Alibaba.com organizes ‘Alibaba Business Circle’ in Surat to educate SMEs on global business opportunities through e-commerce
Surat, India, December 23, 2014: Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), the leading global B2B platform for small businesses, today organized the Alibaba Business Circle in Surat, one of India’s leading business hub for the diamond and textile industries. Alibaba.com brought the Vadodara Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI), The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) ICICI Bank and SMERA Ratings Ltd together for the Alibaba Business Circle, a unique initiative aimed at educating SMEs in Surat on global trade opportunities and leveraging online commerce.
The event introduced industry veterans and key decision makers to address and illustrate how Indian SMEs in Surat can use the internet and e- commerce to sell products to overseas markets easily, gain better financing from banks, build trust and start global trading.
The gathering saw small business owners across industry verticals and senior executives attend, including Mr Chirag Allawadhi, Manager, Fabdeal Pvt Ltd, Mr Vinod Naik, Senior Vice President, Vadodara Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mr Girish who represented The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mr Jatin Govil, Head of Business Loans, ICICI Bank, Mr Nilesh Dadpe, Head of Western Region, SMERA Ratings Ltd, Mr Michael Mang, Head of Business Development and Marketing, APAC & MENA, Alibaba.com, and Mr Robert Shen, Senior Manager of Global Suppliers Operations of Alibaba.com.
Speaking at the Alibaba Business Circle, Bhushan Patil, Director of Alibaba.com explained, “Alibaba.com has always been committed to educating small business owners in every corner of the world become quality suppliers and reach a global audience for cross-border trade. We believe that the internet has opened up a large range of opportunities for small businesses and can be effective in helping Indian business to continue expanding their customer base to newer markets and exploring untapped global trade opportunities. We are happy to partner with VCCI, SGCCI, SMERA Rating and ICICI Bank who share our vision to encourage and help small businesses reach overseas markets.”
At the Alibaba Business Circle gathering today, Mr Michael Mang, Head of Business Development & Marketing, APAC & MENA, Alibaba.com illustrated how ‘Industry Hubs’, a product designed to streamline the supply chain, can help Indian small business owners do trade and expand their export business on Alibaba.com.
Mr Jatin Govil, Head of Business Loans, ICICI Bank participated in an interactive session to advice on SME financing emphasizing on how timely finance is the key to making the most of business opportunities. Mr Nilesh Dadpe, Head of Western Region, SMERA Ratings Limited addressed the importance of building trust online to grow a business.
The Alibaba Business Circle also recognized the various challenges faced by small business owners in India and discussed on how they can utilize Alibaba.com to maximize their results and receive useful tips to sell products in Dubai, US and Europe markets. Verified Gold Supplier Member of Alibaba.com, Mr Allawadhi, Fabdeal Pvt Ltd, a premium Indian ethnic wear exporter based at Surat, Gujarat shared his inspiring story of how he successfully grew his business overseas through e-commerce.
At the session, Mr. Vinod Naik, Senior Vice President, Vadodara Chamber of Commerce & Industry addressed the latest trends on global trade while Mr Kamlesh Yagnik, Immediate Past President of The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry briefed the participants on the opportunities for India textile import and export for the coming year.
With more than 3.6 million small and medium-sized Indian businesses registered to use Alibaba.com’s online marketplace, as of December 31, 2013, to source trading opportunities international markets, Gujarat is a key market for Alibaba.com in India. This is the first Alibaba Business Circle event to take place in India.
