Mentorship programme helps ethnically diverse Hongkongers launch their businesses
- Initiative from the Foundation for Shared Impact gives entrepreneurs from under-represented communities the knowledge and resources they need
Participants in the 2023 to 2024 Mentorship Programme for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs from Foundation for Shared Impact. Photo: HandoutTaking a business idea and turning it into reality is undoubtedly daunting. It’s why 25-year-old entrepreneur Mahum Shaikh was grateful to receive some much-needed guidance to kick-start her business.
At the start of the school year in 2022, Shaikh, who was studying linguistics and language applications at City University of Hong Kong, was itching to start her own company.
After an internship with a marketing agency, she knew she wanted to work with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). KOLs are social media users who influence the public about different services, products, and topics.
Needing a little direction to get started, Shaikh, born and raised in Hong Kong to a Pakistani family, joined the inaugural cohort of the Mentorship Programme for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs, created by Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI).
“My mum asked, ‘Why are you doing this in your final year? You’re going to mentorship programmes at night after classes? ... Why don’t you study for your final year project?’” Shaikh recalled.
Thanks to her participation in the programme’s 2022-23 and 2023-24 cohorts, Shaikh was able to soft-launch her business KOLture in March 2023, giving greater visibility to ethnically diverse KOLs in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong is extremely diverse. However, there are some things in the system that are not inclusive. I don’t think people are doing enough to include diversity,” Shaikh said.
Sharing knowledge
Since 2018, FSI has worked to address societal problems by bringing people together and “freely sharing resources and knowledge”.
“We care about the long-term impact ... We try to think about how we impacted a business’s long-term goal and the student’s career journey,” said Vivian Seo, FSI’s executive director. She is also the creator of FSI’s mentorship programme, which was established to address the lack of resources for entrepreneurs from ethnic minority groups.
Seo added, “[FSI] had [other] opportunities to support ethnically diverse entrepreneurs already. And when we were doing that and engaging with these communities, we quickly realised that there’s a huge gap that this community is facing”.
Seo discovered that many new businesses needed help overcoming the same hurdles, such as accounting, advertising, and social media. Thus, she sought to build a programme that addressed these common problems.
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From side hustle to career
The first Mentorship Programme for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs kicked off in 2022, welcoming a cohort of 10 people. Mentees were paired with mentors of similar business backgrounds and assigned coaches.
They were also encouraged to participate in workshops about pitching ideas, finding funds, building a social media presence, managing finances and more.
“Their first workshop for ideation was honestly top-notch,” Shaikh said, adding that she knew very little about running a business before attending the sessions.
FSI has helped around 21 entrepreneurs so far, including a Filipino husband-and-wife duo who turned their “side hustle” into a candle business called The BLOMSTRE. They decided to open a new office space and pursue their business full-time while part of the programme.
“They’ve grown a lot,” Seo said. “[They] were telling us that everything they have achieved wouldn’t have been possible without the mentorship programme because the mentor was a great match.”
Shaikh agreed that it was valuable to have a good mentor: “The first mentorship helped me ignite a passion; the second one narrowed down how I could move forward and become a business owner,” she said.
Shaikh also appreciated how the programme is open to anyone but specifically targets non-Chinese Hongkongers.
“I’ve always been ... a huge advocate of diversity and inclusion ... and I think representation matters a lot,” Shaikh said. “Our communities, unfortunately, struggled with poverty, unemployment, [and] racism in Hong Kong ... We’re breaking those vicious cycles.”
In October 2023, Shaikh organised KOLture’s first event, working with the Africa Centre on an event for Ethiopian New Year.
To create a “multifaceted event,” Shaikh reached out to content creators and sponsors to showcase coffee roasting, music, and dance. Not only was the event successful, but she was even offered a full-time job as an events executive.
Looking ahead, Shaikh, who hosted KOLture’s second event in March, is focused on growing her business. Ultimately, she hopes to “cultivate a more diverse and inclusive cyberspace in Hong Kong.”
FSI is currently recruiting mentees for their 2024 to 2025 cohort. The programme will take place from September 2024 to March 2025. Interested parties can apply on their website.