UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi will co-host UNCTAD Special Advisor for youth entrepreneurship and small businesses, Jack Ma, when he lands in Africa for the first time later this month on a mission to share entrepreneurial insights with African youth and small businesses.
Mr. Ma, who founded Alibaba Group in 1999 and was appointed as UNCTAD special adviser in 2016, will visit Kenya and Rwanda from July 19 to 21.
UNCTAD will work with Mr. Ma to explore opportunities with local businesses to participate in global trade, raise awareness about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and attend the Youth Connekt Africa Summit where UNCTAD is partnering with the Government of Rwanda to champion youth technology entrepreneurship.
As of June 2017, Jack Ma was listed as the richest person in Asia and the 14th richest in the world with a net worth of US$41.8 billion.
According to the organizers, the event will bring together more than 1,500 participants from government, entrepreneurial and investor communities, multinationals, and startups shaping the African technological ecosystem.
