INTERNATIONAL – Alibaba has partnered with the government of Rwanda to complete the first New Economy Workshop held at Alibaba Group’s headquarters in Hangzhou.
During the four-day workshop, twelve government leaders met with Alibaba executives across multiple businesses to learn about the transformative impact and promise of a new digital economy as well as how to drive economic growth by accelerating digital finance, logistics, e-commerce and big data industries.
The workshop follows the launch of the first African electronic world trade platform (eWTP) hub in Rwanda witnessed by President Kagame and Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma in October 2018.
Under the eWTP agreement, the government of Rwanda and Alibaba committed to work together to strengthen the country’s economic development by promoting policy innovation and providing capacity building to empower the growth of Rwanda's digital economy.
Angel Zhao, President of Alibaba’s Globalization Leadership Group said in a statement: "At Alibaba we have seen first-hand the transformative impact digital technology can have in building an inclusive society. This New Economy Workshop is meant to not only provide capacity building to Rwanda’s policymakers but also to inspire them to become advocates for Rwanda’s digital transformation and for the country’s technology entrepreneurs."
George William Kayonga, Chief Executive Officer, National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) said: "The Alibaba ecosystem has enabled millions of people to participate in the global economy and improve their standard of living through the use of technology. I see great opportunity for Rwanda to similarly build a digital economy allowing us to move rapidly up the learning curve using the Alibaba experience as our guide.”