A boost to a brighter African continent

Special training programme empowers youth with the skills to become innovative entrepreneurs

The efounders Fellowship is a joint initiative between Alibaba Business School and the UN Conference on Trade & Development (Unctad) launched in Hangzhou, China. Thirty entrepreneurs from all corners of Africa recently attended a 10-day training programme.

The current class is the third to have been selected to take part in the efounders Fellowship. The first two classes, from Africa and Southeast Asia respectively, comprised young entrepreneurs who attended intensive training programmes at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou in November 2017 and April 2018.

During training, the young African entrepreneurs established the mission, vision, culture and business plan of their ventures, with the help of Alibaba and Unctad. Alibaba hopes that these entrepreneurs will contribute to economic inclusiveness in Africa, with the vision of building a global economic infrastructure together.

Alibaba believes these entrepreneurs have a crucial role to play in creating a community of passionate and successful “Champions for the New Economy”. To achieve this, Alibaba has committed to sharing knowledge and experiences with young African entrepreneurs, now and in generations to come.

The latest class includes a Harvard MBA graduate from Nigeria who has 10 years of experience in investment banking; a 23-year-old world-class triathlete from SA; and a student from Chad, who instead of claiming inherited family property chose to start his own business.

Basson Engelbrecht, from SA, says he is eager to learn from the pioneers of digital commerce. At 23 years old, Engelbrecht is the founder of Hoorah, an SME e-commerce platform. His plan is to engage small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in SA with the vision of becoming the Alibaba of Africa, thereby helping to export more African goods and change more people’s lives for the better.

Roy Borole, also from SA, is currently running a company that provides solutions for SMES through data analysis. He hopes to gain a new perspective on e-commerce through his participation in the efounders Fellowship and learn how Alibaba formulates its business strategies for China’s market environment.

The future of Africa is inseparable from the Internet and the development of science and technology. Borole wants to be at the forefront of technological development, providing advanced technical support.

Each of these young entrepreneurs shares a common vision: to change people’s lives through the Internet. During the training programme, the African entrepreneurs will fully experience how China’s digital economy has developed, taking part in immersive teaching methods such as onsite lectures, field visits, case studies, interactive discussions, and one-on-one meetings.

Alibaba's digital economic ecosystem, including new retail, ecommerce platforms, inclusive finance, smart logistics, cloud computing, big data, rural e-commerce, cross-border tourism and other courses helps them to experience the culture, mission, vision, and values of Chinese companies. They will witness first-hand the development of SMES in China and how the Chinese government supports them.

On their return to Africa, the young entrepreneurs will use their knowledge and experiences to apply to their business ventures and help local communities. By combining the unique African market environment and their passion, business strategies and vision, they will become pioneers and founders of a brighter future in Africa.