As the second year of FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs concluded in success, we caught up with Maryam Khan (mentee and founder of halal- and vegetarian-focused food blog, Foodie Explorerz), Asmita Bharadwaj Das (mentor and founder of Asmita Das Photography), and Pam Birkett (professional certified coach at ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter) to find out why they think the Mentorship Program is a win-win for all involved.
Read our interview to learn how Maryam, Asmita, and Pam were able to receive more help and support in return for helping and supporting each other, and why they think the program is uniquely resourceful for any entrepreneurs looking to be part of a diverse, energetic, and reciprocal community.
Tell us why you joined FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs in 2023?
Pam: I’ve lived in Hong Kong since 1987, so over 35 years now. I’m just looking forward to working with different coaches, mentors, and mentees, all for shared impact. I thought this was a good opportunity to support coachees and meet ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, which I wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to do. I also wanted to learn more about the entrepreneurs’ goals and about FSI. I was really pleased to be able to join the program.
Asmita: I was approached by the FSI team in summer 2023 to join the program. I didn’t know much about FSI, but I was intrigued, so that was the first point of interest. I moved to Hong Kong 14 years ago. I’ve had my fair share of struggles when I was setting up my few businesses along the way, so when I heard about FSI’s Mentorship Program I felt that my experiences could benefit other people. I believe that the more you share, the more you learn for yourself, which is why I joined the program.
Maryam: I also didn’t know what FSI was, but a friend introduced me to the Mentorship Program and invited me to FSI’s anniversary party early this year. I just really like the fact that there is this community where we can support each other and offer guidance. It’s not just from my coach or mentor but I also learned so much from other entrepreneurs in the community. Having a platform where I can share about my own page and what I’m doing, and getting guidance and support from other people appealed to me. I’m trying to get out there and connect with other entrepreneurs, since I’m working solo and don’t have a team. The Mentorship Program seemed to be able to give me a support system, so that’s why I joined.
What did you expect from the Mentorship Program? How did your experience of the program turn out to be?
Maryam: One of the expectations I had was to connect with people, because networking is something I’m trying to do more of. Another was to get support and guidance from a coach and a mentor on how I can monetize my food blog and the relevant processes. Asmita does that as a freelancer, so to get a broader view of how an entrepreneur similar to myself would plan her work days was definitely helpful. Pam, on the other hand, provided me with emotional support and guided me through things in my personal life, which affected my professional life. Having this kind of constant support was more than I expected. Participating in the program was less about work but more being invited to a support system.
Asmita: I didn’t go into the Mentorship Program with a lot of expectations. I joined a similar program by another NGO before, but it didn’t really materialize as I’d expected, so I was pleasantly surprised by FSI’s program. I wasn’t sure how helpful I was as a mentor, but I became good friends with Maryam and Pam – every time we met up, I would learn something new.
Pam: I didn’t have any expectations apart from what was written on FSI’s website. The title of the program was “2023 Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs” but the mentee entrepreneur received the benefits from both a mentor and a coach. The program was set up very well. I really liked the kick-off meeting, where we all met each other. The expectations I had were definitely met. The FSI team seemed to know what they were doing, so I just went along with it!
Maryam – tell us about how working with Pam, Asmita, the FSI team and community of entrepreneurs has helped your food blog, Foodie Explorerz?
As Asmita is a full-time entrepreneur, getting advice and tips from her was helpful. She helped me to see beyond just running the social media channels for my food blog, but also thinking forward and from a broader perspective, trying to see how the business side of things would look like, and thinking about client outreach. In Hong Kong, there aren’t many people monetizing their social media pages, so being able to find someone who has done that validates what I’m trying to do – it’s super helpful to have met someone who has done what I want to do and actually succeeded in doing it.
I’m very much used to working by myself, and I don’t usually share my ideas with other people; I just try to figure things out by myself. But I really appreciate Asmita and Pam for sharing their thoughts, advice, and resources, for getting out of their way to kick things off for me, and that they are genuinely interested in supporting me.
Asmita – as a successful entrepreneur yourself, has the Mentorship Program, working with Maryam and connecting with other entrepreneurs, benefited you personally and professionally?
