About Social Enterprise Summit
Organised by Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum, the Social Enterprise Summit (SES) has evolved over the years to become a movement on social entrepreneurship and social innovation as agents of positive social change. It provides a platform for social entrepreneurs, social innovators, NGOs, businesses, investors, academics, and the government to engage with one another for cross-sector innovation and nurtures the thought of social entrepreneurship among young people.
Its flagship event, the annual International Symposium, has attracted an increasing number of visitors each year since 2008, from Hong Kong, China, the Asia Pacific region and beyond. While the Symposium provides a forum for exchange of social entrepreneurship and social innovation ideas and strategies, an array of community programmes was rolled out since 2014 to extend collective engagement, fortifying the belief that everyone can be a Changemaker.
Objectives
- To promote social entrepreneurship and social innovation as agents of positive social change
- To provide a platform for social entrepreneurs, social innovators, NGOs, businesses, investors, academics and the government to engage with one another for cross-sector innovation
- To enhance the business capabilities of social enterprises and on the other hand cultivate a purpose-driven mindset among businesses
- To nurture innovative entrepreneurship among young people
- To promote impact investing and bridge funding bodies and investors with social entrepreneurs and social innovators
- To capture the new dynamics of social entrepreneurship and social innovation in the region and around the world and to provide a forum for exchange of ideas and strategies
Our History
In 2008, the Social Enterprise Summit (SES) was founded by the Hong Kong Policy Research Foundation (HKPRF) to advocate social entrepreneurship. Since its establishment, it has attracted widespread attention as a catalyst to the social and developmental challenges of those times.
In 2014, with Social Enterprise Summit becoming a more independent operation of its own, HKPRF transferred the Summit’s project management role to the Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum Ltd (HKSEF), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting the development of social entrepreneurship. Since then, HKSEF has been the organiser of Social Enterprise Summit.
SES coordinates the efforts of over 20 organisations with strong support from the Hong Kong SAR Government. It invites organisations and representatives from the civil society, the business sector, the government, and the academia to the International Symposium. The same year marked the beginning of Community Entrepreneurship-based programmes, a line-up of year-round community outreach activities to different districts in Hong Kong.
In 2018, the International Symposium has extended to become a 3-day event, the number of Community Entrepreneurship-based programmes have increased to 6 districts in Hong Kong.
In 2021, SES emerged to become a major cross-sector platform to inspire and empower social innovation. The annual flagship international symposium has become a highly-acclaimed event attracting some 3,000-4,600+ participation from Hong Kong, mainland China and the Asia Pacific region. Brimming with over 70+ speakers, audiences from 20+ countries attended the event. Community outreach has broadened to 9 Hong Kong districts. The Social Innovation movement is set to further its impact through facilitating an intercity alliance, co-creating an open knowledge hub, as well as channelling resources to bridge purpose and actions.