Kebba Jallow, originally from Gambia, came to Hong Kong in January 2023 to pursue a fresh start in entrepreneurship. He had the idea of starting JK Auto Recycling, a scrapping company specializing in dismantling and recycling various motor parts and materials.
From Africa Center Hong Kong, a community partner of the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), Kebba learned about our Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs and registered as a mentee for the 2023-24 program. The FSI team matched him with a mentor – Naman Tekriwal, a fellow entrepreneur and Co-founder of Breer – and an ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter certified coach – Mag Wong – for Kebba’s six-month entrepreneurial capacity-building journey.
The program’s support, encompassing mentorship, coaching, and practical business workshops, enabled Kebba to build JK Auto Recycling from scratch. Said Kebba at a networking event we held for all Mentorship Program participants in March 2024: “I was lucky to get a good coach in Mag Wong and a good mentor in Naman Tekriwal. I was also lucky to have FSI members constantly nudging me, reminding me about what I need to focus on now and what to do next. From the Mentorship Program, I received help to develop a business plan. I started from zero and now I’m getting to run a people business!”
We recently caught up with Kebba on the middle right and Naman on the middle left to learn more about the fruitful experience. Read our interview to find out more about how FSI’s Mentorship Program brings a whole village to support aspiring entrepreneurs and why some think that the program is an enabler of entrepreneurship!
Kebba – tell us about JK Auto Recycling and your future plans?
JK Auto Recycling is a small scrapping company specializing in dismantling and recycling various motor parts and materials. Through the business, I hope to reduce environmental pollution and provide valuable materials that can be used in the remanufacturing of new products. This is because Hong Kong is moving from diesel gasoline vehicles to electric ones, and soon these vehicles will no longer be in use.
Five years from now, I want to upgrade JK Auto Recycling to a higher level, where it won’t just be a scrapping company. I might start the JK Automobile Company to buy good-quality second-hand cars and then resell them in Hong Kong.
Why did you join FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs as a mentee?
I have been having the idea of establishing my own business for quite a while, and it was a bit difficult. When you come to a new city, you don’t know the city very well, and you don’t know how or where to get the things you need to start a business, and things became a little bit of a challenge for me. But at one point, I came across the Mentorship Program through a community WhatsApp group called We The Africans, and that’s when I signed up for the program. The FSI Mentorship Program proved to be very helpful for me.
Naman – you have been serving our program as a mentor since it was launched in 2022. What makes you take time out of your busy schedule to mentor fellow entrepreneurs?
I met Vivian (Vivian Seo, formerly FSI Community Business Support Program Manager and currently FSI’s Executive Director) when FSI was recruiting mentors for its inaugural Mentorship Program in the summer of 2022. As an ethnically diverse student myself, I know there are multiple challenges we face while starting companies, be it language or not knowing what to do and how to do it. As someone who has co-founded a successful business in upcycling bread waste to make craft beer while diverting waste from landfills, I wanted to help other ethnically diverse students or aspiring entrepreneurs, and that’s why I decided to become a mentor in the program in the first place.
Kebba – how would you describe your six-month journey?
It was a tough but successful journey! In the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect. But the moment I went in for the second cohort meeting, I got to meet my mentor, Naman, and my coach, Mag. We, the mentee entrepreneurs, were told to work on a plan of action to set goals for what to do and how to go about them for the next six months.
The follow-ups from FSI helped a lot as they kept people accountable for their respective action plans and goals. That was very important.
Because of the program and the people I met, I was able to register my business, open a bank account, and get the yard for my business. Four months into the program, I was able to get the business running. I would call this an initial success, despite the challenges. It’s been a great journey.
How did Naman, Mag, and other people you met through the program help you along the way?
They didn’t just help me register my business, but they also gave me ideas. Take the business bank account, for example. I tried to do it on my own but failed. However, because Naman gave me a contact of his, I was able to open a business bank account. After that, I tried to find a scrapping yard but had little luck. At one point, I was very disappointed and discouraged, especially because I had already registered my business by then. But Mag and Naman kept reminding me of the tasks that needed to be done and kept pushing; they asked me how far I had gone in getting the yard and what I was going to do next. That gave me the motivation to continue moving forward, and in the end, I was able to get the yard. I really appreciate their effort so much.
Innocent Mutanga (one of the mentors of the 2023-24 program, Founder and CEO of Africa Center Hong Kong) also played a key role in guiding and helping me out on so many issues alongside Naman. Even though he was not my directly assigned mentor, he went above and beyond to link me with a firm for the company registration. He helped me restructure, edit, and polish my business plan. He also helped me to create templates of receipts for some of my targeted customers in Africa. I know that even after the program, I will still be engaging Naman, Innocent, and Vivian from time to time. The most important thing here is that I am grateful to anyone around or within FSI.
Naman – what is your takeaway from your experience as a mentor to FSI’s community of aspiring entrepreneurs and, particularly, Kebba?
My biggest takeaway would definitely be the fact that ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong face so many challenges, but guidance from someone who has been there and done that can help them in so many different ways.
Kebba was starting a company from scratch. With my already-established network, I was able to help him through various challenges. For example, I referred Kebba to my banking relationship manager, and then he was able to smoothly open a bank account and get a bank loan. It took me a lot of time to build that connection, and now I can refer that connection to future entrepreneurs to make life easier for them. Similarly, I referred Kebba to a photographer I know to help him get some photo shoots done for his services and products.
Every time Kebba told me that he hit a new milestone in his startup journey, it gave me such a sense of satisfaction. Mag and I have seen Kebba go from an idea to actually getting a factory, building a space, renting machines, opening a bank account, registering the company etc. Trust me, if you don’t have guidance, none of this is easy in Hong Kong, because information on relevant websites is not very clear, and getting through the process is not very easy. It’s that feeling of gratification I got from helping someone start their own company and bring it up to a respectable level that makes me want to continue providing mentoring to other entrepreneurs.
What is unique about FSI’s Mentorship Program and the support it provides to entrepreneurs at different stages?
Naman I would say that connecting mentors with mentees is the best favor you can do to an aspiring entrepreneur. In the early stages of entrepreneurship, all an aspiring entrepreneur requires is a helping hand, and FSI is able to provide that. So congratulations to FSI on being an enabler of entrepreneurship in many ways!
Kebba The gatherings that bring people together to meet other people and exchange ideas. Having a community to belong to is very important for entrepreneurs. Those nice snacks at the gatherings are important, too!
Would you recommend the program to others? Who do you think should join the program?
Kebba I would recommend members of the ethnically diverse community to join the program, as they lack access to the opportunities and knowledge essential to starting and growing a business. This lack of access is an obstacle for so many, including myself. By joining FSI’s community for ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, they can connect with other people, who can show them where to go and what to do, and then many things would become possible. It’s good that FSI is running this program and building this community.
Naman I would definitely recommend everyone to join the FSI Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs as a mentor or a mentee, because I feel that both parties get to learn a lot. As a mentor, I was able to relive that adrenaline rush of bringing a company from zero to one. As a mentee, I feel that mentees have so much to gain – they get access to people who have gone through the struggles of building their businesses in Hong Kong and are therefore able to guide the mentees to the best of their abilities. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. I would recommend students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and everyone to be a part of this program.
The 2024-25 FSI Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs is now open for applications! Learn more about the program and how you can benefit as a mentee and mentor entrepreneur here. Aspiring and budding entrepreneurs can register as mentees here, and experienced entrepreneurs who want to help fellow entrepreneurs succeed can apply to become mentors here.
