Alibaba Group have announced the 50 U.S-based entrepreneurs who will each be receiving a $10,000 cash grant as part of the company’s first-ever Alibaba.com Grants Program.
The Alibaba.com Grants Program, created in partnership with Hello Alice, the largest community of underrepresented entrepreneurs in the U.S., aims to support today’s Entrepreneur Economy by providing much-needed capital and resources to New Digital Entrepreneurs who are starting businesses online. 44% of these New Digital Entrepreneurs say they needed $5,000 or less in the first six months of launching their business and program applicants underscored this need in their applications, citing raising capital as their top business challenge of 2021. In addition to the opportunity for grants, the thousands of applicants all have access to the Alibaba.com Digitization Sprint for Retailers, gaining valuable insight into ecommerce basics like sourcing, digital advertising and supply chain management.
More than 12,000 applied for the grants, and the 50 recipients from each region in the U.S. are deserving entrepreneurs in industries ranging from beauty and health/wellness to tech and sustainability and are from diverse backgrounds:
- 80% of the Alibaba.com Grants Program recipients are people of color;
- 78% are women entrepreneurs; and
- 90% of recipients shared that the vast majority of their teams are from historically underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities and LGBTQ+.
“Today’s New Digital Entrepreneurs are erasing the boundaries of what’s possible and changing the way we think, work and live, At Alibaba.com, it’s our mission to make it easy for businesses to do business anywhere, which is why it’s an honor to support this group of incredibly inspiring entrepreneurs with start-up capital to catalyze their businesses and grow on their own terms. We can’t wait to see what these entrepreneurs accomplish.”
– John Caplan, President of North America and Europe, Alibaba.com and judging panel member
