Impact Kommons: New World Development's Accelerator Program to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

Impact Kommons was initiated by New World Development (NWD) as the first start-up accelerator in Hong Kong targeted at achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). As one of the leading property developers in Hong Kong, NWD has developed its connected business ecosystem, covering property development and investment, retailing, transportation, infrastructure development, health care, insurance, and logistics. With "creating shared value" as its corporate vision, NWD wants to achieve business sustainability by both bringing significant returns to shareholders and responding to the community and stakeholders' different needs. Impact Kommons was designed to facilitate business integration between the start-ups and NWD's business units with the aim of developing innovative solutions to solve NWD's clearly defined problems and achieve the relevant sustainable development goals of the UNSDGs. Impact Kommons can not only accelerate the business growth of start-ups but also raise their awareness of sustainability issues in the early stages of business development. This case describes how NWD initiated and developed Impact Kommons to pursue its sustainability goals, what the program achieved in cohorts one and two, and what problems it faced during the implementation process. The case shows the value and challenges of using accelerator programs to help start-ups to grow while enabling well-established companies to address sustainability issues. The case enables students to realize the importance of corporate social responsibility to companies and raises their awareness of the UNSDGs. After studying this case, students will become familiar with developing and implementing accelerator programs. This case also encourages students to seek innovative solutions to address sustainability issues.