Jack Ma (photo), founder and executive chairman of e-commerce platform Alibaba, rival of US’ Amazon, announced on July 23, he is launching a $10 million fund for young African entrepreneurs. “I want that fund supporting African online businesses,” said the billionaire who is also advisor to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for Youth Entrepreneurship and Small Business.

Ma added that the money is ready and needs no third party approval to be released. Once its management teams are established, the fund should start operating before the end of this year. In the same framework, 200 young African entrepreneurs will be invited to Alibaba’s offices in China, where they will be taught about the secrets behind the tech giant’s success. Mode of selection of the potential candidates is yet to be revealed.

The Chinese entrepreneur was expressing himself in Kigali, Rwanda, which he was visiting as part of its African tour. This is the first time Jack Ma visits the continent. In Rwanda’s capital, he attended the Youth Konnect Africa summit which is co-organized by Rwanda’s government and UNCTAD.

Before this, he visited about 500 youth in Kenya, where he also shared his experience with Alibaba, which he founded in 1999, and currently valued at more than $231 billion.

Idriss Linge