Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been appointed as a special adviser on youth entrepreneurship and small business to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Prior to this, Ma has also been the chairman of the small business development task force advising the G20, according to SCMP.
Ma a perfect fit for the role
Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD sgoecretary-general, said that Ma “brings a visionary approach to entrepreneurship, a thirst for learning, and a belief in a better world that make him a perfect match for Unctad.” Kituyi went on to say that Ma, along with UNCTAD, will work towards empowering the left-behind communities globally.
Ma, in his role as a special advisor, will make efforts to ensure that young entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing countries make a better show on the global front and promote the United Nations’ 2030 agenda of sustainable development, reports SCMP.
The Alibaba founder said, “I have spent my career working with entrepreneurs and know the positive social and economic impact when people are given the opportunity to participate in the global economy.”
Earlier this month, Ma put forward the idea of an Electronic World Trade Platform which would strengthen digital trade and incorporate small and medium-sized enterprises into the global economy, notes SCMP. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim feels that Ma has witnessed the efforts made by China to lift 700 million people out of poverty by bringing in more trade and competition, and these principles can be employed in other countries as well.
Alibaba leads China’s digital ad market
In other Alibaba news, according to eMarketer, the company enjoys the largest share of China’s digital ad market. Alibaba and other e-commerce companies are the beneficiaries of growing mobile ad spending, and Alibaba continues to gain the lion’s share of that spending. The company holds the top rank with mobile ad revenues of $11.1 billion.
The research firm said that Chinese e-commerce majors Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent will benefit from the higher ad spend in the future as well. According to a report, China is leading in advertising activity, and this year, the country will be home to more than a fifth of all digital ad spending worldwide, amounting to $41.66 billion.
While ad spend revenue for Baidu could come under a cloud due to challenges faced by the company over the past few months, Alibaba and Tencent will continue to rake in higher revenues. Shelleen Shum of eMarketer said that Alibaba will remain immune to the recent internet advertising regulations and will beef up its share of digital ad revenues compared to Baidu in 2016.
