On November 19th, the Hult Prize China team invited Shake to Win CEO Emily Cheung and seven other panelists to discuss the opportunities and challenges that social enterprises face within China. More than 50 viewers gathered with panelist that consisted of Hult Prize professors, the global winner of the Hult Award as well as outstanding local social entrepreneurs in China.

The Hult Prize is a widely recognized award that is also known as the Nobel Prize for students by media sources such as CNN, Forbes, Vice, NPR, and more. Under CEO Ahmad Ashkar, the Hult Prize Foundation drives the next generation of leaders to shape the world around them in positive ways. The winners of the award receive a one-million-dollar startup prize as its anchor activity. Through forward-looking programs, events, and mentoring, the Hult Prize creates a foundation for the youth to pave a better world.

With the rising attention to environmental issues and the need for corporate social responsibility, more people are taking action to move the world back into a better state for future generations. In line with this, the Chief Academic Officer of the Hult Prize Foundation, Phillip Auerswald alongside panel host and China community builder Sharon Fu, welcomed speakers to share their insights and perspectives on the two main topics of the online panel: the Food for Good initiative, and Social enterprises’ potential in China. Here are some of the highlights from the panel below.

Xiaojing Fei, co-founder of Impact Hub Shanghai shared some insights on responsible investment within the food industry and the increase of venture capitals funds’ interest in upstream agriculture. “Food isn’t just about what we eat or the restaurants we got to, it’s also about the whole supply chain. I think there is a huge opportunity within the supply chain to make it more sustainable.” She also drew attention to other key issues within the food industry that needed to be addressed, “When we talk about sustainability, we always talk about air pollution and climate change, but actually there are a lot of equity issues such as health and safety issues within this industry, this perspective can be very good for the younger generation to address”.

Meanwhile, Ivy Peng, chief education BD manager of Smart Air detailed the change and growing interest in social impact for young consumers and regulators in China. “Nowadays the youth not only care about money but also about the impact and social problems… Recently, people are just starting to get to know better what social enterprises are, and the government is now willing to give support in these areas.” She also adds that the idea of a social enterprise is sometimes not clearly defined.

Shake to Win founder and CEO, Emily Cheung also added to the discussion on the impact of social enterprises by citing the efforts of Shake to Win in the digital transformation of small to medium sized vendors wanting to enter China. “By bringing these advanced technologies from China to 2nd and 3rd tier cities across the world, we can enhance cultural connectivity, and as their culture is being understood mutually by different countries, then we can get a better understanding of the bigger problem the world faces.” Moreover, she believes that with every sale, social value can be created indirectly through extensions into social enterprise activities.

As the pandemic continues to affect local communities and businesses around the world many entrepreneurs are becoming more conscious about their social impact and how they can adapt to improve those in need. Such opportunities and discussions with those involved in forward-looking sectors allows for business to not only to make profits but also make a positive change in the hope that we can build a better world for our future generations.

We hope for more opportunities to share and discuss more on sustainability, social impact, as well as other green initiatives, working together with relevant partners around the world to build a better path for us all.

Please stay tuned for more insights and feel free to contact partnership@shaketowin.net for any business collaboration.