Alibaba Founder Jack Ma On Two-Day Visit To Kenya

Jack Ma, Asia’s richest man with a fortune of nearly $30 billion is in Nairobi.

The founder and executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba is on a two-day business visit to hold workshops with young entrepreneurs.

He will also have meetings with government officials where he will be urging them to bolster the country’s economy through e-commerce instead of creating regulations and taxes that could kill the sector.

Read Also: Do You Feel Unsafe Shopping Online? Here Are Top 11 Tips for Safe Online Shopping in Kenya

Mr. Ma is in the country in the company of other Chinese billionaires including Internet tycoon Bob Xu and Alibaba’s founding partner Lucy Peng. Others are founder and chairman of Mengniu Dairy Niu Gensheng and real estate tycoon Huang Youlong.

The billionaire-delegation have also been accompanied by 38 people from the Beijing Chamber of Commerce.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said Jack Ma, who is a special adviser for youth entrepreneurship and small businesses to the conference, will focus on opening markets for small businesses and encourage the culture of enterprise in Africa.

“I have discussed with Jack Ma and others that I would like us not only to grow African enterprises but also to start raising voices that a special market access waiver for produce from Africa, particularly from small business, is needed,” said Dr. Kituyi.

“Effort should be made to encourage young Kenyan entrepreneurs to access the Chinese market just like the Chinese are accessing local markets. Our challenge is not finding agents to import Chinese goods, I am looking for people who are willing to sell African goods to China.”

See Also: 90+ College Dropout Billionaires that Didn’t Complete their Studies

Jack Ma is scheduled to address 500 young business leaders at the University of Nairobi before meeting business leaders.

He will then fly out to Rwanda to hold a similar engagement.