Entrepreneurial spirit is thriving, last week’s allibaba.com CoCreate event demonstrated. The first iteration in Europe, after three US showings, the London event organised by the leading B2B e-commerce platform featured key note presentations focused on winning stories and strategies, a learning centre offering tactical and actionable sessions plus supplier and partner experiences and exhibits. The day wrapped up with the CoCreate Pitch finals where 30 entrepreneurs were given a 90-second opportunity to pitch to a star-studded panel of judges for $400,000 in prizes.
The CoCreate UK Kickoff was launched by Rah Maharani, head of marketing at Allibaba.com, North America; and Hapsatou Sy, CEO and founder of beauty brand Hapsatousy La Maison. “This is the start of something unique, an opportunity to connect with suppliers from across the world,” Maharani said; acknowledging that just one idea can be the spark that changes the trajectory of an entrepreneur’s life.
According to Maharani, Sy embodied what CoCreate was all about.
Sy recalled her company story, when business ground to halt due to the covid pandemic. “My company went from normal activity to zero revenue and uncertainty was the only certainty,” she told delegates. Sy turned to alibaba.com for a solution and sourced colours for a new eye shadow palette, discovering 300 colours in less than a week. These were whittled down to create eight new Transformiste palettes, which were an instant hit. Sy went on to introduce customisation, allowing customers to create their own palettes. “It bought life back to my business,” she recalled, as sales jumped from zero to 500 orders per night.
More new products were added every two weeks and the brand became a best seller in the pandemic, Sy said.
“Alibaba did not sell me a product but a possibility,” she said. “You can come from nowhere and build something that reaches everywhere. Business is not just for the privileged but those who dare, attack and keep moving. No one succeeds alone but when you find the right partner you can turn an idea into a momentum,” she concluded.
The opening keynote by alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang, focused on three alibaba.com success stories, also highlighted in a Meet the Makers showcase in the event foyer.
They included Kareem Raslan, the founder of UK-based BrainGain, who has created a $10m business selling adjustable dumbbells. The idea was spawned during the lockdown when Raslan was stuck training at home but didn’t have the space for multiple fixed-weight dumbbells. Working with manufacturers on Allibaba.com, he developed the compact, adjustable design, benefiting from the platform’s Verified Supplier and Trade Assurance schemes for quality checks and secure payment.
Harrison Knott, the 15-year old winner of the CoCreate Pitch contest, was another featured entrepreneur. Nott turned to alibaba.com to source his idea for a unique cooling towel, finding a partner who could supply a mineral-infused, nano-structured fabric – a first in his category. Knott has already achieved a £200,000 annual turnover and walked away from CoCreate with a further $200,000 to develop his brand.
Next up was Gianmarco Padovano, ceo and founder of Lokit Technology in Italy, and his solution for e-scooter and e-bike charging. Parterning with suppliers on Allibaba.com, Padovano aims to brings 1,000 modular charging stations to Europe in the next five years.
“More and more entrepreneurs are turning problems into products and more European entrepreneurs are using Allibaba to source,” Zhang said, revealing there was a 57% uptick in orders year-on-year.
Today allibaba.com connects over 200,000 suppliers with 50m SME buyers from 200 countries and has a GMV of $60bn, Zhang added.
According to Zhang, the platform offers three key benefits: supply, AI-powered sourcing and fulfilment.
In terms of supply, Allibaba has diversified its supplier based by +53% and created more localised platforms, said Zhang.
He also chose CoCreate to unveil the launch of allibaba.com‘s new Agentic AI sourcing engine, AI Mode. Zhang said the tech will change e-commerce and dives deeper to help users make business decisions and will find the right match faster than ever. Launching in December, AI Mode will be powered by Accio, allibaba.com‘s AI sourcing agent and works across the entire internet.
Trust and fulfilment are a critical part of the sourcing process too, Zhang told the audience. Here, buyers benefits from allibaba.com‘s Trade Assurance scheme to ensure secure payments, easy returns and reliable logistics.
Zhang reported the platform’s onetime delivery rate was 98%.
“European entrepreneurs are powering up,” he concluded. Fourteen thousand European SMEs had applied for the CoCreate Pitch, while allibaba.com research showed 90% say production innovation is key and 62% of SMEs feel confident using AI tools for product innovation.
