Alibaba.com's Manifest Grants Program to commit a
total of US $750,000 to support
American small and medium-sized businesses; additional partners
include Hello Alice and AMZScout
NEW
YORK, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alibaba.com,
one of the world's largest B2B e-commerce marketplaces and a
business unit of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), announced today an
additional four program partners to its Manifest Grants Program
designed to support U.S.-based small and mid-sized businesses. This
news comes on the heels of its launch of the Manifest Grants
Program, a commitment of US $750,000
that helps new entrepreneurs succeed in today's digital age through
ecommerce channels, established in cooperation with Hello
Alice.
Hand-selected partners engaged with the Manifest Grants Program
include: Black Entrepreneurs Day, Indiegogo, Payoneer
(NASDAQ:PAYO), and AMZScout. Together, these organizations will
offer Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program applicants and 50 grant
recipients a wide range of resources, educational opportunities,
and marketing tools to support the growth of their businesses.
"The addition of these highly respected organizations to our
Manifest Grants Program will allow participants a vast array of
supportive resources and networks to build their small businesses
in this challenging market environment," said Stephen Kuo, President of Alibaba.com
North America. "The goal of the
program is to help small and medium-sized businesses boost their
competitive edge, and that's exactly why we chose to work with this
group of incredible partners. We're excited to find ways to expand
our program with some of the world's best known small business
resources and offer a robust support system to motivated
entrepreneurs."
The Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program reinforces the company's
commitment to supporting American SMBs as they continue to face
increased challenges in an uncertain economic
environment. Last year, Alibaba.com selected 50 small
businesses from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants to receive
grants enabling them to succeed in today's digital age through
e-commerce channels. Almost 80% of these recipients were persons of
color, and 78% of the winning businesses were founded by women,
underscoring the importance of increasing representation and access
to entrepreneurial resources within the SMB community.
Alibaba.com will sponsor and participate in Black Entrepreneurs
Day, created by FUBU Founder Daymond
John, which will be streamed online from the world-famous
Apollo Theater in Harlem on October
27th. At Black Entrepreneurs Day, Alibaba.com will lead a
conversation on innovations and initiatives that can support small
businesses and entrepreneurs through technology, grants, and
education. Additionally, one top Manifest grant recipient will
receive a one-on-one mentorship session with Daymond John.
"We are excited to have Alibaba.com on board as a partner for
Black Entrepreneurs Day 2022," says John." The show will air live
from Harlem's world-famous Apollo Theater, and together, we will
work to empower and educate even more founders from
underrepresented groups."
All applicants for the 2022 Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program
will be eligible for free access to the Indiegogo Education Center
Plus for one month, and a free seven-day trial of AMZScout's
products and services. The 50 grant recipients will be eligible to
be featured as part of the Indiegogo Alibaba.com grant recipient
collection, and Indiegogo will offer each of them a complimentary
crowdfunding campaign consultation. They will also receive 10 free
product ideas and analysis with the purchase of the annual bundle
from AMZScout, and grant recipients that sign up and receive a
Payoneer account have the opportunity to collect an award of as
much as $5,000 into their Payoneer
accounts.
"The Manifest Grants Program serves as an avenue to support
innovative small businesses in crucial phases of their
development," said Becky Center, CEO of Indiegogo. "Our goal is to
both open doors to new funding sources and offer entrepreneurs a
platform where they launch new and groundbreaking ideas."
"Finding inspiration, innovating and iterating on product lines
helps small businesses stand out in today's crowded market," said
Paul Ryskov, CEO of AMZScout. "As part of Alibaba's Manifest Grants
Program, we're excited to help inspire business owners bringing new
products to the table and cultivate successful ventures for years
to come."
"We are excited to partner with Alibaba.com and offer the
diverse pool of Manifest Grants Program participants not just prize
money, but also the opportunity to join the global Payoneer
ecosystem so they can grow their businesses across borders," said
Ya Wen, SVP Americas, Payoneer. "Whether making international
payments, receiving funds, paying taxes or accessing capital,
Payoneer opens SMBs up to economic opportunity on a global scale,
and we look forward to working with the US winners to achieve
this."
For the 2022 Manifest Grants Program, Alibaba.com and its
partners have committed to distribute a total of $750,000 to fifty American small businesses, each
of which will receive US $10,000 in
cash and US $5,000 towards logistics
support when sourcing on Alibaba.com. Program partners provide
guidance for all aspects of the business, from innovation, product
development and financial assistance.
Applications for the 2022 Manifest Grants Program are now open;
if you are interested in applying for this opportunity, please
visit https://helloalice.com/grants/alibaba/. To set up a press
interview, please contact alibaba@finnpartners.com.
About Alibaba.com
The first business unit of Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com is the
leading platform for global B2B ecommerce that makes it easy to do
business anywhere. Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com provides services
which cover all aspects of commerce, serving millions of
small-and-medium-sized businesses from over 200 countries and
regions around the world.
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SOURCE Alibaba.com