Alibaba.com Announces Expansion of Manifest Grants Program; Notable U.S.-Based Partners Include Indiegogo, Payoneer, and Black Entrepreneurs Day

Alibaba.com's Manifest Grants Program to commit a total of US $750,000 to support American small and medium-sized businesses; additional partners include Hello Alice and AMZScout

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alibaba.com, one of the world's largest B2B e-commerce marketplaces and a business unit of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), announced today an additional four program partners to its Manifest Grants Program designed to support U.S.-based small and mid-sized businesses. This news comes on the heels of its launch of the Manifest Grants Program, a commitment of US $750,000 that helps new entrepreneurs succeed in today's digital age through ecommerce channels, established in cooperation with Hello Alice.

Hand-selected partners engaged with the Manifest Grants Program include: Black Entrepreneurs Day, Indiegogo, Payoneer (NASDAQ:PAYO), and AMZScout. Together, these organizations will offer Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program applicants and 50 grant recipients a wide range of resources, educational opportunities, and marketing tools to support the growth of their businesses.

"The addition of these highly respected organizations to our Manifest Grants Program will allow participants a vast array of supportive resources and networks to build their small businesses in this challenging market environment," said Stephen Kuo, President of Alibaba.com North America. "The goal of the program is to help small and medium-sized businesses boost their competitive edge, and that's exactly why we chose to work with this group of incredible partners. We're excited to find ways to expand our program with some of the world's best known small business resources and offer a robust support system to motivated entrepreneurs."

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. Last year, Alibaba.com selected 50 small businesses from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants to receive grants enabling them to succeed in today's digital age through e-commerce channels. Almost 80% of these recipients were persons of color, and 78% of the winning businesses were founded by women, underscoring the importance of increasing representation and access to entrepreneurial resources within the SMB community.

Alibaba.com will sponsor and participate in Black Entrepreneurs Day, created by FUBU Founder Daymond John, which will be streamed online from the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem on October 27th. At Black Entrepreneurs Day, Alibaba.com will lead a conversation on innovations and initiatives that can support small businesses and entrepreneurs through technology, grants, and education. Additionally, one top Manifest grant recipient will receive a one-on-one mentorship session with 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."

All applicants for the 2022 Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program will be eligible for free access to the Indiegogo Education Center Plus for one month, and a free seven-day trial of AMZScout's products and services. The 50 grant recipients will be eligible to be featured as part of the Indiegogo Alibaba.com grant recipient collection, and Indiegogo will offer each of them a complimentary crowdfunding campaign consultation. They will also receive 10 free product ideas and analysis with the purchase of the annual bundle from AMZScout, and grant recipients that sign up and receive a Payoneer account have the opportunity to collect an award of as much as $5,000 into their Payoneer accounts.

"The Manifest Grants Program serves as an avenue to support innovative small businesses in crucial phases of their development," said Becky Center, CEO of Indiegogo. "Our goal is to both open doors to new funding sources and offer entrepreneurs a platform where they launch new and groundbreaking ideas."

"Finding inspiration, innovating and iterating on product lines helps small businesses stand out in today's crowded market," said Paul Ryskov, CEO of AMZScout. "As part of Alibaba's Manifest Grants Program, we're excited to help inspire business owners bringing new products to the table and cultivate successful ventures for years to come."

"We are excited to partner with Alibaba.com and offer the diverse pool of Manifest Grants Program participants not just prize money, but also the opportunity to join the global Payoneer ecosystem so they can grow their businesses across borders," said Ya Wen, SVP Americas, Payoneer. "Whether making international payments, receiving funds, paying taxes or accessing capital, Payoneer opens SMBs up to economic opportunity on a global scale, and we look forward to working with the US winners to achieve this." 

For the 2022 Manifest Grants Program, Alibaba.com and its partners have committed to distribute a total of $750,000 to fifty American small businesses, each of which will receive US $10,000 in cash and US $5,000 towards logistics support when sourcing on Alibaba.com. Program partners provide guidance for all aspects of the business, from innovation, product development and financial assistance.

Applications for the 2022 Manifest Grants Program are now open; if you are interested in applying for this opportunity, please visit https://helloalice.com/grants/alibaba/. To set up a press interview, please contact alibaba@finnpartners.com.

About Alibaba.com

The first business unit of Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com is the leading platform for global B2B ecommerce that makes it easy to do business anywhere. Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com provides services which cover all aspects of commerce, serving millions of small-and-medium-sized businesses from over 200 countries and regions around the world. 

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SOURCE Alibaba.com