Marie So (蘇芷君) and Carol Chyau (喬雲珊) are two of the most well-known social entrepreneurs in Greater China. Marie is from Hong Kong and Carol is from Taiwan. Their organization Ventures in Development has been a pioneer in launching social enterprises in western China. Marie and Carol have just been elected Fellows by Echoing Green, an achievement which is not only an honor for these two young ladies but will be a big boost for their effort in bringing development to poor regions of China through social enterprises.
Local Social Entrepreneur Won Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs Award
Ms Deborah Wan, a local social entrepreneur, has won the 2008 Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs Award presented by the Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association. The award honors and celebrates the achievements of women in Hong Kong who have made significant contribution to their professions, business environment and society. This is the first time that a social entrepreneur is honored by this award.
One Social Entrepreneur’s Dream
KK attended the Skoll World Forum in March 2008 and met with social entrepreneurs from around the world. Here are some of the inspiring changemakers' stories.
The Influencers – 25 People, Trends and Events that You Can’t Afford to Ignore
In a recent article entitled “The Influencers”, Entrepreneur.com identified 25 people, trends and events that business people cannot afford to ignore. Among them is Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. This is intriguing but significant. Has social entrepreneurship beginning to impact on main stream business? Let's look at the list of 25 and find out Ashoka's story.
Strategic Volunteering – The Role of the Intrapreneur-Volunteer
As you could imagine, all social enterprises can benefit from leveraging the time and expertise of volunteers. But surprisingly, there are also a large number of social enterprises that are not benefiting from the service of volunteers at all. What is more, there are plenty of highly qualified, motivated would-be volunteers who want to help but do not know how and where to make a contribution. What makes for this unusual and pitiful state of affairs?
Singapore Social Innovators’ Forum and Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2007
KK attended the Social Innovators’ Forum (December 14 & 15, 2007) organized by the Social Innovation Park in conjunction with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Here are his insights from the trip and the inspiring stories of the three finalists in the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2007.
Life Beyond MBA Theories
Ms Irene So, student of the CUHK MBA program, shared with us the insights learned from the Net Impact Conference in November 2007.
銀杏館 – 為長者創造就業機會的典範
(The article is in Chinese only) Gingko House was founded in 2006 and become one of the most successful social enterprises in Hong Kong - even before the concept of social entrepreneurship emerged. Here is their story -
Social Capitalist Awards 2007
This is the fourth year of this unique Award presented by the Fast Company/Monitor Group. A total of 43 entrepreneurs are honored for using the disciplines of the corporate world to tackle daunting social problems. We may not have heard of all these 43 winners - but KK has highlighted two of them here as an inspiration to HK social innovation sector.
Everyday Legends: the Stories of 20 Great UK Social Entrepreneurs
KK has just published a 4-page article on this book in the current issue of the HK Economic Journal Monthly, trying to draw lessons and insights for HK social entrepreneurs.