90 Malaysian entrepreneurs graduate from the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme

• Malaysia is the first Asian country to initiate the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme
• Programme is part of the on-going eWTP initiatives in Malaysia

NINETY entrepreneurs and business leaders from Malaysia graduated from the first edition of the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Malaysia Programme, a joint initiative by Alibaba Business School, Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), and SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia).

The training programme is designed to demonstrate the potential of the digital economy and share the learnings from Alibaba and its ecosystem partners who have recently gone through a digital transformation.

Malaysia is the first Asian country to initiate the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme.

The training programme is part of the on-going eWTP initiatives in Malaysia and it aims to enable local Malaysian entrepreneurs and those who operate businesses within the Malaysian market to embrace digital innovation to transform their businesses and the country’s economy.

Following an extensive selection process, 90 entrepreneurs and business leaders were selected from over 400 applications. These entrepreneurs come from different sectors, including e-commerce, trade, fintech, logistics, tourism, manufacturing and big data.

The majority of the participants were founders or business owners of traditional businesses looking to transform digitally.

Congratulating the Malaysian entrepreneurs on their graduation, MDEC chief executive officer Surina Shukri commented: “The values and objectives encapsulated by the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme are in alignment with Malaysia’s goal of e-commerce expansion for Malaysian entrepreneurs. Indeed, this programme is another wonderful opportunity for our entrepreneurs to gain greater, practical insights into future-proofing initiatives.

“When they return home to Malaysia, this new knowledge and understanding of how to thrive in the new economy can be shared with fellow Malaysians - and this will definitely spur Malaysia’s growth onwards and upwards.”

Matrade Exporters Development deputy chief executive officer Sharimahton Mat Saleh said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Alibaba Business School on this initiative to provide the opportunity to export-ready Malaysian companies to undergo an experiential learning with world class experts; enabling them to better navigate the challenges in digital transformation in exporting their products and services.”

“The Alibaba Netpreneur Training programme was created to demonstrate the potential of the new economy to entrepreneurs and business leaders from the digital and traditional backgrounds, to inspire a mindset shift and accelerate transformation towards a digital economy,” said Alibaba Group vice president of Global Initiatives Brian A Wong.

“The training programme is also part of our on-going eWTP initiatives that aims to inspire many Malaysian entrepreneurs in their endeavours and help them to navigate various challenges they face to make the most of the modern economy.”

Harnessing digital innovations and technologies

The training programme was held at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Participants were offered first-hand exposure to Alibaba’s journey from a small startup to a digital ecosystem that empowers millions of SME’s and consumers, as well as the mission, vision, value, strategy and culture that contribute to Alibaba Group’s success.

They had an opportunity to witness the entrepreneurship spirit that has driven the Alibaba group since it was founded back in 1999, the integrated ecosystem of platforms including Tmall, Taobao Marketplace, Alibaba.com, Alibaba Cloud, Alipay, Cainiao, HEMA (one of the new retail examples in China), Eleme (takeaway service platform), Fliggy (tourist ecommerce platform), Youku (content and entertainment platform) in addition to relevant industry trends and developments such as New Retail and the impact of e-commerce in rural areas.

The participants also benefited from interactive sessions with Alibaba business leaders, ecosystem partners, other participants as well as the advisors in order to acquire more experience and inspiration from each other.

The site visits to rural villages and traditional companies going through digital transformation as well as the digital city experience provided participants with a greater appreciation of how a digital economy and well-developed e-commerce ecosystem can rejuvenate traditional industries, bring positive impact to society and even remote rural areas, encouraging them to work together to bring the benefits of a digital economy to Malaysia and to share their newly-acquired knowledge with their communities.

“With exposure to the Alibaba ecosystem and our network of partners, as well as our role in the transforming journey of China’s digital economy, we hope the entrepreneurs and business leaders will be inspired and able to discover more innovative ways to build a more inclusive as sustainable model for their own businesses while championing the growth of the digital economy back in their home country,” said Wong.

The conclusion of the first edition of Alibaba Netpreneur Training programme in Malaysia saw entrepreneurs and business leaders come together to share ideas for improving their businesses via a Business Hackathon. This session also allowed them to explore how their ideas can contribute to communities as well as the Malaysian economy.