Perspectives March 2021∣Youth Hong Kong
The biggest risk is regret l Social entrepreneurship is at the forefront of the vision of Francis Ngai. l Here, he talks about his work with young people and reshaping Hong Kong as a model. l He says that at SVhk, a measure of success is building consistent, sustainable habits.
Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) began as an incubator for social enterprises ten years ago but coping with the challenges of 2020 has demanded both flexibility and fortitude. Francis Ngai, the enthusiastic co-founder of SVhk, explains how the organization has evolved into a social impact organization. “Our focus now is rebuilding a sense of purpose and maintaining momentum in the face of the realities of capitalism.” The goal of SVhk is to reshape Hong Kong as a model for future global cities. Delving more deeply into the meaning behind this vision, Francis explains that “Through collective action, innovation can transform Hong Kong’s current social and environmental challenges into a positive force for growth.”
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l 梁魏華星先生是本港社會企業的創新先驅。 l 他分享如何跟青年合作的一些案例，攜手為香港未來 努力。 l 從香港社會創投基金（SVhk）的角度而言，建立一 致及持續的習慣是衡量成功的關鍵。
Francis is sympathetic to young people who feel depressed and frustrated after the protests and the pandemic but is inspiringly optimistic about the city’s future, despite the status quo. “At SVhk, we don’t measure success by funding or investment,” Francis stresses. “We use indirect metrics such as the effectiveness of our message, success in shifting mindsets and building consistent, sustainable habits.” Using Green Monday, a social venture he co-founded, as an example, Francis points out the breakthrough of getting Omnipork, a vegan product made from mushrooms, peas and soya, onto menus at MacDonald’s. Green Monday has expanded throughout southeast Asia and into mainland China but establishing the company as a pilot
Photographs on pages 30-31 courtesy of SVhk
