At a stopover in China on his trade mission to Asia, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a new initiative to provide 3,000 recent California college graduates with the guidance, skills and entrepreneurial know-how to start their own businesses and participate successfully in the knowledge-based, networked economy.

The program will be developed through a partnership with Alibaba.com, one of the world's largest e-commerce companies.

“I’m pleased to announce today, in collaboration with Alibaba.com, the creation of the Schwarzenegger Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative," Schwarzenegger said. "As the eighth largest economy in the world and the home of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, California has long been a cultural and economic pace-setter for America and the world. With the launch of this program, we hope to stimulate job creation and continue the state's tradition as the cradle of some of the world’s greatest innovations."

Alibaba.com will invest $3 million in the program and will provide an Entrepreneur Start-up Kit to students, including in-classroom instruction and Web-based consultation, as well as free or reduced-cost tools from Alibaba.com platforms that will allow grads to manage their businesses from sourcing products to online retail.

This program, the details of which are still under development, will be offered throughout 2011 in conjunction with 15 state-owned colleges and universities throughout California.

The idea for the Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative was coordinated with Gov. Schwarzenegger, who on Saturday, Sept. 11, was keynote speaker at Alibaba Group’s Annual Netrepreneur Summit in Hangzhou, China.

Alibaba.com officials noted that California is the company's largest buyer market, in which users take advantage of products and services at no cost to themselves to cut costs and grow their businesses. In the past few months, Ailibaba.com made two major acquisitions of established California e-commerce companies (Vendio and Auctiva), increasing its employment base in the state from 25 to nearly 200."

At the same time Gov. Schwarzenegger was visiting Hangzhou, Alibaba.com was hosting a group of 50 entrepreneurial college students, members of the Kairos Society, at the Netrepreneur Summit, as part of a newly created company effort called the Entrepreneur Abroad program.

"In 2110, Alibaba.com noticed a trend in its users," explained Alibaba.com CEO David Wei. "In the wake of the economic downturn, more and more college students are forgoing joining companies upon graduation and are instead starting their own businesses while still in school, sourcing their products through Alibaba.com."

Kairos Society members have started companies engaged on a wide range of industries, including alternative energy solutions, home décor products, breath mints, shoes, clothing, and restaurants.

"This wouldn’t have been possible several years ago, but the Internet is bringing the world together and making starting a business easier because it gives even small companies a low-cost way to reach suppliers and customers all over the world," Wei said.

With 65 percent of new jobs created in the U.S. coming from small businesses, giving more students the direct tools and knowledge they need to launch viable, sustainable companies will promote even more job growth in the future. This is the concept behind the Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 11 September 2010