SCMP: Finding value in useless possessions
Me2You, a platform for swapping idle resources based on a point system, aims to create a circular economy and environmentally-friendly ecosystem by allowing users to give away their useless objects, while gaining value through their mobile application.
Stephen Wong See-yuen, the former chief executive at Asia Miles started his own business last year as he wants to focus on creating positive social impact through design and technology. He thinks now is the time to change the world.
Wong, chief executive and co-founder of Dory Network Technology and chief executive of Me2You, created the platform to confer a new value to unproductive goods for reuse from the donors to the next users and transform the charitable donations from entity to digital.
He points out Me2You is a benefit corporation, which needs to generate profit from business-to-business collaborations in the future, just like Facebook and Linkedin, but not a social enterprise. They have received fund from two co-founders and some angel investors.
"Me2You is different from those e-commerce platforms, like Carousell and eBay. It does not involve any cash," Wong points out. The main target of using those trade platforms is maximizing the return for sellers and getting the largest value with minimum investment for buyers.
Leveraging experience from Asia Miles' loyalty program, Wong introduced a points system, Sparks, to Me2You, instead of using money. Users will get 500 Sparks when they first download the application. They are allowed to use Sparks to get any object on the platform and find a new home for their donated resources. The Sparks value of the goods is decided by the users or the market.
Sparks cannot be bought by cash. To gain more points, users can put their idle commodities on the platform for interested people to exchange using Sparks, or introduce more friends to install the app. This encourages customers to offer high-quality stuff.
"I thought at first, the platform would flood with second-hand products, but it turns out many commodities are brand new, reflecting an overconsumption phenomenon," Wong says. Users are mainly female. They usually put perfume and cosmetics products, while males put gadgets, and gaming consoles on the platform, he adds.
Peer-to-peer is a channel for exchanging goods. Users are also allowed to donate recycled objects to non-governmental organizations.
Me2You cooperated with The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, to verify the identity of the NGOs. People can feel free to donate stuff, and even donate Sparks in the future to NGOs only.
NGOs, with a certain amount of Sparks points provided by Me2You, can also request specific goods by using their own account.
The group will partner with NGOs to organize a digital charity sale by bidding donated stuff with one-off payment through the app.
A plug-in social circle in the application can be customized by users. Users can form a small circle, let's say 10 of their friends and share their belongings within a group, rather than the public. Corporate users can create a staff circle for companies' communication and exchange, too.
Wong emphasizes the group will not gain profit from the consumer side but they may partner with corporations for promotions and creation of brand value by targeting suitable customers. For instance, business partners can put their promotional products on the digital platform for redemption.
Based in Hong Kong, the circulated platform targets the international market in a long run, except China. Wong explains there is a similar platform with 80 million users in the mainland, whose big market and the ecosystem are different from the other regions. Furthermore, there are only some barter trading platforms in foreign countries.
Me2You was first launched on January 24, which was a rough patch. "Crisis creates opportunities. Me2You brings into play amid the coronavirus," Wong says.
Me2You launched a project for citizens to donate anti-pandemic resources to the people in need in February. A second round of "HK2gether Combat Virus Resources Sharing" event, with support from 11 partners, such as CSL and Cyberport, has been held and will run till May 17. Fifty collection points scatter across Hong Kong.
The social platform have grown to tens of thousands users.