We hear you, so let us explain: in Cantonese, a guidefong is a neighbor or friend in the local community.
A guidefong is the kind lady next door who minded you when your mom needed to nip out to grab a bottle of soy sauce (or who treated you to sweets when your dad made you stand outside the door for breaking the family’s treasured vase). A guidefong is the green grocer down the street who would always give you a few sprigs of free spring onion for your purchase. A guidefong is the little café around the corner that stayed open throughout COVID and worse times, despite dwindling profits and human resources, to make sure the community is fed homecooked nutritious meals. A guidefong is someone who supports and helps each other in the community.
GuideFong: Uplifting Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong
It is with this idea that GuideFong 街坊商店 was launched in Hong Kong in 2023. An initiative by the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), a tax-exempt charity addressing society’s biggest problems by facilitating broad collaboration, GuideFong is Hong Kong’s first-ever online directory dedicated to small and micro businesses owned and managed by ethnically diverse entrepreneurs.
GuideFong’s mission is simple yet powerful: to enhance visibility, promote social integration, and break down cultural and language barriers for under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, whose long-standing roots continue to enrich the vibrant cultural tapestry of the city today. By incorporating user-friendly navigation, the GuideFong online directory encourages the local public to explore and support a diverse range of goods and services offered by these talented individuals.
But GuideFong is more than just a directory – it is also a platform for celebration and empowerment. By telling the stories of Hong Kong’s grassroots ethnically diverse entrepreneurs like Malik Iftikhar and Senchu Chemjong, we shine a spotlight on the historical journeys of these migrant entrepreneurs or their predecessors, who share every Hongkonger’s love of Home Kong.
Today, there are more than 140 ethnically diverse businesses listed on GuideFong – businesses that are founded, owned, or operated by ethnically diverse entrepreneurs who participated in FSI’s annual Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs as mentees or mentors, whom our GuideFong team continuously engage with through regular community outreach sessions, and who connected with FSI via members of its entrepreneurial community.
GuideFong Bazaar: Support Hong Kong’s Multicultural Business Community
In celebration of its first anniversary, GuideFong will be further delivering on its promise to increase visibility for grassroots entrepreneurs through the GuideFong Bazaar, taking place on 8 September 2024, 1-4pm, at the Hive Sheung Wan.
The GuideFong Bazaar will showcase dozens of ethnically diverse businesses, including Nepcha, The Blomstre, ilm, Shilpa’s Masala Mill, Anvi Candles, Eternity Jewels, Foodie Explorerz, Africa Center Hong Kong, blooms.forever, BamPads, Asmita Das Photography, Siony’s Lutong Bahay Catering, Hot Hot Asian Groceries and more. Together, these entrepreneurs will set the bazaar abuzz with sustainably sourced Nepalese tea, lovingly handcrafted soy wax candles and home fragrances, flavorsome masala and spice blends, elegant designer jewellery, African fashion items and experiences, sustainable bouquets, and tips on the local halal, vegetarian, and vegan food scene.
Join this vibrant bazaar to meet and interact with fellow Hongkongers from diverse backgrounds, and explore the plethora of products and services handcrafted and sustainably sourced by the city’s ethnically diverse entrepreneurs. The event is free, but if you are interested in making a HK$20 donation at the door, you will get a HK$20 discount voucher to be used at any vendor for purchases of HK$100 or above. Visitors who want to support GuideFong’s work are welcome to buy raffle tickets and stand a chance to win prizes sponsored by the attending entrepreneurs.
All proceeds from raffle ticket sales will be used to support FSI’s ongoing endeavors to build a truly diverse, inclusive, and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem by empowering the ethnically diverse community through GuideFong, our annual Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs, direct business support, and the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit.
This September, be a supportive Hong Kong guidefong, visit the GuideFong Bazaar to celebrate the multicultural entrepreneurial ecosystem of the city! Register for your access here today.
