“Social Enterprise Summit 2024 in Hong Kong: Connecting & Strengthening“

Improving the world starts with us!

The social enterprise summit gathered people from different backgrounds aiming to find solutions to support the community. For most of them, their personal story shaped their mission.

The SES 2024 International Symposium, themed “Connecting Global Experience, Strengthening Local Partnerships,” emphasizes leveraging global experiences to forge impactful local collaborations. The summit aims to promote cross-sector synergies to develop sustainable and innovative solutions, contributing to the creation of a thriving society.

A new approach to business:

Social enterprises differ from traditional businesses by reinvesting profits into their mission, ensuring sustainable growth while prioritizing societal and environmental well-being. Their models often address pressing challenges, from waste management to education.

By learning from global innovations and adapting them locally, social enterprises create tailored solutions to support their community. This collaborative spirit supports sustainability and resilience.

What is the definition of sustainability?

It is interesting to know the Latin roots of “sustainability”, the word “sustĭnēre,” is a compound of “sus-” which is a variant of “sub-” meaning “under” + tenere “to hold”. The word was used to define the action of “continue, keep up”, and “maintain uniformly”.

This only in 1972, that the word sustainability was used in reference to agriculture and ecology.

In 1987, the Brundtland report defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Eric Swinton: A passionate founder

The Social Enterprise Summit is a great place to see how passionate turned their belief into socially responsible companies supporting their community and the environment.

For example, Mr Eric Swinton, founder & CEO of V Cycle, developed a social enterprise tackling Hong Kong’s environmental issues on both an ecological and human level. By coupling the two, they empower the underprivileged and protect the natural world. His model shows that there are always solutions if we think outside of the box and observe our environment.

What sector can we support:

Social enterprises can support our elderly, education, healthcare, environment, agriculture, employment, Urban development, clean water, technology and innovation, arts, culture and more. Their purpose makes the difference!

Challenges of social enterprise:

Social enterprises face hurdles, such as limited access to funding and scalability issues. It is essential to sensibilize the citizen to ethical projects, this will lead to building a sustainable comprehensive network to address these barriers by connecting investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.

Some key figures:

• Number of social enterprises in Hong Kong: In 2023, there were 713 SE in Hong Kong, 60% of which were private entities.
• Community Engagement: 70% of customers feel more connected to a brand when the company engages with the community

Opening up our horizons and build a sustainable society believing in people is a game changer!

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Cécile Lammer,
Ceicia’s founder