{"id":39920,"date":"2023-10-20T15:05:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/alibaba-launches-melbourne-headquarters-as-jack-ma-announces-26-million-scholarship-program-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:05:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:05:13","slug":"alibaba-launches-melbourne-headquarters-as-jack-ma-announces-26-million-scholarship-program-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/alibaba-launches-melbourne-headquarters-as-jack-ma-announces-26-million-scholarship-program-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Alibaba launches Melbourne headquarters as Jack Ma announces $26 million scholarship program – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has pledged to support Australian and New Zealand SMEs with the opening of its Melbourne headquarters.<\/p>\n

The offices\u00a0opened on Saturday with founder and executive chairman Jack Ma revealing Alibaba\u2019s operations across ANZ will continue to be headed up by Maggie Zhou.<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0Aussie SMEs get direct line to China with Australia\u2019s new Alibaba deal: Three things you need to know<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Zhou has been representing Alibaba in Australia for nine months, since the company announced it would establish an Australian base<\/a>. Zhou said in a statement\u00a0that having a physical presence in Australia\u00a0would make it easier for local businesses to sell into China.<\/p>\n

\u201cA physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world,\u201d Zhou said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLonger term, Alibaba Group\u2019s vision for the ANZ region is to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alibaba owns online marketplace and eBay competitor TMall and e-commerce website Aliexpress, along with\u00a0many other platforms. In 2016, Australia was ranked fifth for selling products via TMall.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fairfax<\/em> reports the Victorian government<\/a> provided Alibaba with a number of \u201cincentives\u201d to establish its headquarters in Melbourne. Speaking at the launch event, Ma said he would use funds from the state government\u00a0to support local businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government giving money to us, supporting our business, we should be using this money for small business here, training people here,\u201d Ma said reports\u00a0Fairfax.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn China, they say if a company gets money from the government this is a stupid company and we appreciate the generosity of the friendliness of this government and I promise we will use this money in a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ma also met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull the day after the launch event, with the two sharing a vision of increased cross-border trade to benefit small businesses and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world,\u201d Ma said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia will always have a special place in my heart and that\u2019s why I am so pleased to come back to contribute to supporting Australian businesses to create opportunities and jobs in a country that has meant so much for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and small business minister Philip Dalidakis also attended the launch, and both congratulated Alibaba for its Victorian launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is great news for Victorian businesses and exporters who will have greater access to one of the world\u2019s biggest markets without having to leave their homes,\u201d Dalidakis said in a release.<\/p>\n

Ma to fund $26 million scholarship program<\/h3>\n

Ma also took the opportunity this weekend to reveal he will personally fund a $US20 million ($AUD26.4 million) scholarship program at the University of Newcastle.<\/p>\n

Named the Ma and Morley Scholarship program, the sizeable philanthropic gesture honours Ma\u2019s friendship with Ken Morley, a Newcastle resident who Ma met while Morley was on tour in China.<\/p>\n

Morley then became a \u201chighly influential figure\u201d in Ma\u2019s life, and the two remained close friends until Morley\u2019s death in 2004.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo honour the experience and the special relationship I formed with the Morley family, the Jack Ma Foundation is delighted to announce The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program that will inspire, educate and cultivate tomorrow\u2019s leaders,\u201d Ma said in a release.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlibaba was built by young people and we are committed to lifting up and empowering students so they can reach their dreams and ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students will be selected for the program\u00a0based on their \u201cinterest and commitment towards cross-cultural understanding, cooperation and peace; social justice and equity; fairness and ethics in entrepreneurship and industrial relations; and sustainable development, including environment, conservation and renewable energy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The program, which will initiate 30 scholarships within its first year, will also support students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. At full capacity, the program will support 90 students each\u00a0year.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on SmartCompany<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has pledged to support Australian and New Zealand SMEs with the opening of its Melbourne headquarters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}