Alibaba wants to teach you how to become the next Jack Ma

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is going to help businessmen succeed in e-commerce. For the first time outside China, his company Alibaba will offer a course in doing business through the internet in Singapore next year.

The training and certification will come from the Alibaba Business School, which started in Hangzhou in China in 2008. The project is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative aimed at connecting China with Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Last week, the Alibaba Business College signed a memorandum of understanding with the Employment and Employability Institute and a learning hub run by the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Nanyang International Business College.

“Singapore is one of the most connected nations in the world, so it makes a lot of sense for us to explore e-commerce,” said Kwek Kok Kwong, chief executive officer of NTUC Learning Hub.

The course will cover four masterclasses over 12 days for about 150 people, according to South-East Asia Program director of the Alibaba Business College Nick Zhou.

“Everybody wants to become Jack Ma. But we want to help more Singaporeans focus on their own story, not just Jack Ma's story,” he said.

The partners haven’t disclosed the details on cost and venue, as the course is still being prepared. The program will include classes as e-commerce business models and platforms, online retailing and digital marketing. All the students will get certification from the Alibaba College at the end of the course.