Alibaba begins search for next generation of Hong Kong entrepreneurs
E-commerce giant launches HK$1 billion fund to support aspiring businesses
E-commerce giant Alibaba began its search for the next generation of Hong Kong entrepreneurs on Thursday with the formal launch of its HK$1 billion fund to support aspiring businesses in the city.
The Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, a not-for-profit initiative that Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun flagged in February, will see qualified start-ups gain access to capital and be able to build their businesses on the mainland company’s various e-commerce platforms, affiliated companies and other enterprises, such as logistics and financial services.
“This is not a charity,” Alibaba vice-chairman Joseph Tsai said at the launch. “(Qualification) is exactly the same process that any other entrepreneur goes through to get funding from a venture capitalist. This is not easy.”
My mandate is very simple: find the best entrepreneurs, help them become successful, make money and put that back to the fund to help more people
The fund has appointed Shanghai-based venture capital firm Gobi Partners as its first investment manager.
“My mandate is very simple: find the best entrepreneurs, help them become successful, make money and put that back to the fund to help more people,” said Thomas Tsao, a managing partner at Gobi.
He said that having access to Alibaba’s large network of e-commerce businesses was “a huge competitive advantage for entrepreneurs in Hong Kong”.
Founded in Hangzhou in 1999, Alibaba runs the world’s largest online and mobile marketplaces in retail and wholesale trade. Its US$25-billion initial public offering in New York last year was the biggest stock market flotation in history.