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3rd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress, Tokyo, Japan
Full Paper Submission from Fu Hong Society (Hong Kong)

Topic : Disability Inclusive Business

Title of presentation:
Opportunities and challenges for disability inclusive business through social enterprise strategy: experiences of a catering business in popular cultural venues in Hong Kong

Silvia Mak, Joseph Kwok

1. Introduction

To facilitate persons with disabilities (PWDs) to engage in suitable and gainful employment is a challenge for social workers in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report on Disability 2013 (The Hong Kong SAR Government, 2014, page 13) reveals that among working-age (aged 18 to 64) PWDs and old-aged PWDs the proportions of being economically active were 39.1% and 2.1% respectively. Both figures are far worse than the corresponding figures for the overall population (72.8% and 7.9% respectively).

Fu Hong Society (FHS), is a leading NGO in Hong Kong, and has over 35 years in providing services and support to people with intellectual challenges, people with psychosocial challenges, and people with multiple disabilities, as well as their families. Throughout the years, FHS has been working wholeheartedly to tackle the challenges in helping those with work capabilities to find suitable open employment. One of the strategies is to engage in Social Enterprise (SE), aiming to provide employment internship and gainful employment for PWDs through operation of different kinds of sustainable businesses. This paper will discuss the mission and business model of one social enterprise in the catering business; and how the “5R Framework”, namely Rehabilitation, Relishing, Reminisce, Relaxation and Remembering are being applied to operate this business.

2. Disability Employment Situation and Social Enterprise in Hong Kong

Sad to say, the 45.3% poverty rate of PWDs is notably higher (2.3 times) than the 19.9% of the general population in Hong Kong (Hong Kong SAR Government, 2014). The Report further revealed that for those working-age PWDs who participate in the labour market, their unemployment rate (6.7%) was also notably higher than that of the same age group of the general population (3.7%), reflecting their heavier financial burden as a result of the greater challenges at work (Hong Kong SAR Government, 2014, page 15).

SE is an innovative business operated with entrepreneurial principles and strategies to achieve specific social objectives, with the ultimate aim in enhancing disability inclusive employment. SE in Hong Kong was initiated in the early 1990s and grew rapidly after 2000 (Chan, 2007, p. 10) . Instead of providing welfare support to the unemployed, SE adopts a “work integrated” approach to encourage disadvantaged individuals to work independently and become self-reliant.

Up to this moment, there is no universal definition of SE. A commonly quoted definition is that, “Social Enterprise is different from general business for it upholds the so-called ‘double bottom line’: profit making and social objective. Business operation is the means to achieve the ultimate social goal” (Chua, 2007, p.10). By 2015, there are more than 500 SEs1 in Hong Kong, covering a wide range of business, e.g. catering, domestic services and recycling. Their source and combinations of funding are more sophisticated. Some are applying government seed money as set up cost, some are receiving private fund for operation and some are even set up by private enterprises. Thus, with a dual focus of social (welfare and creating of employment opportunities) and economic (income) objective, SEs in Hong Kong are striking hard to keep its financial sustainability.

3. Fu Hong Society and its Social Enterprise

FHS is a government-subvented non-profit organization, established in Hong Kong in 1977. Its objectives are to provide PWDs with opportunities to develop all their abilities and to achieve the greatest independence possible within their circumstances, as fully integrated members of the community. At present, FHS operates over 50 service units, offering a comprehensive range of rehabilitation, development, caring and supporting services to nearly 4,000 persons with disabilities and also their family members.

Hong Yung Services Limited (HYSL) is a social enterprise set up by FHS in 2003, which is part of the vocational rehabilitation services (VR) of FHS to enhance social inclusion through provision of job attachments and employment opportunities for PWDs via its business operations. HYSL is operating catering, cleansing, pest control and retail businesses and offering more than 50 employment places for PWDs which among to 75 % of its total employees. HYSL offered around 300 employment opportunities (headcounts) and about 400 (headcounts) training / attachment placements for PWDs in the past 12 years.

Aiming to enhance social inclusion and employment opportunities of PWDs, FHS has responded actively by entering into competitive or open bidding for catering businesses, and succeeded in winning two bids in the past 2 years, one in the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense (HKMCD), and the other in Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH); both are popular heritage sites of Hong Kong.

