Alibaba Group launched LiveNOW, a live-streaming incubation project, as part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme to empower the B40 (low income) community in Malaysia. The aim is to help more Malaysians generate income via e-commerce and live streaming. It is partnering with Tmall World Malaysia and Moden Academy, which will be carrying out the workshops.

The nationwide two-day training programmes will be held in-person across three states, Selangor, Penang and Sarawak, from Sept 3 to Oct 4 this year. The CSR programme uses technology for good as part of the global Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiatives.

eWTP is a private sector-led and all stakeholder initiative, for public-private cooperation to incubate e-Trade rules and foster a more effective and efficient policy and business environment for cross border electronic trade (eTrade) development.

At its virtual launch yesterday, Tmall World Malaysia country manager Jess Lew pointed out that the live-streaming market in China is the biggest globally. It was worth US$4.4 billion in 2018 and has continued to grow. The Covid-19 pandemic has simply upped the ante as far as the live streaming industry is concerned, she added.

“We realised that the B40 faced a tougher time during the pandemic. Digital and e-commerce has been the best alternative for Malaysians so we partnered with Moden Academy and various state government agencies to help improve the economic wellbeing [of this segment of society]. Later on, we can also empower them through platforms like Taobao Malaysia and Lazada, where they can do live streaming across these platforms.”

Lew added that aside from providing access to tools and platforms, Alibaba Group also provides key opinion leaders, or KOLs, with an end-to-end ecosystem that supports their training and provides them with opportunities to work with brands. The programme will leverage this expertise and extensive resources to provide Malaysians in need with the skillsets needed for successful e-commerce live streaming.

Moden Academy founder Jerry Hang says e-commerce live streaming is emerging as one of the most in-demand skills of the future and he hopes this programme will help Malaysians build up their personal branding and positioning through their digital journey in these difficult times.

“Through the course, participants can learn more about various aspects of live streaming, including designing key visuals, copywriting and live streaming skills by our successful teachers, who are live streaming KOLs themselves,” he says.

Those interested in taking part in this programme can enrol through this link by submitting a three-minute video: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWF2462lWGUmJbdy8NXI5lnL0Z5fm187UnJrTAvK-vApq1WQ/viewform.