Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba is set to unveil a new initiative for African entrepreneurs worth $10-million in funding. Called the Netpreneur Prize, the fund aims to build a community of 100 young, African entrepreneurs by 2030 who will receive grants totaling $10 million.
Ma will deliver a keynote about the Netrepreneur Prize and his vision for entrepreneurship in Africa as part of the “Netpreneurs: Rise of Africa’s Digital Lions” conference in Johannesburg.
The event is organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in South Africa, whose Secretary-General, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, will give an address on Africa’s digital transformation.
According to Forbes, Ma’s love of English took him to America where exposure to the internet and the ease of business that it enabled inspired him to create what is now the biggest e-commerce company in China. With a market capitalization of $542 billion after its 2014 IPO, Alibaba is now one of the world’s top-ten most-valuable companies.
