12.15.21
Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest b2b ecommerce marketplaces and a business unit of Alibaba Group, today announced the 50 entrepreneurs each receiving $10,000 grants from the first-ever Alibaba.com Grants Program.
A total of $500,000 in grant support will fuel new participants in the Entrepreneur Economy. Recipients were selected from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants who submitted their product idea or go-to-market strategy for consideration by Alibaba.com’s panel of expert judges.
“Today’s New Digital Entrepreneurs are erasing the boundaries of what’s possible and changing the way we think, work and live,” said John Caplan, president of North America and Europe of Alibaba.com and judging panel member. “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.”
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.
Forty-four percent of these new digital entrepreneurs say they needed $5,000 or less in the first six months of launching their businessand 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.
Forty-four percent of these new digital entrepreneurs say they needed $5,000 or less in the first six months of launching their businessand 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.
“Starting a business is challenging no matter the circumstances,” said Elizabeth Gore, president and co-founder of Hello Alice. “But we know certain socioeconomic factors can make the entrepreneurial journey even more difficult. That’s why we’re proud to share that almost 80% of the Alibaba.com Grants Program recipients are people of color and about 78% are women entrepreneurs. Importantly, almost 90% of recipients shared that the vast majority of their teams hail from historically underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities, military veterans and LGBTQ+.”
The 50 Alibaba.com Grants Program recipients include entrepreneurs with business plans to help create a more healthy, sustainable, beautiful, knowledgeable or equitable world. Following the close of the application period in late October, applications were evaluated by Alibaba.com’s expert judging panel from across the ecommerce ecosystem. They are: John Caplan, president of North America and Europe of Alibaba.com; Elizabeth Gore, president and co-founder of Hello Alice; TJ Hyland, director of global partnerships at Elevate Brands; Ines Belakhdar, founder and CEO of conscious fashion retailer Bynes NY; and Tatiana James, entrepreneur and ecommerce expert.
Applications were reviewed based on the entrepreneur’s demonstration of the market opportunity, the business model/product innovation, and their plans for using the funds to grow their business.
Xuemei (Sarah) Li is the Founder of Element Mom, one of the first K-Beauty skincare brands in the U.S. solely focused on maternity and motherhood personal care. Founded by Sarah in Los Angeles, California during the height of the global pandemic in 2020, Element Mom was conceived from the desire to bring clean, highly effective and affordable skincare products to all moms.
Aurelia Edwards is the founder of Nailstry, an innovative beauty app that simplifies the press-on nail shopping experience. Her app utilizes computer vision, AR, and machine learning to more easily detect and measure users’ fingernails for accurate sizing—eliminating the need for sizing kits which are usually thrown away.
Ashley Piszek is the founder of Miss Swiss, a beauty brand that focuses on Glamour on the Go. Unlike large beauty brands that have a broad product offering of general makeup products, their niche is providing products designed for everyday busy life or travel.
For more information on the Alibaba.com Grants Program and recipients, visit Alibabaus.co/grants_program.