Shared by Mr. Donny Siu, Acting Director cum Head of Entrepreneurship Center, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

When it comes to startups, many may think of those well-known mobile apps or fintech businesses. In fact, the Entrepreneurship Center of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has seen many exceptionally brilliant ideas among the over 500 startup companies it has nurtured over the years. We also take pride in the fact that many of these success stories not only focus on technology and profit, but also attach high importance to social value creation. Entrepreneurship is about addressing social challenges by bringing together groundbreaking ideas and creative people. At the Entrepreneurship Center, we are committed to promoting #SocialEntrepreneurship, and incubating promising startups that seamlessly merge the social enterprise and commercial models. With our support, they will develop a sustainable business model that covers different aspects, including research and development, technology, production and marketing, and eventually do good for the society.

"Eco-Awakening" that fuels new social entrepreneurship trend

With the number of ambitious startups on the rise, many enterprises have been actively promoting innovation and technology, and nurturing new talents. It is especially encouraging to see that more social entrepreneurship projects are now backed by a growing base of investors. One of these inspirational stories is #Breer, an award-winning startup founded by Anushka Purohit, whose “eco-awakening” led her to explore new ways to #upcycle surplus bread. By replacing the malt in beer with barley malt, the winning company of an startup competition now brews different types of beer at lower costs, such as #BOB (Bottle of Bread) jointly launched with Maxim's Group. #Planeteers is another remarkable example of social entrepreneurship. Determined to reduce plastic pollution, the team developed green cutlery made of vegan and biodegradable ingredients to replace disposable plastic cutlery, helping to alleviate the problems of waste and #plastic pollution.

These successful startups will inspire a new generation of social entrepreneurs, demonstrating how innovation, entrepreneurship, and social responsibilities can be achieved simultaneously, and that a little spark of inspiration, through relentless experimentation and exploration, can make something seemingly impossible possible. We are excited to see a growing force of successful social enterprises to emerge soon, creating positive impact to the society and gaining worldwide recognition like Breer.

Let’s make dreams come true and create social value together: https://hkust.edu.hk/entrepreneurship