Deadline: 31-May-23
The Social Enterprise Business Centre is offering grants under the “Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund)” to be a catalyst for social innovation in Hong Kong, connect the community with different sectors, including businesses, NGOs, academics and philanthropies to create social impact through innovative solutions that address poverty and social exclusion.
Partly through the intermediaries, the Fund provides visionary individuals and organisations with diverse resources in support of research, capacity building and the entire life cycle of innovative ventures, from idea incubation and seed funding to implementation and eventual scale-up. The ultimate goal is to foster an ecosystem where social entrepreneurs can thrive and innovative ideas, products and services can benefit society by meeting underserved needs, unleashing underutilised talents, promoting social inclusion, as well as enhancing the well-being and cohesion of the society.
Pillars
- Community Trials
- Tailor-made Consultation
- Networking with funders, social purpose organisations, corporates, professional experts
- Skills-based business clinics and training
- Impact story-telling
- Project management support
- Media and Marketing
Funding Information
- Projects at different stages will require different amounts of grant funding over variable funding periods.
- SIE Fund Grant for start-up, growing & scale-up projects:
- SIE Fund Grant Amount
- HKD300,001 – HKD900,000
- Over HKD900,000 with no funding cap
- Matching Fund Ration (SIE Fund : Matching Fund)
- 2:1 (1/2 of SIE Fund grant amount)
- 1:1 (same as the SIE Fund grant amount)
- Project Duration
- 1-3 years
- Except for applications received in 2025 which will be limited to 2 years.
- SIE Fund Grant Amount
- SIE Fund Grant for late prototype projects:
- For first cohort application (April – May 2023) ONLY
- SIE Fund Grant Amount
- Up to HKD300,000
- Project Duration
- 12-18 months
- SIE Fund Grant Amount
- SIE Fund Grant for start-up, growing & scale-up projects:
Note: Matching fund is not required.
Target
- As one of the Intermediaries of the SIE Fund, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) operates the Impact Incubator, a one-stop supporting platform connecting SIIs with various parties in regards of knowledge, resources and network to implement innovative ideas with social purpose. They provide all-round support to social entrepreneurs through the “7Ps Incubation Package”. They support and incubate:
- Social entrepreneur who aims to adopt sustainable business solutions to address poverty and social exclusion issues
- Social intra-preneur from NGO or private sector, who aims to mobilise internal resources for social good
- Social innovator who adopts creative approaches to addressing social needs
Eligibility Criteria
- Late Prototype Application: Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 years or above, or organisations and companies limited by guarantee or limited by shares and registered in Hong Kong are eligible to apply.
- Start-up, Growing and Scale-up Application: Organisations and companies limited by guarantee or limited by shares registered in Hong Kong are eligible to apply.
- Projects which are, or will be, supported by other public funding schemes will not be considered. Applicants cannot submit the same project proposal to different intermediaries to apply for the SIE Fund.
- The Impact Incubator supports and incubates:
- Social entrepreneur who aims to adopt sustainable business solutions to address poverty and social exclusion issues
- Social intra-preneur from the NGO or private sectors, who aim to mobilise internal resources for social good
- Social innovator who adopt creative approaches to addressing social needs
For more information, visit Social Enterprise Business Centre.
