Inclusive Business
Lingnan University is distinguished by its commitment to regional development, leveraging its liberal arts education and research capabilities to foster sustainable growth and community engagement. Riding on our success in the institutionalization of the Service-Learning Programme, where Humanitarian Technology (HT) was artfully infused into our liberal arts curriculum, the next step involves impact cascading in the space of Inclusive Business (IB).
Leveraging the IB Framework for Enhanced Project Success
The team was the forerunner to bring IB experts, BoP Innovation Centre (BoPInc) from the Netherlands to Asia. In a week-long capacity building programme hosted by us here in Hong Kong, more than 80 relevant stakeholders, including practitioners and academics from United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines and Hong Kong were trained by subject matter experts and experienced fieldworkers. Topics included:
Financial inclusion,
Digital innovation,
Women entrepreneurship, and
Circular economy.
The training also looked into how the IB framework can augment existing community projects to contribute further to social impact.
Students from Lingnan and partner insitutions in Philippines working on IB proposal
Training of programme facilitators and student leaders
Local and regional partnerships for Inclusive Business
Establishing an Asia Inclusive Business (AIB) Hub
Our commitment is evidenced by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with 9 state universities in the Philippines to set up the Asia Inclusive Business (AIB) Hub. The AIB Hub serves to build capabilities among academics, social innovators, and small business owners to learn and apply the IB framework to overcome scalability challenges thereby achieving financial sustainability. This partnership will also accelerate IB research, education, and implantation in Asia, and generate novel case studies enriching the global IB community.
Community Impact of AIB Hub
The Inclusive Business Accelerator Programme (IBAP) was also launched in 2023. In collaboration with the Philippines Association of State Universities & Colleges (PASUC), 120 practitioners with extensive experience in HT, from 55 universities across the 17 regions in the Philippines, participated in the programme to develop IB models to overcome scalability challenges and achieve financial sustainability. Held in Manila, participants walked away with practical, implementable IB plans for implementation back in their communities. They also reflected critically and gained valuable insights from the collective wisdom of peers from other SUCs, building network connections better to understand the challenges and opportunities in the Philippines. IBAP laid a critical foundation for building a community of practice (COP) around IB practitioners showcasing a pathway towards scaling IB in Asia.
