Alibaba Announces B2B eCommerce Competition Winners

After months of head-to-head innovative competition, Alibaba has picked the winners of its first-ever Outstanding B2B eCommerce Business Competition, held in Hong Kong.

The contest, which began in January, aimed to support Hong Kong SMEs in their quest to leverage eCommerce strategies to boost sales and grow their business. According to reports, United Art Metals Factory snagged three awards from Alibaba, including “Outstanding Hong Kong eCommerce Business,” “Online Platform Employment Award” and “Best Use of Resources Award.” United Art Metals Factory beat out the five finalists and nearly 50 contestants in the race.

With help from Citibank, Alibaba.com is launching a series of similar competitions for its International IT Fest 2015, organized by Hong Kong’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

“We are delighted with the encouraging response from Hong Kong SMEs fro the Competition,” said Alibaba.com’s General Manager of its Taiwan and Hong Kong markets, Bryan Fu. “As the structure of global supply chains has undergone a number of changes, receiving orders online has been increasingly common. With the rapid changes in the market environment, eCommerce platforms facilitate procurement for SMEs and reduces their costs, helping them adjust their sales strategies through data analytics.”

He added that Alibaba has taken note of a new wave of SMEs with innovative ideas to disrupt the global B2B supply chain and enhance their business performances.

In a statement, United Art Metals Factory agreed that eCommerce platforms “bring unprecedented advantage to SMEs.”

The winners of the contest will have access to an array of resources from Alibaba, including training and exchange activities, organized in Hong Kong, reports said.

The Chinese eCommerce behemoth has made major strides to support small SME suppliers of the world in recent months. Last March, the company announced a new agreement to facilitate alternative lending with U.K. startups ezbob and iwoca, a move that is intended to promote small businesses in the nation that look to procure goods and services from Chinese suppliers.