Pink dolphin: Look pa, no males! Hong Kong’s females-only swimming academy seeks to foster an inclusive swimming community
Publication Type
Case
Publication Date
9-2025
Abstract
Bibi Tayyaba and Rachel Leung co-founded Pink Dolphin, a pioneering initiative in Hong Kong aimed at providing a safe and inclusive environment for female swimming learners, particularly those from ethnic minority (EM) groups who have modesty concerns on account of their religious beliefs. The swimming academy offered swimming lessons at various levels, as well as water therapy sessions, catering to females of all ages, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds. Pink Dolphin’s certified swimming coaches and lifeguards were all females, and males were not permitted in the pool area during classes. In addition, Pink Dolphin aimed to empower EM females by training them to become swimming coaches and lifeguards.
While Pink Dolphin had been attracting a steady flow of female students since its inception in 2021, lessons were conducted at only one location in Hong Kong, and also only on Sundays in the afternoon, when Tayyaba was free to help out. If the social enterprise were to scale its operations, how should it do so? Also, while it was never the intention of the co-founders to make the swimming academy an exclusive group, some people had misunderstood the nature of the social enterprise and questioned why its clientele was primarily female and also largely non-Chinese. What could Tayyaba and Leung do to scale operations and achieve their vision of developing an inclusive swimming community in the city?
This case is designed for entrepreneurship courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as executive development programmes. Students who have successfully examined the case should be able to achieve the following learning objectives: identify the business opportunity and challenges, evaluate the potential of the social opportunity, develop a theory of change, and apply this to another organisation.
Keyword(s)
scaling entrepreneurial ventures, social enterprise, start-ups, marginalized groups, diversity and inclusion, gender
Discipline
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Strategic Management Policy
Area of Excellence
Growth in Asia
Research Areas
Strategy and Organisation
Data Source
Published Sources
Industry
Social Advocacy Organizations
Geographic Coverage
Hong Kong SAR
Temporal Coverage
2025
Education Level
Executive Education; Postgraduate; Undergraduate
Publisher
Singapore Management University
Case ID
SMU-25-0026
Additional URL
https://ccx-shop.smu.edu.sg/products/pink-dolphin-look-pa-no-males-hong-kong-s-females-only-swimming-academy-seeks-to-foster-an-inclusive-swimming-community?variant=43488943210538
Comments
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