The Hong Kong government had been improving infrastructures, businesses and transport networking in order to coordinate with the development of the greater bay area. Many Hong Kong citizens and enterprises had grabbed this precious opportunity to start their new businesses in the area. Under this business privilege, how could social enterprises in Hong Kong make use of the geographical and human resources advantages to expand their businesses to the greater bay area?
The HKGCSE organized a greater bay area tour on 17-18 May, visiting Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Jiangmen to gain knowledge about the business and social development pathways of the cities.
“Shared economy” had been a prominent concept in the mainland in recent years, such as “shared transport”, “shared nurse” and etc.. “ZHO shared napkins” was the first stop of the tour, this enterprise had gone viral in Zhongshan by combining the idea of the internet, vending machines, napkins and advertising income. The founder of the enterprise even expanded his business to 150 cities in China within one year and was going to launch Hong Kong soon. Social enterprises in Hong Kong could cooperate with mainland media in order to expand the range of target audiences with geographical advantages.
The team then visited the “InnoValley” in Jiangmen that was directly funded by the government of Jiangmen in providing assistance such as subsidies, marketing promotion and more for technological enterprises from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The management of “InnoValley” were Hong Kong people who had been working in the technology sector for many years, and they pointed out that Jiangmen has more opportunities for developing their business with lower cost and more resources from the government. There was an increasing number of Hong Kong social enterprises that attempted to develop apps and technology products and services in recent years, such that mainland markets would be potentially beneficial to these businesses.
The final stop was the “Hengqin Exhibition Showroom” and “Xiangzhou Port”. Upon the completion of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge, it was evident that the economic network between the three cities would be closer ever since.
The tour had allowed social enterprise members to gain insights into the developmental potentials of various mainland cities and the business strategies in Hong Kong and mainland China. Social enterprises could target local social problems such as ageing population, environmental protection to expand the range of customers by expanding their businesses in the greater bay area with the support from the local government and companies.
HKGCSE strives to assist in the development of social enterprises in Hong Kong. Shall you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us on phone by 3616 6951 or by email info@sechamber.hk.