By 2046, more than one in three Hong Kong residents will be elderly, according to official projections. As a result, public attention has largely centered on the “silver economy” — the growing market of older adults. Less discussed, however, is the “carer economy” — and the infrastructure needed to support it effectively. While gerontechnology is often touted as a key solution to assist carers — whether unpaid family members, paid professionals, or migrant domestic workers — what’s needed is a more holistic lens that reflects the realities of their daily work.

Through this lens, four impact entrepreneurs — each a first mover in their respective domain — share how they’ve tackled distinct yet overlapping challenges. What lessons do they offer to those committed to building ventures in the carer economy? And what words of caution or encouragement do they have for other impact-driven founders?

Pharmcare and Drug Icon founder Albert Au

Medication instruction in carer support

Imagine being elderly or part of an ethnically diverse community, managing multiple medications without a clear understanding of the instructions. Since 2019, Drug Icon CC — an advocacy tool — and PharmCare, an award-winning impact technology, have worked to democratize medication access by offering visual medication pictograms.

Albert Au, a technologist-turned-impact-founder, reflects on his journey: “Fail fast, learn fast was my mantra in the early years.” Now considered a veteran in the field, Albert has come to prioritize value creation over market-product fit, financial prudence before cashflow management, and long-term de-risking strategies. His pivot from advocacy to providing “software as a service” to community pharmacies felt natural.

But Albert is clear-eyed about the business model: “Carers are not the primary revenue driver. You can’t make money directly from the carer economy.” Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a viable path forward. “Grants play a key role — from funding R&D to building user networks.” With his enterprises in what he calls “comfortable financial health,” Albert no longer feels bound by grant KPIs. He recently announced a strategic partnership in Taiwan.

His long-term vision? That Drug Icon becomes the universal emoji for medication use.

Drug Icon Application

Carer support for dysphagia management

Dysphagia — difficulty in swallowing — can lead to malnutrition and even death if unmanaged. Since 2019, Project Futurus has advocated for inclusive dining through soft food solutions. Founder and CEO Queenie Man, a first-time impact entrepreneur with a background in commercial branding, recalls how a modest government grant helped launch her pioneering efforts. That grant catalyzed her contributions to the Carefood Initiative and eventually led to a revenue pivot: consulting for both a traditional restaurant over 80 years old and a restaurant chain within a 30-year-old listed conglomerate.

Project Futurus founder and CEO Queenie Man

“At the start, we faced resistance and distrust from the industry. With no brand recognition, we self-financed our soft food mascot, Captain Softmeal, using entertainment to spark public curiosity,” Queenie recalls.

Grant funding, she says, was crucial for building brand momentum, adapting the business model, and attracting talent. “It gave me the space and opportunity to grow the corporate side of the business.” Still, financial sustainability remains a challenge. “I should have prioritized a commercial mindset and viable business model — and then figured out how to align that with social purpose. Being labeled a ‘social enterprise’ can be self-limiting, fostering buyer sympathy that actually hinders scalability.”

Project Futurus “soft food” product line

Queenie plans to continue financial break-even in 2025. Although regional expansion is on hold, her team is focused on consulting more local restaurants, maximizing new production capacity, and training inclusion ambassadors. Her ultimate goal? Seeing soft food products on supermarket shelves. “For the brand and business to outlast me,” she emphasizes, “you need solid financial resilience to do more effective impact work.”

Her core ingredients: “Collaborate, shed the NGO mindset, and stay agile enough to pivot.”

Longevity Group co-founder and Executive Director Lawrence Lui

Ensuring hazard-free living environments to support carers

Making living spaces safe for older adults has emerged as a niche revenue opportunity, with age-friendly home modifications moving into the mainstream. One public report estimates that such adaptations could save Hong Kong at least HK$5.67 billion annually in hospitalization costs by 2046 — and pegs the market potential at HK$1 billion.

Lawrence Lui, Co-founder and Executive Director of Longevity Group (LG), began this work in 2015, modifying homes for the elderly and mobility-challenged. “Ten years ago, modifications were mostly cheap or free. Demand was high, but early barriers included limited funding and a lack of differentiation from standard renovation services,” he recalls.

The business journey was volatile. “Just three years after launch, we self-funded a shift into gerontechnology — accumulating losses that still constrain our growth today.” A significant seven-figure impact investment eventually materialized in 2018, but Lawrence now reflects: “We should have focused on leveraging our existing market share. Every pivot was a response to growth or sustainability constraints.”

Today, his focus is on deepening LG’s local presence rather than exporting its expertise. The sector, he notes, still requires certified talent, funding incentives, and alignment on industry standards. As LG approaches its 10th anniversary in August 2025, Lawrence estimates the company has served just over 1% of Hong Kong’s 500,000 carer households — a “small aggregate impact” that nonetheless signals real market demand.

Despite single-digit margins and modest profitability, Lawrence remains committed. “All partners and investors in the carer economy need a shared mindset — patience to accumulate expertise, empathy, and lived client experience. As a first mover, you have to carefully assess each opportunity, filter projects and partners wisely. Wrong choices come with high opportunity costs — especially for inexperienced founders.”

Transportation options for the carer

In February 2011, Hong Kong had no legal wheelchair-accessible taxis — until Doris Leung launched Diamond Cab (DC), the city’s first fleet of five barrier-free taxis. Over the past 15 years, this trailblazing impact entrepreneur has navigated erratic funding cycles, operational bottlenecks, and surging costs, growing DC into a fleet of 18 vehicles and challenging the norms of Hong Kong’s taxi industry. As of Q1 2025, Doris is in the midst of a merger with a larger commercial taxi fleet and exploring opportunities in England’s accessible transport sector.

Diamond Cab founder Doris Leung

She defines her “first-mover” advantage as the ability to “control the development agenda, set industry standards, and stay ahead of followers.” That outsider perspective initially attracted skepticism—but by 2015, DC had its first commercial follower. In hindsight, Doris admits that DC’s brand success obscured deeper financial challenges. “My wake-up call came in 2017. I was diagnosed with cancer, and at a board meeting, learned we had just a five-figure cash balance. I realized, with shock, that my focus on brand-building had led me to over-rely on early investors to manage financial health — something I should have owned.”

While gerontechnology is often touted as a key solution to assist carers…what’s needed is a more holistic lens that reflects the realities of their daily work.

That crisis revealed a clear case of founder concentration risk. Fortunately, an interim CEO stepped in to stabilize DC’s finances. While the company still hasn’t reached break-even, a key shareholder transition to a seasoned taxi operator has injected operational funding and renewed confidence. “Despite lingering cash flow issues, this turnaround reflects earned trust,” Doris says. DC is now preparing to export its driver training program to England, entering a new and arguably more complex market.

Were the hard lessons worth it? “Accessible taxis can — and should — become mainstream in every aging economy,” Doris affirms. “But you have to think in terms of depth of scale, not just breadth.” Founders, she stresses, cannot work in isolation. “You need networks, awareness of economic and social trends, and a commitment to knowing your numbers. That’s a basic responsibility I should have embraced from the start. Still, I’m proud that DC helped influence the evolution of Hong Kong’s taxi industry.”