Our Story

We are a team of Hongkongers who aim to assist fellow citizens in getting government funding.

It is part of a government’s fundamental duties to allocate resources to tackle poverty, create jobs and foster local arts and culture. Government departments and authorities must act carefully and responsibly in spending public money, thus it makes sense to put each application to scrutiny. Complex and cumbersome application procedures, however, become a barrier for citizens of Hong Kong in obtaining fundings. The following factors contribute to the challenge:

1. Funding application processes often require pages and pages of wordy explanations and detailed projections to be submitted, and various pre-requisites and technical requirements are found in the “small prints” that may not be apparent to inexperienced applicants. Very often the ideas are great, but they lack the appropriate presentation or substantiation on paper to be awarded.
2. Government funding is typically paid by way of reimbursements, with some (if not all) payments actually made at the end of a funded year after the completion of financial reporting and auditing. As a result, an applicant may have severe cash flow concerns even if the funding application is successful.
3. Matching grants are often required for large size funding, i.e. the government would only fund 50% of the project and a successful applicant must source the other 50% on its own. This could be a significant challenge for applicants without a network of funding sources. 

With our experience in corporate finance and banking laws, regulations and procedures, media operations and public relations, NGO projects, as well as a passion for arts and culture and social justice, we offer our services to support Hongkongers in making funding applications. Leveraging our network in various industries, we also connect applicants with industry experts for valuable comment and advice. In addition, if a matching grant is required from the private sector, we also help applicants to reach out to potential backers on a best effort basis.

In light of the challenging global and local market conditions, we understand most enterprises and organisations do not have the luxury of paying for a service – unless they get the funding approved. We therefore adopt the “pay if you succeed” model, where our service fee, representing a percentage of the funding actually obtained, will only be charged if the application is successful. Otherwise, we only charge a small, flat administrative fee for each application.

Residing in Hong Kong, Singapore and America, our team members are internationally minded with global perspectives, but we always take the future of Hong Kong to heart. We found “sehji” in order to contribute our knowledge and expertise we have gained in our respective fields. We have experience in applying for various types of government funding, as well as operating both profit-making and non-profit-making entities. 

sehji is dedicated to helping Hongkongers build a future that is robust and diverse, where social resources are equitably distributed and worthy causes may thrive.