Talented young minds from universities in China, Spain and Singapore have been hailed as winners of the 2023 Alibaba Global E-commerce Challenge organized by Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (“AIDC”) after a series of rigorous competitions both at the regional and the global levels.
The 2023 Alibaba Global E-commerce Challenge aimed to identify young talent from around the world that can help shape the future of AIDC. Open to university students and recent university graduates worldwide, participants were tasked to develop creative solutions to problems inspired by some of AIDC’s real day-to-day businesses scenarios.
Since launching in March, this year’s competition has received an overwhelming response with around 3,500 individuals representing 141 renowned universities from 59 countries and regions participating. After the intense regional rounds held in Europe, the Americas, East Asia and Southeast Asia, nine teams were selected to enter the global finals held in Singapore from April 27-28. The finalists vied for the top three spots by pitching live to a judging panel formed by AIDC executives, to present their proposals around market opportunities and strategies for some of the businesses under AIDC, including Alibaba.com, AliExpress and Lazada.
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Team “Chunyi Capital”, formed by students from Peking University, took first place of the global finals for their innovative approach and teamwork, while Team “Checkout Champs” and Team “Merlion Consulting”, formed by students from ESADE Business School and National University of Singapore respectively, earned second and third place. The three winning teams were awarded prizes worth up to RMB50,000. In addition, AIDC will extend internship offers to select participants of the global finals.
“We were impressed by the insightful and innovative proposals by the finalists in the Alibaba Global E-Commerce Challenge. AIDC is committed to nurturing young talent in the international digital commerce space and we are excited to welcome some of the bright minds from the competition as interns with our company. We look forward to seeing their future success,” said Lilian Jiang, Chief People Officer of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
“We are humbled and elated to have won the Alibaba Global E-Commerce Challenge. This competition has been an incredible journey, pushing us to our limits and helping us develop a deeper understanding of the digital commerce sector. We look forward to applying the knowledge and skills we have gained to drive positive change in the industry. Thank you to the organizers and judges for this opportunity,” said Chunyi from Team Chunyi Capital at Peking University.
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Several earlier participants of the competition, including HUA Wen, who placed third in the previous edition of the competition, have joined AIDC and made significant contributions to the team. Sharing her advice with this year’s winners, Hua said: “When opportunities arise, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and don’t let societal expectations dictate your choices. Life is about experiences, not just fulfilling a purpose.”
To enhance the finalists’ experience during their time in Singapore, AIDC arranged a tour of its Singapore office for all participants to allow them to gain a deeper understanding of its organization, interact with the AIDC team, and witness its operations in action. The experience provided valuable learning opportunities for the finalists and helped them gain a more comprehensive understanding of the e-commerce sector.
AIDC operates multiple international commerce retail businesses, including Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz, which provide commerce infrastructure and local market insights to support brands and merchants in serving local consumers with a wide product selection and unique customer experiences. The company also operates Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce founded in 1999 that aims to make it easy to do business anywhere.