4. Experience sharing – a Disability Inclusive Catering Business operated in a HK popular cultural venue

City Cafe is one of the catering sites of FHS, which is situated in HKMH, a popular heritage site in Hong Kong. FHS succeeded in the competitive bidding and was granted the operation license of the Cafe in Oct 2014. The Cafe started with seed money from government plus own fund raising, and is expected to become self-sufficient within 3 years. One of the government funding criteria is that the Cafe has to employ not less than 50% of PWDs.

Though the Cafe is funded by government for startup and first three years from operation, FHS has to achieve sustainability in the long run. In order to actualize the concept of a sustainably disability inclusion business, FHS operates the Cafe with the application of a 5R framework, namely Rehabilitation, Relishing, Reminisce, Relaxation and Remembering. In applying these 5Rs, the City Cafe is designed to serve Hong Kong traditional food with a heritage-styled decorative environment, echoing the theme of the museum and to create an unforgettable as well as enjoyable experience for customers in our disability inclusive catering business. The Cafe is therefore, an ideal spot for visitors from all walks of life to Relish food, Reminisce Hong Kong’s history and food culture, and Relax in fast-paced life, being a Rehabilitation platform of PWDs to interact with public. The Cafe is designed to become a place for recalling collective memory that visitors would find it as an enjoyable Cafe to be Remembered.

Among the 5Rs, Rehabilitation is our key mission aiming to create a disability inclusive business and to enhance employment opportunities, while the other 4 elements are important business elements to make the operation and promotion of the Cafe a success. With the application of the 5R framework, the operation of the Cafe is proved to be workable and successful. The Cafe is currently employing 12 disabled staff, nearly 70% of total number of staffing, and is well above the output indicator of the funder. The Cafe was awarded the "Caring Social Enterprise” by the Government Social Welfare Department, in recognition for hiring a high ratio of persons with disabilities in May 2015. By July 2015, the sales revenue was nearly US$38,500 (HK$0.3 million) per month, and handled more than 300 order transactions per day. Cafe customers well accept the services provided by our PWDs. That is to say, not only the disabled employees can be involved in a rewarding job opportunities, but also, they are working in a highly disability inclusive business.

Targeting to make the operation of the Cafe a more success, FHS has mobilized a wide social network, including well-known corporates and personal consultants, providing catering and marketing professional and related business advice to the Cafe operation. This helps the Cafe in menu and food quality enhancement.

5. Conclusion

5R Framework seems to be able to facilitate a smooth commencement of the Cafe operation. However, the real challenges are waiting for us ahead. With a dual focus of social (creating employment opportunities for PWDs) and economic (self-sufficient within 3 year) objective, City Cafe has to achieve financial sustainability within three years from beginning of operation. The operation cost has been increasing, due to the introduction of the Minimum Wage Law from 1 May 2011. As a NGO committed in provision of rehabilitation services, FHS will keep on seeking opportunities to enhance the development of disability inclusive business.

As a closing remark, we wish one day not too far from now in Hong Kong, “Every Business a Social Inclusive Business”.

End of Paper


REFERENCES

Chan, K.T., 2007. Social Enterprise in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong Council of Social Service “Scenario”, Issue 18, June 2007, p. 10. Retrieved from
http://webcontent.hkcss.org.hk/cm/cc/scenario/download/18_focus.pdf on 23 July 2015

Chua, Hoi-wai, 2007. Social Enterprise in Hong Kong, In Hong Kong Council of Social Service “Scenario”, Issue 18, June 2007, p. 10. Retrieved from
http://webcontent.hkcss.org.hk/cm/cc/scenario/download/18_focus.pdf on 23 July 2015

The Hong Kong SAR Government, December 2014. “Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report on Disability 2013”. Retrieved from
http://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/eng/pdf/Hong_Kong_Poverty_Situation_Report_on_Disability_2013(E).pdf on 23 July 2015


1 See SE Directory 2015 , Social Enterprise Business Center, Prefix page. Retrieved from http://socialenterprise.org.hk/sites/default/files/sedirectory/2015%20SE%20Directory.pdf on 22 July 2015