Marianne Hughes set up Kno in 2018, with a precise goal in mind: to humanise supply chains by making it more transparent and engaging stakeholders in the manufacturing sphere, which helps to and improve working conditions for all involved.

What sets Hughes apart is her bold approach. Instead of starting with small brands and building up from there, she went straight into the very top. Kno’s first client was the US department store chain Target, which was quickly followed by major global brands like Decathlon, Marks & Spencer and H&M.

“Kno is about figuring out who actually makes our products, whether they’re in safe conditions and what their life is like,” Hughes says.  

Read Marianne Hughes’s full interview here.

In the 2010s, a proliferation of apps and social media caused a boom in the Hong Kong sex industry. Despite this, there was no support provided for young female sex workers. Even worse, the taboo surrounding the profession made it impossible for citizens to show compassion towards those in the industry. In 2008, one 16-year-old girl involved in the sex trade was murdered, and this made Bowie Lam want to intervene.

“The most shocking thing wasn’t the tragedy—it was the reaction by the media and the public”, she says. “Some were blaming the girl, saying she deserved it. It made me want to take action.”

So Lam started Teen’s Keen, an NGO that offers access to information, care for sexual health, and community and legal support, as well as liaison with authorities, for girls as young as 11 years old.

Read Bowie Lam’s full interview here.

Queenie Man may be a  real life superhero, because what she started looks after one of Hong Kong’s most neglected communities: the elderly.

With the Project Futurus, Queenie Man is not only transforming how elderly homes are managed to make the lives of its residents better, she is also working towards elevating the tone of the debate around ageing. “It’s not about rejecting ageing, but embracing it”, she says. And Man focuses on the little details as well as the big picture. For example, she can often be found wearing her Captain Softmeal outfit to promote dining and food preparation that are senior-friendly.

The reason Project Futurus exists is because Man wanted to normalise ageing in Hong Kong, and make it more relevant to all. “[In Hong Kong, elderly care is very operator-driven, [and not actually based on] an elder’s needs,” she explains. “My mission is to drive change by deinstitutionalising age-care and focusing on the users’ needs.”

Read Queenie Man’s full interview here.

Coral reef degradation has devastating effects on marine life, which is something Vriko Yu’s company ArchiReef tackles with its game-changing 3D printed coral reefs made from clay. 

These “reefs” are entirely eco-friendly, customisable to a particular environment and it’s also capable of mimicking the behaviour of real coral reefs. The technology was first used by the Hong Kong government to restore coral that had suffered serious damage from typhoons, and since then ArchiReef has also embarked on a project in Abu Dhabi.

Read Vriko Yu’s full interview here.

It was difficult for Eina Gurung to ignore how many individuals in Hong Kong are marginalised by the city’s mainstream educational system. Whether it’s because of a language barrier, economic difficulties or the lack of flexibility for students with special needs, Gurung knew that there should be alternative solutions available to young people. 

That’s why she founded the Ananta Learning Centre, which provides interest classes and playgroups for students who need options outside of the mainstream ones for from an ethnic minority students, neurotypical students, special needs students, those with specific learning difficulties, and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism. 

It can be hard for investors to find worthy projects, and vice versa, and that’s where Dorothy Lam comes in with her organisation Dream Impact, which aims to bring the two together. 

It originally started as a venue for people to meet but Dream Impact has since evolved into an impact investment ecosystem, connecting more than 150 social startups with NGOs, universities, impact investors and corporations.

Looking for home care and elderly care services in Hong Kong that are available 24/7? Your search is over, because Amanda Pang created the exact company you’re looking for. 

Founded in 2016, Evercare focuses on providing high-quality home nursing care to those in need, allowing people to receive the assistance they require without the need to involve a hospital or nursing home. 

However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the company really stepped up their game and provided more than 3 million coronavirus tests for the city. It also trained numerous individuals from the retail, F&B and hospitality industries who found themselves unemployed to work as swabbers, allowing them to once again earn an income.

See more honourees from Hong Kong on the Gen.T List.

NOW READ

Victoria Tang-Owen on the pleasures, philosophies and possibilities of design

The app that's giving millions of Filipino migrant workers financial access

This non-profit is tackling food wastage and poverty by using surplus food