Alibaba chief champions UN e-commerce drive for development
Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Tuesday the Internet should be a utility available to the whole world, putting his weight behind a UN call for e-commerce to boost developing economies and help fight poverty.
Ma, who advises the United Nations trade and development agency UNCTAD on small business and young entrepreneurs, was the star attraction at a conference on e-commerce for
development.
"The Internet should be treated as a utility and should be treated also as the infrastructure of global development," he said. "Everything will be online and everything online will have data. And data will be the energy for innovation."
UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said he and Ma would meet in Kigali in July with 10 African presidents and young entrepreneurs, aiming to persuade the politicians of their responsibility to help their young populations realize their potential.
Ma said his first trip to Africa would focus on e-commerce payment to support inclusive and sustainable development, as well as education and environmental protection.
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