Impact Innovation Lab Cohort 4 – Application for Seed Funding

Impact Innovation Lab (The Lab) is now accepting applications for seed funding!

Cohort 4 began its Elementary Training in May, which included a series of courses and activities aimed at equipping participants with essential skills and knowledge for running their social innovation projects. Now, Cohort 4 is launching an open call for social innovation ideas and accepting applications for seed funding. Awarded projects will receive up to $100,000 in seed capital and enter a six-month incubation period. With guidance from multidisciplinary experts, access to resources from a makerspace and co-working space, and commercial referrals, The Lab helps startup ideas come to fruition.

The Lab welcomes permanent residents of Hong Kong who are 18 years old or above to join. Interested parties can form teams of one to five members and submit proposals related to local poverty alleviation, social inclusion, fostering well-being and cohesion of society. 

Application deadline: June 21, 2024 (Fri, HKT 17:00)

(*For the new applicants, please click “RSVP” now! An email with proposal submission guidelines will be sent to your email address; For the existing applicants of Cohort 4, please go to our platform Glide to submit your funding application.)

Schedule:

Mid to Late Jun 2024	Eligible teams will be invited to the First Pitch
6 – 7 Jul 2024 (Sat – Sun)	First Pitch, conducted at Makerbay
Late Jul 2024	Shortlisted team will be invited to the Final Pitch (JVC)
9 Aug 2024 (Fri)	Final Pitch (JVC), conducted at Makerbay
Aug 2024	Announcement of awarded teams
Nov 2024	Start 6 months incubation

Required Documents for Application (Provided templates must be used):

Project Proposal

Budget Plan

Declaration and Consent Form

 

Project objectives:

– The proposal should be related to local poverty alleviation, social inclusion, fostering well being and cohesion of society, and the target beneficiaries are members of the public in Hong Kong who are generally residents of Hong Kong without conditions of stay.

– Impact Innovation Lab has been appointed by The SIE Fund as one of the third batch of intermediaries. The SIE Fund enables social entrepreneurs to address social needs through innovative ideas, products and services, and assists the Government in formulating targeted poverty alleviation initiatives by focusing on the targeted poverty issues and the needs of vulnerable groups, especially sub-divided flat residents, single parent families and elderly.

References:

• Website of SIE Fund – Harnessing Social Innovation for “Targeted Poverty Alleviation”
• LC Paper No. CB(2)349/2023(01) – Legislative Council Subcommittee on Reforming the Poverty Alleviation Policies and Strategies – Strategy of Targeted Poverty Alleviation

 

Evaluation Criteria:

Idea’s Innovativeness	15%
Social Impact	20%
Project Readiness	30%
Business Model and Market Analysis	20%
Commitment (Only applied to participant who attended the elementary training)	15%

 

F.A.Q

1. Can I submit applications if I didn’t join the elementary training?

Yes, but you will no longer have the score of “Commitment” due to the absence of elementary training.

2. Do I need to register a company to submit the application?

No, it is not necessary to submit the proposal as an organisation/company. However, 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.

3. Can I submit more than one proposal for the incubation application?

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

4. Will my application for seed funding be affected if my team members are absent from the Elementary Training or have an attendance rate of less than 70%?

The attendance rate of the Elementary Training will affect the total score of “Commitment”, which accounts for 15% of the evaluation criteria. If all team members’ attendance rate is at least 70% during the Elementary Training, the team will receive a full score of “Commitment”. If some of your team members attend less than 70% of the Elementary Training, the score of “Commitment” will be calculated based on the ratio of qualified team members: The total score (15%) will be divided by the total number of your team members, and then multiplied by the number of qualified team members. For example, if you have three members in total and two of them have attended at least 70% of the Elementary Training, the team’s score for “Commitment” is 10%.

5. Should my proposal for seed funding application follow the cohort’s theme?

Applicants are not required to submit a proposal that follows the theme of the cohort. The theme is solely for conducting the courses and activities of the Elementary Training.

 

Should you have any questions, please contact us via Email: thelab@makerbay.org OR Telephone / WhatsApp: +852 4638 0364.