Alibaba’s Big Bet On The Entrepreneur Ecosystem

A few days after Alibaba founder Jack Ma sat down with President Barack Obama to talk about the government’s role in encouraging entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, Alibaba opted to take an active role in just that.

Alibaba, Asia’s largest online marketplace, announced Thursday (Nov. 19) that it had established the Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs and retail innovators centered in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Between the two seed locations, a collective $436 million is being set aside to safeguard the future of entrepreneurial movements in Southeast Asia. Joseph Tsai, executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group, explained that the fund should guarantee the preeminence of Asian markets on the global stage for years to come.

“At Alibaba our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere,” Tsai said in a statement. “We are passionate about fostering entrepreneurial spirit and hope the resources provided by the fund will help unleash potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in Taiwan. I am delighted to have the support from the fund’s directors who share our vision and passion. Together we will help aspiring entrepreneurs realize their dreams.”

TechCrunch explained that while Alibaba may be fronting the capital for the new entrepreneurial war chest, the day-to-day operations will be handled by local venture capitalist firm Gobi Ventures, though other VCs may be added as partners in the future. Andrew Lee, former CFO of EnTie Bank, will serve as executive director of the Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation and will presumably be in charge of administering investment control powers as time goes on.

In a statement to Forbes, an Alibaba spokesman said that the decision to focus funds on Hong Kong and Taiwan in particular stemmed from the countries’ close geographical and cultural ties with mainland China. Whether this translates into greater entrepreneurial activity remains to be seen.