Social Enterprises
and
Enhancing Self-Reliance
Through District Partnership Programme
Content
Contact Me
Wealth Gap in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Labour Market
Social Enterprises in Hong Kong
Challenges of Poverty Prevention and Alleviation
Support from the Business Sector
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Contact Me
 Professor CHEUNG Yan-leung, Stephen
Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Enhancing SelfReliance Through District Partnership Programme (the
Programme) under the Home Affairs Department (HAD)
 Address: Department of Economics and Finance
Faculty of Business
P7410, Purple Zone, Academic Building
City University of Hong Kong
 Telephone no.: 2788 7960
 Fax no.: 2788 8040
 E-mail address: efsteven@cityu.edu.hk
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Poverty Situation: Gini Coefficient
 Gini Coefficient (based on household income before
netting the effects of taxation and social benefits)
Year
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
2006
Gini
Coefficient
0.451
0.453
0.476
0.518
0.525
0.533
 Gini Coefficient (based on household income after netting
the effects of taxation and social benefits )
Year
1996
2001
2006
Gini
Coefficient
0.466
0.470
0.475
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Source: Census and Statistics Department
Profile of the Unemployed Population
 Higher unemployment rate among the younger age
group
 Higher unemployment rate among the less educated
 The unemployed population comprises mainly of
non-skilled workers, such as those from the
construction and manufacturing industries
 Structural unemployment, making it difficult to find
suitable jobs despite economic recovery
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Demand for Human Resources
 Decreasing demand for the less educated
 Increasing demand for professionals and paraprofessionals
 Service-led economy
  Mismatch of the skills of the unemployed and the
demand of the job market
  Retraining
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Enhancing Self-Reliance Through
District Partnership Programme
(the Programme)
Background
 2006-07 Budget
 $150 million over the following five years to strengthen
district-based poverty alleviation work and assist socially
disadvantaged groups to gain self-reliance
 HAD established the Programme in June 2006 to
implement the above initative
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What is Social Enterprise?
 To run the business mainly through generating revenue
from the provision of services or products
 Sustainable development and self-financing basis
 Social objectives
 Providing the needed services or products
• E.g. Support service for the elderly
 Creating employment and training opportunities
 Funding its other social service organisations through the
profits earned
 To reinvest the profits earned principally in the business
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or in the community
Objectives of the Programme
Promote sustainable poverty prevention and
alleviation efforts at the district level
 Helping enhance self-reliance,
 Targeting socially disadvantaged groups.
Increasing the skills and capacities of the
employable and providing opportunities for the
disadvantaged and to be effectively integrated
into the community
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Implementation
 Approximately $50 million to about 50 SE projects
 creating about 1 000 jobs for the socially disadvantaged.
 Many of them are implemented in less well-off
districts
 Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and
Tung Chung.
 Achieve social objectives
 Include enhancing the skills and employability of the
socially disadvantaged and their self-confidence as well as
promoting community integration
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Distribution of Businesses of the Approved Projects
Others (including escort
service for out-patients,
graphic design, job referral,
fabric production, etc.)
Entertainment/
11%
Programme Production
7%
Household Services/
Fitting-out Works
7%
Retailing
17%
Elderly Services
6%
Beauty Care &
Hairdressing/Massage/
Manipulation (tui-na)
13%
Eco-tourism
7%
Waste Recycling/
Second-hand Shops
13%
Catering/Cafe
19%
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Social Enterprise: Case (1)
The Salvation Army – Tuen Mun “Family Store”
 A grant of $900,000 from the Programme
 Creation of about 11 jobs
 A family store in Tuen Mun
 Sell at medium to low prices second-hand articles collected
and goods donated by manufacturers
 Provide daily necessities to the elderly poor and
Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients
 Social Objectives
 Provision of
jobs, enhancing their employability and
participating in social economic activities
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The officiating guests at
the opening ceremony
The store of about 1 000
square feet provides a
wide variety of goods
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Social Enterprise: Case (2)
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals – Mrs Mc Dessert
 A grant of $960,000 from the Programme
 Creation of about 28 jobs
 Theme Dessert Shop
 Also selling McDull products and providing online retail
and delivery services
 With the support of Regent Lane Ltd, the sole distributor
of the Yellow Bus Magazine, McDull products are sold at
wholesale price and McDull short videos are shown in
the shop
 Concessionary rent offered by the Olympian City
Management Company under the Sino Group
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Mrs Mc Dessert
in Olympian City
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Other Government Supports
 A pilot scheme is being implemented by the Government
to facilitate SE
 Bidding 38 government cleansing contracts
 Cover all 18 districts and involve 19 departments
 Government’s commitment to promoting the development
of SE
 The contract sum amounts to about $17 million, providing
more than 300 employment opportunities for SE
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Challenges of Poverty Prevention
and Alleviation
 Government handouts ≠ Poverty alleviation
 Improper handouts = Poverty creation
 Incentives for the unemployed to re-enter the job
market
 Persistent inflation
 The poor, in particular, suffers from price inflation
 Inflation rate in January 2008 was 4.3%
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Challenges of Poverty Prevention
and Alleviation
 Widening wealth gap
 After netting the effects of taxation and social benefits on
household income, the Gini Coefficient is still on the rise for
the past decade
 Any prospect of upward social mobility?
 Hope for the poor
 Equal opportunities
 Reducing intergenerational poverty
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Challenges of Poverty Prevention
and Alleviation
Concerted efforts of the business sector, the
Government, non-governmental
organisations and individuals
 Business sector: corporate social responsibility
 Government: SE, retraining
 Individuals: self enhancement
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Business Sector’s Support for SE
Support through the following channels:
 Outsourcing to SE certain operations (e.g. cleansing
services)
 Providing SE with concessionary rental of their property
(e.g. shopping malls or factory premises)/vacant land
(e.g. agricultural land for organic farming)
 Partnership with SE (e.g. technical support and staff
training)
 Financial support to SE
 Mentorship Scheme: providing SE with voluntary
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professional and business advisory services
How can the Business Sector
support SE:
 The Social Enterprise Partnership Programme,
currently launched by HAD
 Provides a matching forum through which
business organisations interested in providing
support services can partner with nongovernmental organisations
 For information, please contact HAD
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Thank you！