As mentioned previously, I joined the program thinking that I could share my few years of experience in my own entrepreneurship journey, what worked out for me and what did not. But almost instantly, Maryam and I realized that we have so many shared experiences. The more that I gave, the more I was able to receive in return.
Running my business as a woman, it can get quite lonely and have self-doubt. And then you meet other people who are on different stages of that journey, and you find that their experiences resonate with you, that their struggles are similar to yours. In supporting another person, you are also receiving a lot of support.
Maryam and I are from different generations, and so at the beginning I was a bit apprehensive because she’s so much younger. But the empathy, humility, energy, sweetness, and positive attitude she brought in just made her so easy to work with. I’ve picked up a lot of interesting information, a lot of Gen Z stuff, which I can apply to my parenting. Just meeting her for dinner, not necessarily talking about work, helped me learn something new. Because our businesses are similar in size, we are able to support each other professionally and personally, giving each other suggestions and serving as each other’s sounding board.
Pam – as a veteran professional certified coach, how did you find the experience in coaching Maryam and the FSI Mentorship Program in general?
I really enjoyed coaching Maryam. It was a very different experience for me, as Maryam is in a similar stage of life as my son. I felt that Maryam really made the most of the opportunity given to her by the FSI Mentorship Program. You’re investing a lot of time and effort, and so when someone takes advantage of that and uses it, it makes you more committed and want to go out of your way to help. The relationship has to be two-way, and I really feel that Maryam and I connected well. By connecting with people from different generations, as Asmita says, you can see things through another lens, so sometimes you get a paradigm shift.
One of the things I shared with Maryam was my niece’s successful blog, which now has 100,000 followers. She has won awards and she’s getting a lot of speaking opportunities. From looking at my niece, I know there’s so much hard work going into it, and that helped me understand what Maryam was going through. It’s not easy to put out content and engage followers every day. When I was paired with Maryam at the beginning of the program, I immediately followed her blog and it was a window to all the halal restaurants out there. My son loves Indian food, so I was able to give him tips on where to go because of Maryam’s blog. It’s a win-win.
What are the memorable moments or biggest takeaways from the program?
Maryam: I was going through challenges in my personal and professional lives when I had my first session with Asmita, followed by my session with Pam the next day. They both gave me a lot of advice and support to manage the challenges. From Asmita, I received words of consolation, and from Pam, I received specific guidance to look at my weaknesses and how I could improve them. The timing was so perfect! I got into this program and in the first session, my mentor and coach are already helping me. I realized that I can’t really run my business without first tackling issues in my personal life. Getting that level of support so early on in the program is something I find most memorable.
A few months ago, I had the idea of a start-up. I briefly mentioned it to Pam and Asmita and they were like, that’s a really good idea, you should go for it. It’s the first time that I shared my ideas with other people, and because they were being so encouraging, I knew that I had to kick it off. I remember Asmita saying to me, “Don’t let this idea die.” I’ve had so many ideas in the past but I never really started any, because I felt that they were just not going to work out and end up wasting my time. So now I’m finally working on the idea and looking for more resources. Because Pam and Asmita keep pushing me to achieve my goals and validating my ideas, I’m now more open to accessing the opportunities around me.
Asmita: When I met Maryam for the first time, around November, I knew she was going through some very challenging times in her professional life. But when we met again in January, she was a completely different person. Seeing that transformation, seeing how she overcame the challenges by herself, is refreshing. I’m not taking credit for it, she really did it with her own will power. As solo entrepreneurs, we are strong-willed people, and that can often work against us. Every time I met her, I was reminded of when I started my business, with all the hundreds of ideas I wanted to turn into reality. I would fail because I have such a creative mind and I wanted to execute all my ideas. That was something I worked on and I felt it was important that I shared it with Maryam.
Every time I participated in an FSI activity, where Vivian and Dani would be smiling and welcoming us, I wished there were more activities for the programme, because there was always something new and inspiring for me to learn. I know people have their time commitment and there is always a lot to do, but the activities give solo entrepreneurs like me the chance to get out of my comfort zone to meet this really diverse community of entrepreneurs. Being a part of this community is just extremely inspiring for me.
Pam: My memorable moments are the three gatherings – the kick-off event, the FSI anniversary party, and the Mentorship Program’s finale networking event. You get so much more buzz and energy when everyone gets together. I particularly liked the finale networking event – it was encouraging to hear the benefits and takeaways the mentees and mentors got from the program.
