Alibaba seeks to woo China’s young entrepreneurs with Taobao Maker festival as economic headwinds and competition mounts

Alibaba Group Holding has kicked off a big offline event to connect with small Chinese consumer brands and young entrepreneurs as the e-commerce giant continues to battle economic headwinds and increased competition in the country.

The seventh Taobao Maker Festival started in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday and is expected to last until the end of August, aimed at giving existing and potential shop owners on Alibaba’s online shopping platform Taobao Marketplace an avenue to showcase their ideas and share success tips.

The festival was started in 2016 as a marketing event to impress consumers but it has gained more importance for Alibaba in recent times as competition mounts from the likes of ByteDance-owned short video app Douyin, which uses its popular platform to gain eyeballs and lure merchants. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

At the event in Guangzhou, a selection of Taobao shops including a smart table-tennis gear seller and a fashion label run by rural women, took the stage to share their Taobao experiences and aspirations.

“A common thing about building start-ups is that founders will definitely encounter big challenges that make them feel that they can’t live anymore,” said Trudy Dai Shan, one of the founding members of Alibaba and president of core domestic e-commerce at Alibaba. “Many people asked me if it’s a hard [job] after I took over Greater Taobao in January. I said it’s hard … but I just keep going and meet clients.”