsulates the motivation behind the innovative product developed by “Safety First”, one of twelve teams of student social entrepreneurs entering the Chinachem Group supported competition. The challenge set by the judges was to create inventive real-world innovations designed specifically to assist the residents of Tsuen Wan, the neighbourhood home of Chinachem, an organisation committed to enhancing community life.
Hayley, Sheron, Alice, and Pearl had observed an issue common to the beating heart of every Hong Kong community – slippery floors in the wet market. For young able-bodied users like themselves, that might not be an issue. But these four weren’t thinking about themselves. They were conscious of the many visitors who are not quite so nimble on their feet, the continual presence of water underfoot posing a significant hazard.
So, the girls took it upon themselves to visit the Yeung Uk Road market in Tsuen Wan to investigate further. On interviewing shoppers, they discovered that a shocking 20% of those surveyed had slipped and fallen due to the condition of the floors.
With guidance from mentors, the team closely analysed the underlying problem, the design, durability, orientation, and materiality of standard market floor tiles.
Then the design process commenced, and the four teenagers grabbed the opportunity to deploy advanced technology wherever possible to develop, simulate, sample, and test different solutions, the support teams from their College, One Bite Design Studio, and Chinachem Group, vital in guiding this process.
Thinking of the needs of the broader community was a key element to what made this entry stand out to SES Chair, Rebecca Choy Yung. “Social enterprises prove that it's possible to create businesses which have both a positive economic and social impact. And we believe that the business world has a responsibility to make use of their activities to help solve social issues,” Rebecca remarked.
When congratulating the winning team, she added, “The Tsuen Wan District Officer is very receptive to these new ideas and could adapt and implement them. Even though these ideas come from students, it’s the thought that counts, as well as the connection created between young people, the Government, and business.”
So, watch your step the next time you venture into your local wet market – perhaps you’ll see the innovative products created by these four smart young ladies.