Who do you think should join FSI’s Mentorship Program?
Asmita: I highly recommend anyone who is a solo entrepreneur to join the program, because they don’t have a team, and this community can serve as their team. I really benefited from this program in the sense that I was invited to join this community of people coming from diverse backgrounds, and every time I come to an activity, I would have my energy recharged for the next week.
Maryam: Similar to what Asmita says, solo entrepreneurs who need a support system and some guidance can get so much out of the program, not just from their mentors and coaches, but also from other entrepreneurs. You can learn a lot from the journeys of other entrepreneurs, even though they may be working in a different industry. You can learn about how they overcome challenges, the mindset they have. It’s a contagious thing: when you’re in a room full of people who have a certain mindset or perspective on running a business, and you would be like, “Oh, I want to do the same!” So now I’m trying to surround myself with people with a positive approach and mindset.
Also, the program supports entrepreneurs beyond the program itself through FSI’s rich library of resources, like the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit. The resources are very helpful for me because it saves me the time to look things up. Of course I can look things up by myself, but it’s always best to have people who have the knowledge and experience of entrepreneurship to put together some useful resources to be shared with others.
As a solo entrepreneur myself, knowing that I have the support of the FSI team is reassuring. For example, I can message Vivian anytime and she is always quick to respond, giving me so much help and support because she genuinely wants to help me, which is something I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Pam: The title of the FSI Mentorship Program tells you who should join. It’s designed to help entrepreneurs from the ethnic minorities communities, and many are new arrivals in Hong Kong, who don’t have the necessary connections or speak the local language or even English. That’s why this program is valuable. I remember at the finale networking event on 9 March 2024, one of the mentees, Kebba Jallow, talked about starting up his business in recycling motor parts. I was gobsmacked at all that he has achieved in just one year, but he also gave credit to his mentor and the program. Of course, the business wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t put in the work, but it wouldn’t have happened either if he hadn’t had the support and encouragement of the program, and the mentor saying, “Yeah, go for it!”
Have you joined other similar programs before? Is FSI’s Mentorship Program different? Does it fill any particular gaps of needs?
Asmita: I joined a similar program before. It was run by a well-established NGO and wasn’t very well thought-through. FSI’s program is unique in that it does a lot of hand-holding for the participants, and the pairing of mentee, mentor, and coach is suitable – kudos to Vivian, who has a keen eye for personality matches. The follow-ups and timely check-ins are a reflection of the time and effort put into planning and executing the program. I think this is because, like Maryam says, Vivian genuinely cares about the program participants.
Maryam: I haven’t joined any similar programs before. FSI’s Mentorship Program is the first one I’ve joined that offers so much guidance, support, and resources. I think FSI’s program fills a gap of needs by offering solo entrepreneurs a team who can provide them with appropriate, practical advice. I can go to my friends but they may not necessarily have the right advice or guidance to give, but the FSI team know what they are doing.
Would you recommend FSI’s Mentorship Program to anyone? Why or why not?
Maryam: Yes, I would recommend FSI’s Mentorship Program to entrepreneurs who are struggling and don’t know what the next steps are! What’s great about FSI’s program is that while entrepreneurs in the growing stage can find tips and resources here, entrepreneurs who are hesitant about starting their own business can find encouragement and support from a group of people who believe in them.
Asmita: Absolutely, I would 100% recommend this program to others! A lot of value can be added to the program by bringing in corporate professionals and increasing the number of Impact Jams. I really enjoyed the business clinic co-hosted by FSI and Goldman Sachs for under-resourced women entrepreneurs, and it would be great to have more of such cross-sector collaboration. But otherwise, on a scale of one to 10, I will give this program 25!
Pam: We are the second cohort of the FSI Mentorship Program, and I imagine the programming for our cohort is better than the first one, and next year will be even better than the current cohort. This is because there is a mechanism in place to gather participants’ feedback. I just want to say a big thank you to the FSI Mentorship Program. If anybody has not yet experienced being a mentor or mentee or a coach, do sign up next year. I think it’s an incredible program and really worked for the people who were supported by the FSI team.
