To encourage and support young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has launched the Well Being·Start-Up program, which offers shop premises in shopping centers under the HA for them to trial their business plans rent-free. The Secretary for Housing and Chairman of the HA, Ms Winnie Ho, and the Permanent Secretary for Housing and Director of Housing, Miss Rosanna Law, attended the "Dialogue with Star Entrepreneurs" event held today (July 27) at Domain in Yau Tong. They joined the sharing of invaluable experiences by successful entrepreneurs together with youth and shared their views to help young people prepare for their start-ups.
Ms Ho said, "The HA attaches great importance to youth development. By offering rent-free, well-managed shops with stable foot traffic, the Well Being·Start-Up program genuinely helps young people kick-start their entrepreneurial dreams. The HA also hopes to leverage the vitality and innovative ideas of young people to provide a more diverse choice of products and shopping experiences for the community, bring foot traffic to shopping centers and achieve mutual benefits for both residents and commercial tenants."
Miss Law remarked, "In addition to addressing the housing needs of the public, the HA also aims to create development opportunities for young people and encourage them to strive for success. The program provides a start-up platform for young individuals to focus on developing marketing channels and promoting products. Also, there will be several awards in the program to encourage young people to conceive innovative and feasible projects."
The Well Being・Start-Up program targets individuals aged 35 or below. The program will run for seven months, from October 2024 to April 2025. It will offer about 10 shop premises in HA shopping centers across different areas in Kowloon and the New Territories for young people to start their businesses. Participants will not need to pay rent and will receive assistance with basic shop renovation and marketing. The HA will regularly review the business performance of the participants. If participants make a profit, the HA will charge 20 percent of their net profits to fund the program to support its ongoing development.
The program will open for application from August 1. Interested parties will have to submit business proposals to the HA before August 31. The HA will assess the proposals based on innovation, feasibility and market potential, social benefits, financial arrangements and team management, and allocate suitable shop premises to selected applicants. The application form and details will be available on the HA website (www.housingauthority.gov.hk) on August 1.
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