More than 40,000 viewers tuned in to view Fliggy's virtual tour to the Mercedes-Benz AG Museum in Stuttgart, Germany last week

This week, we look at how travel platform Fliggy took tourists virtually to Mercedes-Benz AG Museum. Meanwhile, Alibaba launched the first edition of its Netpreneur Masterclass in France. We also highlight this year’s Taobao Maker Festival, Freshippo’s next-generation distribution center as well as Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund’s new fund dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurship across the Greater Bay Area. Also, check out a recent partnership between Nestlé and Cainiao to make the Swiss food giant’s supply chain in China greener.

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Fliggy Brings Mercedes-Benz Museum to Chinese Visitors Online

The travel platform last week welcomed Chinese visitors to the Mercedes-Benz AG Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of its livestream series in Europe. Joined by a Chinese interpreter, more than 40,000 viewers tuned in to view displayed vehicles and hear the brand’s insights into the future of mobility. Fliggy’s latest virtual tours have featured famous landmarks such as The V&A Museum, Pompidou, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.

Alibaba Netpreneur Masterclass in France

Applications are open for the first edition of Alibaba Business School’s Netpreneur Masterclass in France. The six-week online training schedule is designed to help business founders accelerate growth and to thrive in the digital economy. The training program welcomes founders, co-founders, CEOs or business owners of an officially registered venture that has been in operation for at least two years. Click here to find out more and apply.

Taobao Maker Festival Highlights New Consumer Trends in China

The annual celebration of young entrepreneurs is kicking off this weekend, showcasing emerging trends in China’s effervescent consumer market. From treadmills for pets to snackable health foods, including a transparent burger, the event will showcase hundreds of innovative products and the creative minds behind them. In its sixth year, Taobao Maker Festival serves as a platform where young people in China can champion creativity and entrepreneurship. Featured products illustrate rising trends in China, such as tents with projectors, treadmills for pets and snackable health foods, including broccoli-based ice cream to low-fat konjac plant burgers. Click here to learn more. 

Freshippo to Open Next-Gen Distribution Center in Early 2022

The high-tech grocery chain plans to launch a next-generation distribution center in early 2022. Spanning 150,000-square-meters in Wuhan, China, the distribution center is in keeping with Freshippo’s New Retail model, a term used to describe fusing online and offline shopping experiences. The center will feature facilities for live seafood, cold-storage rooms, food-processing equipment and a centralized kitchen, in addition to traditional warehousing and delivery functions. 

Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund Backs US$260 million Greater Bay Area Fund as Anchor Investor

Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) said Tuesday that it is anchoring a new fund dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurship across the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in southern China. The new venture fund, dubbed the AEF Greater Bay Area Fund (GBA Fund), is targeting a final close before June 2022 and a funding package of HK$2 billion (around US$260 million), including capital commitments and credit facilities. The GBA Fund will be Hong Kong’s first-ever venture fund formed by a private sector company that exclusively backs start-ups in the GBA metropolitan cluster. The GBA Fund will be particularly active in sustainability, deep tech, health tech, artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 related projects, according to AEF. 

Nestlé Teams Up with Alibaba to Make Supply Chain in China More Sustainable

Cainiao Network, Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, has teamed up with Nestlé to make the Swiss food giant’s supply chain in China greener. The collaboration is aimed at transforming Nestlé’s operations from its production lines and warehousing to distribution and the recycling and reuse of packaging. The initiative comes as Alibaba steps up its ecosystem-wide push to shrink its carbon footprint – a goal that it shares with Nestlé. The companies already started collaborating last month on a recycling service on Cainiao’s app and its mini-programs on Alipay and WeChat. Click here to learn more about the new initiative and past joint efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

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