Alibaba.com Launches “Manifest Grants Program” for US Small Businesses to Gain Momentum and Maintain a Competitive Advantage
Company’s second annual grants program to commit a total of US $750,000 to support American small and medium-sized businesses
Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest B2B e-commerce marketplaces and a business unit of Alibaba Group, announced the launch of its second annual small business grants program, the Alibaba.com “Manifest” Grants Program, to celebrate the innovativeness of US small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enhance the competitive edge of their products.
Established in partnership with Hello Alice, a free resource helping over one million small businesses launch and grow, the Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program aims to enable new entrepreneurs to succeed in today’s digital age through e-commerce channels. In 2021, 50 small businesses were selected from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants to receive a US $10,000 grant. Almost 80% of these recipients were persons of color, and 78% of the winning businesses were founded by women.
This year, Alibaba.com will partner with Hello Alice again to host and manage the application process. Alibaba.com has also decided to increase this year’s pool of grants awards by 50% in a continued effort to address the pain points small businesses face when scaling and funding their operations. 50 American small businesses will receive US $10,000 in cash and US $5,000 for logistics support when sourcing on Alibaba.com.
Additional partners include crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, Amazon product research tool AMZScout, and Black Entrepreneurs Day, created by FUBU Founder Daymond John. Together, these partners will offer Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program applicants and recipients a wide range of resources to support the growth of their businesses. These benefits include a one-on-one mentorship session with Daymond John for one lucky recipient and the opportunity for all 50 recipients to participate in a one-on-one crowdfunding campaign consultation with Indiegogo.
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.
“We believe there are three ways to help SMBs stay competitive: reducing costs, simplifying the sourcing process, and building brand equity. That’s why we designed this year’s Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program to highlight the creativity of small business owners and provide the tools for them to strengthen the competitiveness of their products. We are proud to offer not only increased cash grants but also unique opportunities for our grant recipients to access more capital and join Alibaba.com’s thriving community of small business owners,” stated Stephen Kuo, President of Alibaba.com North America.
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In addition, Alibaba.com has signed on as a featured partner for Black Entrepreneurs Day, a live broadcast event created and curated by 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.”
The launch of the second-year grants program coincides with Alibaba.com’s biggest sales event of the year, Super September. With promotions from global suppliers across all industries during the entire month, Super September gives new digital entrepreneurs the opportunity to take advantage of Alibaba.com’s new products and services that provide added efficiency to support their businesses.
