Alibaba.com, Alibaba Group’s B2B marketplace, and global payments provider WorldFirst are working together to help Singapore’s SMEs bolster their digital presence and expand their sales internationally – overcoming the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the partnership, WorldFirst will help SMEs assess how best to leverage Alibaba.com and further assist them in navigating the platform’s variety of services – from registration, setting up and running their online stores, to conducting online marketing campaigns together with certified Alibaba.com partners.
As a result of COVID-19, businesses in the export sector are severely impacted. In the case of SMEs, with many lacking an online presence and being reliant on physically attending tradeshows to feature their produce, the impact is greater, said Alibaba.com in a media release.
This partnership between Alibaba.com and WorldFirst aims to help Singapore’s SMEs reach customers and business partners around the world in an efficient and cost-effective way now that many events are scaled down, rescheduled, or even cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Singapore’s exports have remained resilient amid the uncertainties and will continue to ride on the global trade recovery, and our timely partnership will allow WorldFirst and Alibaba.com to connect Singapore’s dynamic SMEs to millions of potential buyers across the world,” said Peter Scully, Country Manager, WorldFirst Singapore.
“Alibaba.com has always been committed to supporting Singapore’s SME exporters with our digital solutions and this new partnership with WorldFirst will further expand our offerings to them to include digital cross-border payment tools,” said Andrew Zheng, Deputy General Manager of Alibaba.com.