Malaysia, first Asian country to initiate Alibaba Netpreneur training programme

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be the first Asian country, outside China, to initiate the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme from March 23, 2019 to April 3, 2019, which will complement the ongoing Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiatives in Malaysia.

Alibaba group vice-president Brian Wong said the 10-day programme would be hosted at Alibaba’s Headquarters in Hangzhou, China, and the second training programme would kick off from April 13, 2019 to April 24, 2019.

The programme was aimed at enabling Malaysian entrepreneurs and those who operate businesses within the Malaysian market to embrace digital innovations to transform their businesses and the country’s economy, he told Bernama recently.

Under the eWTP agreement with Malaysia, Wong said the Alibaba Group was committed to facilitate the development of eTrade infrastructure and the adoption of best practices.

“The Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme, jointly organised by Alibaba Business School, Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and SME Corporation Malaysia, is programmed to cater to the different needs of different businesses in Malaysia, when it comes to adapting to the digital ecosystem,” said Wong.

Wong said a maximum of 50 entrepreneurs would participate in each of the training programme.

Asked if the training programmes would continue after these two batches, Wong said: “We are committed to working with the Malaysian government and businesses to share the know-how and best practices to enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to fully benefit from globalisation.

“We will continue providing training initiatives and conduct these programmes for Malaysian businesses.

“As part of our ongoing initiative under the eWTP programme, aimed at addressing various challenges facing Malaysia’s entrepreneurs, we will help both traditional businesses and digital ventures to convert challenges into opportunities to propel their business further,“ added Wong.

The Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme, aimed at enabling Malaysian entrepreneurs and those who operate businesses locally to embrace digital innovations, was launched by the Alibaba Business School.

“We hope participants will then share the knowledge acquired and their experiences with the wider business community in Malaysia and inspire positive transformation of the country’s economy,” he said.

On the enrolment and selection criteria to participate in the training programme, a participant must be a founder/co-founder or business owner of an officially registered venture that has been in operation for at least two years.

Other requirements, among others, include one referral in their application (referrals from a partner/organiser are preferred).

“The participant must also produce their official business licence when requested during the application process,” he said, adding that female entrepreneurs and local entrepreneurs, as well as, budding young, founders, co-founders or business owners were encouraged to apply.

Participants would learn and receive fundamental understanding of how new technology and the capabilities of a digital economy would enable national development.

Besides, Wong said participants would obtain key insights into the evolution of Alibaba’s ecosystem within a country-wide context, including failures, mistakes and best practices through sharing’s from Alibaba’s founders and business leaders.

“They will also garner key learnings from traditional businesses from a wide range of industries who recently went through the digital transformation in China and have the opportunity to go on field trips and interact with leading businesses within the Alibaba ecosystem.

“This will help them gain  first-hand insight into current innovations and a foundation of strategic thinking that will enable them to make improvements in their own businesses, industries, and ecosystem,“ added Wong. - Bernama