Commit to Change
The world's local bank- Global – HSBC Financial Literacy Programme
- USA – Foundation for Teaching Economics
- Hong Kong – HSBC Living Finance
- UK – UNIAID
- UK – Tuska and Pepi
- Global – Junior Achievement/Young Enterprise
- Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam – HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards
- UK – Made in Brunel
- Hong Kong – Social Entrepreneurship Programme
- USA – Islamic Finance Project
- UK – Management Academy Programme
- UK – What Money Means
Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam – HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards
The HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards is a business plan writing competition for university and vocational education students. The competition helps to broaden students' awareness of modern entrepreneurial challenges as well as fostering business innovation.
The programme was initially launched by HSBC in Hong Kong in 2000 (originally called the HSBC Young IT Entrepreneur Awards) and is now a regional competition involving students from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Students compete in teams of two or three and more than 10,000 students have taken part in the competition since its inception.
The competition itself consists of three rounds:
- Round One: teams submit an outline of an innovative and viable business idea. An advisory committee of HSBC executives, business professionals and university professors screens the submissions.
- Round Two: selected teams are invited to attend a business plan writing training workshop and then must submit a complete business plan. A panel of judges then assesses the business plans.
- Round Three: teams who qualified from round two meet with a panel of judges to discuss their business plan and answer questions. The judges then pick the top three teams to attend the country final. They are also invited to attend a presentation skills workshop.
- Finals: the three chosen teams from round three give a formal presentation of their business plan to a panel of judges who decide on the Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards. The Gold team goes on to a similarly formatted regional grand final in Hong Kong.
All business plans must be submitted and presented in English. Throughout the competition, teams are given the opportunity to attend workshops on various subjects including business finance, creative thinking, interviewing skills and presentation skills.
The 2007 Hong Kong Final was held on 22 March. The Hong Kong section of the Young Entrepreneur Awards attracted a record 415 business ideas this year from 1,100 students. The winners of the Hong Kong final were from the University of Hong Kong. Their idea, 'See What?' is an advertising platform motivating consumers to receive and share advertisements through their mobile phones using Bluetooth technology. The three students will compete at the regional final in June, held in Hong Kong; the winners of this final are awarded an HSBC Young Entrepreneur Development Fund of nearly US$13,000.
To read more about the competition or to find out how to enter, click here.
