ORGANISED BY

FUNDED BY

    WWW.SIE.GOV.HK

ABOUT

Seeing the needs of the social innovation ecosystem in Hong Kong, Impact Innovation Lab (The Lab) is a brand new incubator aimed at promoting social innovation to the general public and nuturing potential social innovators aged 18 or above.

Organised by MakerBay Foundation and funded by The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund, The Lab launches open calls every year: A diversity of social issues are open for discussion. Potential social innovators will join a series of face-to-face and online training to enrich their knowledge and skills in developing social innovation ideas for supporting the underprivileged. In addition, The Lab provides seed capital of up to HK$100,000 for awarded incubatees to actualise their visions with support from veterans and experts across different sectors and resources from a well-developed makerspace.

OBJECTIVES

ENGAGEMENT

To promote social innovation to the general public and engage potential social innovators

INCUBATION

To incubate early-stage social innovation ideas To nurture participants with an entrepreneurial mindset and essential skills to actualise their visions

COLLABORATION

To foster growth and collaboration in the social innovation ecosystem

PROGRAMME FRAMEWORK

AN INNOVATION JOURNEY

FROM IDEATION TO PROTOTYPING

 
Group 195

01

LEARNING

Develop an
Entrepreneurial Mindset

  • Elementary Training
    • Introduction to Social Innovation
    • Bootcamps
    • Maker Skills Workshops (Woodworking, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, AI & No-Code)
    • Online Tutorial Classes
    • Mentorship
  • Social Innovation Exploration Series
Group 200

02

PITCHING

Strive to Actualise Social Innovation Ideas

  • Proposal Submission
    • Pre-screening 
    • Pitching
Group 212

03

NURTURING

Test & Grow
the Social Startup

  • 6-month Incubation for Awarded Projects with
    • Seed Capital Grant of up to HK$100,000
    • Free Use of Makerspace & Co-working Space
    • Support to Prototyping and Testing
    • Guidance & Insights from Experienced Practitioners
    • Networking Opportunities
    • Business Referral Support 
    • Promotion Platforms

OPEN CALLS

APPLICATIONS FOR COHORT 1 WILL BE OPEN SOON, STAY TUNED!

 

ELIGIBILITY

AGED 18 OR ABOVE

Permanent Residents of Hong Kong aged 18 or above

TEAM SIZE

Be a team of 1 to 5 members for proposal submission (Can join individually before proposal submission)

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Group 179

ELEMENTARY TRAINING

Online Application 

From 15 May 2023 to 16 June 2023 

Procedure

Register an account at Online Application System 

Group 227

6-MONTH INCUBATION

Online Proposal Submission 

From 1 to 20 August 2023

Procedure

– Submit application through Online Application System

(Please download the required documents here)

– Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their projects during the pre-screening session and pitching session

– The judging panel will assess the projects according to the evaluation criteria

– Awarded incubatees will be informed and start a 6-month incubation with seed capital and all-round support from Impact Innovation Lab

TIMELINE

COHORT 1 – Grassroots Empowerment

Application for the Elementary Training

15 May – 16 Jun 2023

Elementary Training

Jul – Aug 2023

Proposal Submission for the 6-month Incubation 

1 – 20 Aug 2023

Pre-screening

Early Sep 2023

Pitching

Late Sep 2023

Notification to Awarded Projects

Oct 2023

Incubation Period

Dec 2023 – Jun 2024

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Idea’s Innovativeness

15%

Social Impact

20%

Project Readiness

30%

Business Model and Market Analysis

20%

Commitment

15%

MENTORS

ONLINE COURSES

HAPPENINGS

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS

FAQ

Cohort 1 is now open for applications. Cohort 2 will be launched in September 2023.

Permanent Residents of Hong Kong aged 18 or above are eligible to join the programme.

There is no participation fee, including the training and incubation application.

No. Anyone keen to develop social innovation projects could apply for the programme. For details, please refer to Eligibility.

The elementary training is designed specifically for potential social innovators. To fully understand social innovation and develop ideas into reality, participants will join a bootcamp, maker skills workshops, online training courses and mentoring sessions. The elementary training aims to equip the participants with an entrepreneurial mindset. It covers a variety of topics, including social innovation, project management, user research, social impact measurement, decision-making and risk management, social return on investment, maker skills for prototyping, branding and marketing, pitching skills, etc.

The elementary training lasts eight weeks, and the incubation is six months long.

The programme provides the awarded incubatees seed capital of up to HK$100,000 to develop their social innovation projects. There are eight open calls during the 3-year programme. For details of open calls, please refer to Open Calls; For more information about the application, please refer to Application Procedure.

For elementary training, participants can enroll in courses and events individually; For the incubation application, applicants are required to form a team of one to five members. The principal applicant will be the point of contact. 

No, the same project will not get funding support from different government funding schemes concurrently in order to avoid duplication of resources. Applicants are required to declare their applications whether the same proposal/ project has applied for or is currently applying for the SIE Fund.

We strongly encourage every potential applicant to join the elementary training, which equips participants with skill sets for social innovation and gives them a full picture of the 6-month incubation. Completing the elementary training will be advantageous in applying to the 6-month incubation with seed capital grant.

Immediate family members of the programme staff are not allowed to join the programme in light of the potential conflict of interest. If you have any concerns about the potential conflict of interest you may have, please contact us.

Yes, you can submit multiple proposals, but each proposal should show its difference and uniqueness in terms of ideas and target groups.

For details, please refer to the Evaluation Criteria.

Yes, awarded projects are required to register their business before the start of the incubation and to open a company bank account to receive the seed capital grant.

In addition to the financial support, awarded projects will receive networking opportunities, meeting veterans and experts across various sectors and seeking their expert insights. Awarded projects can also use a makerspace for prototype development and a co-working space for meetings and events.

The seed capital grant will be released to the awarded projects in three installments during the 6-month incubation; the ratio of the grant disbursement is 50 : 40 : 10. The grant disbursement is an advanced payment that the awarded projects are required to return the unspent balance of their completed projects to the programme. 

Please contact us at [email protected] or +852 4638 0364. 

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STAY IN THE KNOW!

For enquiries or suggestions, please call our hotline (852) 4638 0364 or email us at [email protected]

Ms. Angie Zhou

Education Specialist

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Angie Zhou is an Education Specialist at MIT App Inventor. She was the founder and CEO of Dreams Come True in Shenzhen, where she developed online coding courses for kids. She also has previous curriculum development, teaching and staff training experience at First Code Academy in Hong Kong.