The Hong Kong Housing Authority has quintupled retail spaces under the Well Being Start-Up 2.0 Programme, offering discounted market rents to support local youth entrepreneurship, according to an official statement on Thursday.
The revamped initiative will provide about 50 retail spaces — a fivefold surge from its first phase — with the Hong Kong Housing Authority contributing 12 shops, an increase of three, while more than 10 private-sector organizations have pledged about 40 additional venues.
The three newly added shops are in the So Uk Shopping Centre, the Shek Mun Shopping Centre, and Choi Hung Estate.
After the initial seven-month rent-free period, the program will provide a three-year tiered rental concession, with the first year set at 25 percent of market rent or 3 percent of turnover, whichever is higher.
The HA will conduct annual reviews to ensure the program effectively fosters the sustainable development of these teams, the statement said.
Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Wing-yin said, “Well Being Start-Up 2.0 will be extended to private shopping centers so that commercial partners can join hands to assist Hong Kong’s young entrepreneurs by providing them with more entrepreneurial opportunities and enabling them to develop their careers.
“This also injects vitality and innovation into the community and new dynamics into Hong Kong’s retail landscape. … The program will provide approximately 50 shops in total, a fivefold increase in scale compared to its first phase. This demonstrates the synergy of public-private partnership in fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem,” she added.
Ho, permanent secretary for housing; Housing Director Charmaine Lee; and Housing Authority Commercial Properties Committee Chairwoman Serena Lau joined program mentors and commercial sector representatives at Domain Mall in Yau Tong to mark a new milestone for the initiative.
At the event, successful participants from the program’s first phase were recognized with awards that included Best Business Plan, Most Creative Product, Most Promising Business, and Most Popular Business.
Contact the writer at tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com
