Right after attending the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Singapore I went to Hong Kong to meet with women entrepreneurs one on one. Facilitating an intimate get-together with our current members and associates was the icing on the cake.
Alexandra Yung (left in picture), one of our valued members in Hong Kong, wrote an interesting piece on women entrepreneurs in Asia:
Women who live in Asia are more career minded than women in the west simply due to the fact that we can have affordable live-in helpers. The domestic helpers as they are referred to come mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia with a small number from Nepal and Sri Lanka. These domestic helpers are on a 2 year contract to help clean, cook, do laundry and take care of children or elderly people.
With the helper taking care of babies and children, women are able to continue working without having to care for their young during the day.
In an entrepreneurial environment such as Hong Kong, it is very attractive for women have their own business. Women can work from home but have the flexibility of going out for meetings knowing their kids are taken care of. If they have a business that is away from home, they have peace of mind that they have round the clock child care at home. Their kids are dropped off and picked up from school by the helper, as well as accompanied to after school activities like piano, ballet or soccer practice. and be home to have dinner with mom in the evenings. Some families have more than one helper. One for each child. Or in some cases, one who is good at cooking and one who is experienced in child care.
With such support at home, women in Asia are totally free to create million dollar businesses. In Hong Kong, you can get a business license, open a bank account and be in business all in just a day.
A small compact place packed full of vibrant energy, Hong Kong is the networking capital of the world. Networking events are found every evening of the week, and in some nights with multiple events going on at the same time. This makes networking a key ingredient to meeting people who can ultimately turn into customers for your business.
It's no wonder Hong Kong is such an ideal place for entrepreneurs and one that fuels the entrepreneurial spirit in every man and increasing numbers of women.
