Doing good to make money

Ant Forest, an application on Alipay.that allows users to convert their walking steps into points

ONE of the stories we often hear about China is how great their e-commerce is. You can buy anything – from watches to dresses and Peking duck to Shanghainese dumplings – all with just a few taps on your phone.

But one trend now gaining prominence in China that is not well known in Malaysia is the use of e-commerce to achieve social good. A good example is Ant Forest, an application on Alipay. Ant Forest allows users to convert their walking steps into points which are then traded for real trees that would be planted in the deserts of Inner Mongolia to combat desertification in northern China.