Alibaba launches $130 mn fund to invest in Hong Kong entrepreneurs

The Entrepreneurs Fund for Hong Kong will be Alibaba's first entrepreneur-support initiative exclusively for Hong Kong, reports Tech in Asia

Alibaba today launched the Entrepreneurs Fund for Hong Kong— an HK$1 billion (about $128 million) not-for-profit foundation to support Hong Kong start-ups.

Alibaba says the foundation will be managed by professional investment managers. But whereas traditional venture capital funds are designed to generate profits for limited partners, profits from Alibaba’s Hong Kong foundation will be re-invested into start-ups.
 

“Through the Foundation, Hong Kong entrepreneurs will have access to financial capital, technical assistance and training so they can realise their dreams and visions. Alibaba hopes that the resources provided by the Foundation will help unleash Hong Kong’s potential for innovation and entrepreneurship,” reads Alibaba’s official statement.
 

Alibaba adds that the foundation will also select 200 university students from Hong Kong annually to intern at Alibaba Group’s businesses in mainland China. The foundation is expected to launch in “the second half of this year.”
 

Despite how Hong Kong and Taiwan share linguistic, cultural, and geographic ties to mainland China, these three markets have different internet legacies, which reduce the possibility of cross-border start-up success. In addition, Hong Kong’s small size means it’s seldom a hot destination for expansion, especially when China’s internet ecosystem is so big and so isolated.
 

But recently Alibaba and other large Chinese firms have expressed interest in deepening ties with Hong Kong and Taiwan. On the execution level, Alibaba has been aggressively promoting Taobao in these markets, in hopes of attracting more buyers and sellers to its peer-to-peer ecommerce site. In addition, during a visit to Taiwan, Alibaba chairman Jack Ma broadly outlined a grant scheme for Taiwanese entrepreneurs that resembles the one just announced for Hong Kong. 

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.