The founder and CEO of Alibaba Group Jack Ma is expected in Nairobi from the 19th July 2017.
The Chinese business magnate, who is also the UNCTAD special adviser on youth entrepreneurship, is expected to raise awareness about sustainable development goals.
Ma, together with UNCTAD secretary general Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, is also expected to meet up with young entrepreneurs.
The objective will be to brainstorm ways in which the youth and small businesses can be part of the global trade.
As a respected business leader, Jack Ma is set to share some valuable wisdom with the young generation.
Jack Ma in Rwanda
Kenya is not the only stop that Jack Ma is expected to make in Africa since he is scheduled to attend the inaugural of YouthConnekt Africa Summit in Kigali Rwanda.
This has been confirmed by the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and ICT.
The Summit will be held between the 19th and 21st of July and focus will be on youth entrepreneurship and exploration of available opportunities.
Specifically, the objective is to empower young people across the continent with entrepreneurship and development skills.
YouthConnekt is organized by the Rwandan government, UNCTAD, and UNDP and it comes following a successful launch in 2012.
The three-day event is dubbed “realizing Africa’s Youth Potential” and is expected to bring together individuals and businesses that shape the technological environment in Africa.
These include entrepreneurs, investors, startups, and government officials. The attendees are expected to make valuable contributions on technological methods that can be used to drive Africa’s economic growth.
Guest speakers at the event will include Rwandan President Paul Kagame, UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi, and Abdoulaye Mar Diye, the UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of Regional Bureau for Africa.
Jack Ma’s Rocky Road to Success
Most success stories are encouraging but that of Jack Ma will inspire you to never give up. History best remembers those who faced numerous obstacles but never gave up.
This can be said of the Chinese business mogul. His inspiring entrepreneurship journey has been well-documented.
His beginning was not smooth.
He grew up in a poor household, applied for 30 different jobs but got rejected by all, applied for a KFC job with twenty-three others but he was the only one who did not get the job, and he applied ten times to Harvard but got rejected each time.
His fortunes started to change in 1995 when he was introduced to the internet.
He was surprised to find that not much information about China could be accessed online.
He went ahead to create a simple website related to China and later started a company dedicated to creating websites after people showed overwhelming interest.
It is this path that led to the establishment of Alibaba in 1999.
The China-based business-to-business marketplace site has attracted trillions worth of online transactions to date.
Today, Alibaba is the largest e-commerce company in China and Jack Ma is listed among the richest people in the world and a top business leader.