As China’s eCommerce conglomerate Alibaba explores new ground in India, the firm will almost certainly bring B2B online commerce innovation wherever it goes. The corporation’s founder Jack Ma, who visited New Delhi on Monday (March 30) to meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, solidified Alibaba’s India goals and the role B2B eCommerce will play to achieve them.
According to reports, Ma has already revealed plans to boost investment within India and has recently acquired a 25 percent stake in India mobile commerce firm Paytm.
Having come to the realization that India’s eCommerce industry is one of the strongest in the world today, Ma reportedly discussed with Modi that the B2B eCommerce business model will be most successful in boosting digital commerce in both China and India. Unnamed sources said that Ma endorsed the business model as one that better supports small- and medium-sized enterprises than the traditional B2C eCommerce model. The B2B model, reports said, aligns with government commerce regulations.
Sources also told reporters that Ma focused the meeting on digital payments innovation and the rise in Big Data analytics services, and how they can gain traction within India’s businesses.
Alibaba remains the leader in B2B eCommerce, but new data from iResearch revealed just how strong China’s startups are in growing the B2B digital procurement market. India’s own B2B eCommerce startup industry is similarly flourishing, so a tie-up between Alibaba and Indian suppliers would likely be a one-two punch in growing B2B eCommerce in both nations.
