HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alibaba.com is donating US$1 for every online sales transaction completed on its AliExpress wholesale platform to drought relief in the Horn of Africa. The drought-stricken countries including Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia are in urgent need of global support as they face the worst drought in 60 years.
According to the United Nations, more than 12.4 million people are at risk of starvation and an immediate and global relief effort is needed. Famine is now officially declared in several areas where more than 20 per cent of the population is without food; more than 30 per cent of children are acutely malnourished; and in excess of two of every 10,000 adults are dying of starvation each day.
“We are hoping to leverage our global platform to raise immediate awareness around the world of the urgent need for more individuals and organizations to join the relief efforts,” said Sabrina Peng, general manager of AliExpress and executive vice president of Alibaba.com.
Alibaba.com will donate US$1 to the Red Cross relief effort for each sales transaction completed between now and August 25 on its AliExpress platform. This is in addition to the RMB 1 million donation already announced by Alibaba Group, the parent company of Alibaba.com, to support drought relief efforts in Africa.
About Alibaba.com Limited
Alibaba.com (HKSE:1688) (1688.HK) is the global leader in e-commerce for small businesses and the flagship company of Alibaba Group. Founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba.com makes it easy for millions of buyers and suppliers around the world to do business online mainly through three marketplaces: a global trade platform (www.alibaba.com) for importers and exporters; a Chinese platform (www.1688.com) for domestic trade in China; and a transaction-based wholesale platform on the global site (www.aliexpress.com) geared for smaller buyers seeking fast shipment of small quantities of goods. Together, these marketplaces form a community of close to 69 million registered users in more than 240 countries and regions. As part of its strategy to transition into a holistic platform where small companies can build and manage their online business more easily, Alibaba.com also offers Chinese traders a wide array of business management software, Internet infrastructure services and export-related services directly or through companies it has acquired including HiChina and One-Touch, as well as educational services to incubate enterprise management and e-commerce professionals. Alibaba.com also owns Vendio and Auctiva, leading providers of third-party e-commerce solutions for online merchants. Alibaba.com has offices in more than 70 cities across Greater China, India, Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States.