Export opportunities for Aussie SMEs.
More than 5,100 aspirational buyers and sellers congregated in Melbourne over the weekend to attend the Alibaba eCommerce Expo, one of the largest events for Australian SMEs seeking to do business in China.
Held at The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on October 13 and 14, 2017, the Expo saw over 500 brands engage in workshops and information sessions to explore the cross-border export opportunities provided by Alibaba and its third-party partners.
Designed to advance the abilities of Australian SME to successfully export to China, the one-and-a-half-day event incorporated both an exhibition component and a full-day conference.
Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Philip Dalidakis, issued a special keynote address. “We have said from the start that Alibaba’s presence in Victoria would be a huge positive for our state and this is yet another benefit on display. Victorian small businesses will grow thanks to Alibaba meaning they will create more jobs for locals and strengthen our economy.”
Alibaba’s ‘Five Globals’ strategy was also outlined, featuring the five areas deemed crucial to building and developing the international infrastructure that will enable SMEs to succeed in China; global buy, global sell, global logistics, global pay and global travel.
Alibaba Group ANZ managing director, Maggie Zhou said, “Alibaba has always stood by small and medium businesses, it is in our DNA. At Alibaba Group, we know and understand the opportunities, the struggles, and the daily challenges that confront small businesses around the world to survive and grow.”
Alibaba has more than 529 million mobile monthly active users and there are more than 1,300 Australian brands on Alibaba’s Tmall and Tmall Global platforms with another 400 brands from New Zealand.