WANDA FIRST IN AFRICA TO JOIN ALIBABA-LED EWTP
JENNY W. HSU | OCTOBER 31, 2018

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Alibaba Group and the government of Rwanda have agreed to multiple bilateral initiatives to promote the African country’s economy through increased cross-border trade, capacity building and tourism.

The signing of three memoranda of understanding, witnessed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma, took place on Wednesday in the capital city of Kigali.

First eWTP Hub in Africa

A major tenet of the agreements is Rwanda’s admission to the Electronic World Trade Platform, the first in Africa so far.  The eWTP provides small and medium-sized enterprises with operational infrastructure, such as commerce logistics, cloud computing, mobile payments and skills training. By doing so, the eWTP allows SMEs the chance to participate in the global economy when that opportunity might otherwise be available only to multinational companies.

This is Ma’s second trip to Rwanda after his initial visit to Africa in 2017. During those visits, Ma had said he was impressed by the country’s young entrepreneurs and local businesses and pledged to support the growth of the digital economy in Africa. The partnership is a step toward fulfilling that pledge.