CUHK-Google EYE Team JOBDOH Wins the Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge 2014
23 Mar 2015
「香港社會企業挑戰賽2014」圓滿結束 「職到 JOBDOH」及「Start on Stage」雙雙奪冠
2015年3月13日
作為全港大專界首個跨院校、跨學科的社會企業計劃書比賽 ──「香港社會企業挑戰賽」， 去年吸引了來自 25間院校、超過 655位專上院校就讀的學生、海外畢業生及畢業三年內的年青人組隊參賽 。總決賽及頒獎晚宴已於 3月 7日 (星期六 ) 順利舉行。 為弱勢社群提供臨時職位選配平台的「職到 JOBDOH」和致力培訓特殊學習需要的學童的「Start on Stage」成為「香港社會企業挑戰賽 2014」冠軍隊伍，為殘疾人士提供無障礙資訊的同路行@ccompany及致力透過水耕園藝促進市民心理健康的「繁承 EasyGreen」成為亞軍隊伍。冠軍和亞軍隊伍的每位隊員分別最多可獲 6萬及3萬港元的啟動獎金，實踐其社企項目。
由去年十月參賽至今，經過五個多月的努力，「職到 JOBDOH」、「Start on Stage」、「同路行@ccompany」和「繁承 EasyGreen」成功在175 隊隊伍中勝出，「Start on Stage」和「同路行@ccompany」更同時分別獲得「最佳演說獎」及「最具社會使命獎」。
今年的比賽繼續獲太平基業證券有限公司、香港女工商及專業人員聯會及經濟通有限公司贊助，增設「我最喜愛的社企計劃」獎項，讓公眾在經濟通的社企廊網站上從八隊總決賽隊伍中投選出他們最喜愛的社企計劃，結果「繁承 EasyGreen」得票最多勇奪殊榮。
此外，得到民政事務局一如既往的鼎力支持，「香港社會企業挑戰賽」的啟動獎金由冠軍隊伍延伸至亞軍隊伍。經濟通有限公司亦繼續成為比賽的策略媒體伙伴，在其專頁「社企廊」大力宣傳今年挑戰賽的消息。
隨著比賽即將踏入第九年，作為主辦機構的香港中文大學創業研究中心，會繼續肩負培育年青社會企業家的角色，透過挑戰賽提供一系列的培訓和指導，激發學生及商界人士開展社會企業的熱誠，將商業營運融入社會所需，開創社企新一面。
冠軍隊伍「職到 JOBDOH」兩位充滿熱誠的社會企業家
另一隊冠軍隊伍「Start on Stage」以甜美歌聲贏得「最佳演說獎」
亞軍隊伍「繁承 EasyGreen 」同時獲選為公眾最喜愛的社企計劃
另一隊亞軍隊伍「同路行@ccompany」身同感受，同時獲得「最具社會使命獎」
參賽者及各位來賓
startup of the month: JOBDOH
13 Mar 2015
13 March, 2015
JOBDOH are turning the tables on recruitment. Their platform transforms the casual labour market, seamlessly connecting available jobs with quality temporary labour. This startup is raising eyebrows internationally, with good reason.
We interview JOBDOH’s co-founder and Director of Business Development Xania Wong to get an update:
Describe JOBDOH?
JOBDOH is a location based booking platform for quality casual workers. All JOBDOH users are pre-screened, analysed and optimized to profile ideal employement for the users as well as the needs of the employers.
JOBDOH’s purpose is to “create trusted opportunities to enrich lives anytime, anywhere.” In addition to being a marketplace for quick turnaround part-time jobs, the platform can enable dreams to come true. Some of our JOBDOH case studies show workers seeing employment in order to take their pets to the veterinarian, to learn the ropes within the hospitality industry or to continue contributing to the society following retirement. Our location based function allows those with travel time and cost constraints to find work most convenient to them.
For employers, we reduce the hassle in recruiting casual workers by pre-screening and profiling potential candidates.
Who is your typical customer?
Since JOBDOH is a marketplace, we serve two groups of clients. On the employer side, we specialize in the hospitality and the exhibition industries working with hotels, mid-range to premium restaurants/ private kitchens as well as events management companies. On the workers side, the platform tends to draw in mainly students. We also work with NGO’s and government organizations to attract members of the underserved communities such as stay-at-home mums and the healthy elderly. Collaboration with NGOs will likely strengthen following our recent win at the Chinese University Hong Kong’s Social Enterprise Competition.
We’ve started with Hong Kong as a pilot city, but we are very interested in neighboring countries due to the market demands.
Tell us about your involvement in competitions outside of Hong Kong?
In addition to blueprint and Cyberport, we also became the first non-Australian finalist in the OzApp Awards held in Perth last month. From over 210 applicants across Asia Pacific, JOBDOH was honored to represent Hong Kong in the top five.
More global exposure for JOBDOH was gained with our unexpected selection by Seedcamp, Europe’s top incubator program based in London. In the past Seedcamp have invested in names such as Transferwise and are connected with investors including Richard Branson, Peter Thiel and Aston Kutcher. Our time in London went beyond establishing networks with high calibre fellow entrepreneurs and investors. The team lbenefitted tremendously from the advice we received on building and running a marketplace, since marketplaces are generally more prevalent and mature in Europe.
Why was JOBDOH chosen by Seedcamp, in your mind?
First and foremost, we have a dedicated and diverse team with a “can do” attitude. The team (Xania, Eric and Mary) met at Google’s Empowering Young Entrepreneur program last year. I came from banking, management consulting and multiple start-up experience; Eric has nine years of full stack development experience while Mary has architectural and branding experience in both Hong Kong and China.
With Eastern roots and Western perspectives, the team set out to solve a local and regional problem with a fresh eye. Since winning the program and visiting Silicon Valley, the team’s horizon has been continuously broadened through wining various awards and entering accelerator programs similar to blueprint’s. Doing so has introduced us to a world of mentors, entrepreneurs and investors, from whom we learn a great deal.
JOBDOH is tapping into a growing trend; responding to the rise in desire for more flexible work arrangements. This is a global trend and our proximity to the world’s largest labour market, China, has its advantages. There are over 60 million up-and-coming casual workers in China alone. JOBDOH is ambitious and nimble, our concept was formed in June 2014 and took just five months to go from concept to a private beta product serving limited key clients. Based on user feedback, we are continuously improving the platform functionality to deliver the best UX/UI experience.
What’s next for JOBDOH?
JOBDOH view ourselves as not just a marketplace but an eventual solution for flexible hiring and employemnt. We are dedicated to providing a seamless way to achieve work and life goals for all users.
Aside from achieving operational optimization, we intend to expand to the rest of the region, making JOBDOH a “made in Hong Kong” success story.
