CAN ALIBABA BUILD THE SAME ECOSYSTEMS IN AFRICA AS IT DID IN CHINA?

Alibaba's Jack Ma is among a growing number of Chinese tech leaders who increasingly view Africa as a promising new market for services and innovation.

But if Alibaba and Africa's new generation of technology entrepreneurs are going to be successful, they're going to have to overcome some pretty significant challenges. First and foremost, in countries like Nigeria, entrepreneurs are often reluctant to collaborate with one another. That collaboration is critical to building the necessary technology and finance ecosystems that foster innovation in places like Silicon Valley, Shenzhen and other tech hubs around the world.

Alibaba, for its part, appears to be taking its first steps to foster its own collaboration with African technology entrepreneurs. The company recently invited dozens of African founders to take part in a two-week intensive program at Alibaba's global headquarters in Hangzhou.

These entrepreneurs may also prove vital for Alibaba as it targets Africa for expansion, writes Stephany Zoo, founder of the Nairobi-based China Africa Tech Initiative, given the complexity of Africa's diverse and highly fractured markets.