Maximizing Social Impact through Entrepreneurship

Global Launchpad Demo Day (Pitching Activities)

On Tuesday, February 21, please join us for the Global Launchpad Demo Day, to listen to the interesting pitches of the 10 participating social entrepreneurial teams (profiled below) and share their success from the program. You may also connect with other critical stakeholders in the social entrepreneurial community.

Global Launchpad is a training program designed to provide social entrepreneurs with the tools, coaching, and hands-on learning needed to effectively grow their early-stage ventures. It is organized by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation and led by faculty members from University of Chicago and Chicago Booth.

The Demo Day provides the participating teams, who just undertook the 3-month training program, with a showcase opportunity in front of the Hong Kong social venture community. It also gives participants the tools to build lasting advisory relationships.

Participating Teams

• Arts for Good Foundation
• Carbon Wallet
• Diamond Cab
• Longevity
• Meat the Next
• Rhys Workshop
• Rolling Books
• Rooftop Republic Urban Farming
• Third Sector Connect
• Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association Limited

Program Instructors – UChicago Faculty Members

• Mark R. Barnekow
• Will Gossin
• Starr Marcello
• Dan Sachs

Program Coaches

• Brian Tsui
• Christine Yu

Social Impact Leadership Series: Driving Revenue with Social Impact (Luncheon Talk)

Social entrepreneurs are working to address pressing social and environmental challenges. But their long-term success depends not only on social impact but also building sustainable business models.

The Social Impact Leadership Series (SILS) on “Driving Revenue with Social Impact” is a luncheon talk organized by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation after the Demo Day events.

The talk will feature Francis Ngai, Founder and Chief Executive Officer and Florence Cheng, Head of Impact Strategy from Social Ventures Hong Kong. They will talk about their observations and insights on how HK social ventures prioritize social impact in their business planning and the challenges in balancing it when considering their revenue model.

Mark R. Barnekow, Executive Director, The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong will moderate the conversation and share his perspectives from his long years of entrepreneurial experience internationally.

Event Schedule (Hong Kong time)

8 a.m. Light breakfast (exhibition stations open)

8:30 a.m. Demo Day

8:40 a.m. Pitching (Part 1 – five teams)

9:55 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m. Pitching (Part 2 – five teams)

12:15 p.m. Lunch

12:50 p.m. SILS: “Driving Revenue with Social Impact”

2 p.m. End of event

About the Speakers

Francis Ngai, Founder and CEO, Social Ventures Hong Kong; Co-Founder, Green Monday

Francis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SVhk. He is the Co-Founder of Green Monday, Playtao Education and RunOurCity. He believes that everyone can be a changemaker. Seeing ‘ME’ as the reflection of ‘WE’, he hopes to bring together more people to re-imagine our city and pursue big dreams to make a difference to the community we live in.

Prior to establishing SVhk, Francis was the Head of Strategy in a listed technology conglomerate in Hong Kong. He graduated from the City University of Hong Kong and was conferred as an Honorary Fellow by the University in 2013. He was selected as one of the 100 Asia Pioneers by The Purpose Economy in 2014, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2012 and one of Hong Kong’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2011.

As an ultra-running veteran, Francis completed The North Pole Marathon in 2013 and the 250-km Gobi March of the 4 Deserts race series in 2012.

Florence Cheng, Head of Impact Strategy, Social Ventures Hong Kong

Florence is the Head of Impact Strategy of SVhk. She leads SVhk’s strategy consulting projects, working closely with corporate and non-profit partners to innovate purpose-driven positioning and explore new opportunities to embed that purpose across the organization. She also supports business development, strategic review, impact reporting and other portfolio management activities for SVhk’s social start-up initiatives. She graduated from the London School of Economics and worked in management consulting prior to joining SVhk.

About the Moderator

Mark R. Barnekow Executive Director, The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus

As Executive Director of the University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong, Mark is the primary liaison to the University of Chicago and Chicago Booth for all aspects of the Yuen Campus in Hong Kong. He coordinates with the University of Chicago and Centers in Beijing and Delhi to drive overall strategy for the Asia Pacific Region.

Mark has over two decades of global executive leadership experience. Prior to his current role, he spent the last twenty years as the CEO of technology companies in Silicon Valley and is a recipient of the San Francisco Business Times “Most Admired CEO” award.

Mark is an active alumnus of the University of Chicago having earned his MBA with honors in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a frequent speaker on topics of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership and has created StartUp Bootcamp and Silicon Valley style leadership courses to educate anyone who desires to be an entrepreneur or leader in any role.

About The Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation provides resources and programs to help the city’s NGOs, nonprofit leaders, and social entrepreneurs do their best work. Operated by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Programme offers a range of opportunities, including scholarships, social entrepreneurship workshops, and trainings for NGO boards of directors and board members.