Environmental Sustainability

• Raise awareness about climate change and sustainability, including but not limited to environmental education programmes for all ages
• Promote and facilitate the conservation of natural habitats and biodiversity
• Support initiatives aimed at reducing carbon footprints and strengthening community resilience to the effects of climate change
• Any other project ideas that enhance environmental sustainability

Social Empowerment

• Support and help different vulnerable groups of all ages to become self-sustainable and alleviated from poverty
• Improve physical and mental wellness of disadvantaged and minority groups
• Address tangible and developmental needs of the underprivileged in an effective and sustainable manner
• Foster equality across different gender, ethnicity, abilities, socioeconomic status and other minority groups
• Enhance the inclusiveness of mainstream society and services, in perspective of diversity
• Any other project ideas that enhance social empowerment

Financial Literacy

• Promote financial literacy for all ages, in particular for the disadvantaged
• Provide education programmes on financial management such as scam prevention and retirement planning for vulnerable groups·        
• Safeguard individual’s right to access basic financial services and financial literacy education
• Facilitate all ages to familiarise with FinTech and other advanced financial tools
• Any other project ideas that enhance financial literacy

Talent Development

• Foster an inclusive talent culture in education, workplace and the community
• Equip different under-resourced groups with knowledge, skills, competence, values and attitudes needed to develop them as a future talent
• Upskill or reskill individuals in need to engage with the future markets and drive economic growth
• Develop future talents for sustainability related industries to create positive social & environmental impact
• Any other project ideas that enhance talent development

Relevance with the Scheme’s focus areas (10%)

• Aligns with the HKEX Foundation’s focus area(s)

Problem identification, need assessment and social and/or environmental impact (20%)

• Good understanding on the root cause of the identified problem(s), need(s) of the target beneficiaries and the community/ environment
• Competitor analysis and service gap / market niche to fill
• Project’s ability to address identified social need(s) with clear intervention model and measurable output(s), outcome(s) and impact

Business model, financial sustainability and cost effectiveness (20%)

• A strong business model to ensure project’s long-term financial viability, including its ability to generate stable revenue streams and secure funding sources
• Project’s potential for scalability, diversification, or revenue diversification
• Team’s financial management capabilities, such as their ability to control costs and financial risk management
• Cost effectiveness of the project
• Provision of existing/ planned partnership, especially from corporate sector, potentially scale up the project and amplify the impact

Team capability, leadership and partnership (20%)

• Social Enterprise’s founder/ senior management/ team’s vision, attribute and commitment
• Team’s overall experience in executing similar projects, or relevant track record and performance
• The team’s all-rounded capabilities on project planning and execution.
• Team’s capacity to adapt to changing project requirements, market conditions, or technological advancements

Project content and planning (15%)

• Project’s scalability or replicability, which can amplify its impact
• Effective operational model and feasible work plan, make the best use of resources and time
• Team’s approach to identifying and mitigating potential risks, dependencies, and interdependencies within the project

Innovativeness (15%)

• Project is distinctive, and able to drive social and/or technological innovations and development
• Competitive advantages with similar projects/interventions
• Maturity/ Readiness of the proposed innovative idea