08 Nov “INFINITE創·聚” SUPPORTS DEVELOPMENT OF SIE FUND
The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund), as a catalyst for social innovation in Hong Kong, connects our community with different sectors, including businesses, NGOs, academics and philanthropies to create social impact through innovative solutions that address poverty and social exclusion. Partly through the intermediaries, the Fund provides visionary individuals and organisations with diverse resources in support of research, capacity building and the entire life cycle of innovative ventures, from idea incubation and seed funding to implementation and eventual scale-up. The ultimate goal is to foster an ecosystem where social entrepreneurs can thrive and innovative ideas, products and services can benefit society by meeting underserved needs, unleashing under-utilised talents, promoting social inclusion, as well as enhancing the well-being and cohesion of the society.
The SIE Fund intends to benefit members of the public in Hong Kong who are generally residents of Hong Kong without conditions of stay and in need of assistance in poverty alleviation and prevention of social exclusion such as the elderly, children and youth, persons with disabilities, people of diverse race, single-parent families, new arrivals, low income families, and other segments of the community in Hong Kong with limited access to education and opportunities. The aim is to bring hope, dignity and self-worth through providing them with appropriate services/products.
Through the intermediaries’ programme, the SIE Fund will distribute funding on Innovative Programmes and related Capacity Building programmes which are targeted to nurture the social entrepreneurs and their ventures. Separately, the SIE Fund may directly fund flagship projects which are of major public concern and have greater social impacts, and for areas of unmet demands and service gaps where there is a need for greater coordination and collaboration to achieve results.
Since the opening of “INFINITE 創•聚” co-working space in year 2019, we have successfully worked with a number of SIE Fund applicants to provide office space for the furtherance of their respective objectives. The friendly environment of “INFINITE 創•聚” perfectly matches with the business ideas of the applicants and we are honoured to be capable of participating in addressing the social needs. We looking to seeing more SIE Fund applicants to joining us soon!