Alibaba Group recently announced their latest morale commencement to cultivate local Internet and e-commerce talents to realize their true potential by knocking down walls between them and global opportunities. Staying true to the Group’s mission “Make it easy to do business anywhere”, Alibaba Group commits to support entrepreneurs by continuously launching initiatives to help them prevail under this unprecedented situation. 

In Vietnam, Alibaba.com – a cross-border B2B e-commerce platform, and Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) - an education arm of Alibaba Group, sponsored by Alibaba Foundation, are among practical and free resources from the Group’s expansive ecosystem to actualize their vision.

By expanding the “Business Beyond Border” mentality not only between nations but also overcome other mental borders, Alibaba Group features real and relevant stories from local SMEs and digital entrepreneurs in dominant fields, hoping to inspire others to develop their own business outside Vietnam with Alibaba’s ecosystem. These stories are outstanding examples of thousands of Vietnamese SMEs in Alibaba.com since 2019, and digital entrepreneurs who wish to acquire digital knowledge through professional trainings and extend their business to online platforms.

Bridging local businesses with global opportunities

Entrepreneurs in Vietnam are facing many challenges, which include the access and the know-how into global opportunities, especially when the global pandemic distances communities physically and economically. With this latest initiative, Alibaba wants to redefine the “Business Beyond Border” mentality within the local entrepreneur community. This vision should not simply overcome the physical borders between nations, but also bridging the separation between businesses and opportunities; entrepreneurs and new markets; talents and their maximum potential; traditional and new business models. 

The current economic situation calls for changes with a new mindset and a new vision. Alibaba’s new visionary mentality hopes to inspire entrepreneurs to leverage what the Alibaba ecosystem can offer to break down their own borders and truly transform their business digitally. 

The ecosystem to “Unlock your potential”

Through this initiative, Alibaba hopes to share their expertise and available resources across their ecosystem with entrepreneurs beyond market borders and allow them to develop their own digital economies in these critical times. 

In Vietnam, several SMEs have succeeded via Alibaba.com, spanning across key sectors such as agriculture, food and beverage, home and garden, apparel, etc. Earlier this year, Alibaba.com launched “The New Boom” initiative to offer an array of customized tools and services for Vietnamese SMEs to gain more traffic and exposure, including the re-imagining of exhibitions to adapt to the situation where offline trade fairs have been canceled.  

“Before joining Alibaba.com, 80% of the company’s revenue came from the domestic market, the rest belonged to exportation. After joining Alibaba.com, the ratio was reversed, indicated by a fact that revenue earned from this platform reached 01 million USD. It is undeniable that global cross-border trading through online platforms is nowadays the most effective solution to help SMEs overcome the difficulty in the time of the pandemic and even in the future”, shared by Mr. Tuan Luong - Deputy Director of Kien Thuan General Service Cooperative, about his experience of doing business on Alibaba.com.

Beside local dedicated teams that support and provide trainings for SMEs, Alibaba.com has officialized their cooperation with Vietrade (Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency – Ministry of Industry and Trade) earlier this year, the first step in their quest for building an alliance with local industry associations that fuels SMEs growth by reaching global buyers. 

Along with Alibaba.com, Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) has been actively providing courses to digital entrepreneurs on digital transformation mindset. 

With Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programs to cultivate digital entrepreneurs, since 2019, AGI has conducted 13 courses in the Southeast Asia region, trained over 800 business owners across fields, including Vietnam’s. In January this year, the 1st Alibaba Netpreneur Training Program for Vietnam had been organized. And the second one is planned to organize in the beginning of next year with the expectation of spreading “Beyond Business Border” mindset to encourage Vietnamese entrepreneurs overcome the pandemic. 

To attend the Netpreneur Training Program, entrepreneurs could enroll here.

As a professional underwear manufacturer, Viviane., Ltd is one of the top participants from Vietnam joining AGI course. Ms. Khanh Nguyen, founder of Viviane, shared her thoughts on how AGI course has changed her business for the better: “AGI is a useful course for e-commerce people who want to learn about e-commerce and the digital economy in general. Throughout the training course are practical knowledge and experience from the experts, and most of which I can easily apply to my own business, especially in the process of setting up company’s mission, vision, and culture, which are the steppingstones to build a healthy and sustainable company. AGI also help me overcome the "small business” complexity to become stronger, more inspired, and to have clearer methodical strategies.”

The chance to become “Business Beyond Border”

The pandemic has re-shaped commerce activities all over the world. The significant shift in customer behavior with 65% global buyers now find their partners from e-commerce, put the pressure on traditional business models to transform to a new business model that are designed for change. 

In Vietnam, digital transformation has been accelerating in recent years. Business opportunities are brought in with new FTAs such as EVFTA, UKVFTA, RCEP… This is the golden opportunity for Vietnamese SMEs to move fast and go global. Alibaba Group will keep helping local Internet and E-commerce talents to learn, to change, to adapt and to unlock their maximum potential. The borders should be blurred not only between nations but also between business and global opportunities.