Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: The Social Entrepreneurs Tackling Issues From Food Waste To Inequality |
Across Asia-Pacific, young startup and nonprofit founders are using an entrepreneurial mindset and technology to fight for better environmental and human conditions.
Three years ago, Anson Wong was at a Hong Kong café one evening when he noticed unsold baked goods being tossed into the garbage bin. That prompted him to quit his job as a securities trader and pivot to addressing the problem of food waste, which accounts for almost 30% of the city’s solid trash, according to the Hong Kong government. Together with childhood pal Jerry Lo, an Imperial College London grad, he cofounded for-profit social enterprise Eat100 in 2023. Its app offers surplus restaurant food packed in “surprise bags” at discounted prices—up to 70% off as the diner’s closing time nears. It had more than 20 restaurants and over 10,000 users on board as of mid-April. The app collects a 10% commission from vendors on every sale and turned profitable late last year, says Wong.
Wong and Lo are among this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Social Impact listees who are working to minimize food waste and tackle social and environmental issues across the region.
While other similar apps in the city target mid-to-high-end eateries, Eat100 focuses on vendors of budget fare located near universities, train stations and in residential areas. The cofounders now plan to include farmers on the app to sell produce that would otherwise be discarded. “Tackling food waste is the lowest-hanging fruit for individuals to create social and environmental impact,” declares Wong. “We hope this app can serve as a simple and effective tool to do that.” So far, Eat100 has received grants totaling HK$1.4 million ($179,000) from government-backed Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks and HK Tech 300, a startup support program run by City University of Hong Kong.
Tackling food waste is the lowest-hanging fruit for individuals to create social and environmental impact. Anson Wong, cofounder of Eat100
Tackling food waste is the lowest-hanging fruit for individuals to create social and environmental impact.
Also addressing........