If you are an aspiring entrepreneur in Hong Kong, there’s a new fund that may give you financial support – as long as you are setting up your business on Alibaba Group Holding’s platforms.
The Chinese e-commerce giant said in a statement over the weekend that it is spending 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$129 million) to create the Alibaba Hong Kong Young Enterpreneurs Foundation, which provides select Hong Kong startups with funding, technical assistance and training to help them build up businesses through Alibaba platforms. The venture investment program will likely start in the second half of this year, Alibaba said.
In the long run, the nonprofit foundation could help Alibaba increase its presence outside mainland China by turning young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong into loyal Alibaba customers.
The foundation will also select 200 students every year from Hong Kong universities and offer them internship opportunities at either Alibaba or its partner firms, the company said.
Alibaba’s business model relies heavily on small businesses that use its e-commerce, cloud computing and other platforms. Its Taobao marketplace has about 7 million merchants, which are mostly small businesses, while its cloud computing arm, AliCloud, collects fees from businesses that use its data centers and other computing resources.
Alibaba’s relationship with Hong Kong has sometimes been complicated. Before Alibaba went public in the U.S. last year in a record $25 billion initial public offering, the company had initially been considering an IPO in Hong Kong. But Hong Kong’s stock exchange didn’t accept Alibaba’s proposed corporate structure that gave its senior executives the right to nominate the majority of its board.
According to a person familiar with Alibaba’s plans, the company is also planning to set up a similar venture investment foundation for Taiwan, although it is unclear how much money Alibaba will be spending on it.
At a business forum in Taipei Dec. 15, Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said his company hopes to help Taiwanese entrepreneurs who want to sell their products to mainland China.