Partnership to aid e-commerce entrepreneurs, SMEs to become more nimble

By Digital News Asia April 3, 2018

Partners Nanyang Polytechnic, SNEF, Sparkline, and Singapore University of Social Sciences
More than 1,000 people are expected to complete courses between April to December 2018

Partnership to aid e-commerce entrepreneurs, SMEs to become more nimble

IN A first-of-its kind partnership, Southeast Asian e-commerce company Lazada Group is joining hands with higher learning institutes and data analytics experts to jointly develop online and offline training courses for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become more nimble and capitalise on the e-commerce boom in the region.

Lazada formalised the partnership with Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (SIRS), Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), Singapore-based data analytics firm Sparkline, and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

This is part of Lazada’s commitment to empower sellers with the right tools and build an ecosystem within which they can grow. In Singapore, the company is taking this one step further as it sees synergies with the government’s go-digital push and the growth of e-commerce in Singapore and Southeast Asia. It hopes to work with partners to bring these programmes to the rest of its markets.

“Thanks to the expertise of the partners that we have brought together today, we are able to enrich the offerings on Lazada University to help our 155,000 sellers across the region become more knowledgeable in e-commerce operations and opportunities both in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Lazada sees it as our mission to help the sellers on our platform grow and are happy to work with like-minded organisations,” said Alexis Lanternier, chief executive officer, Lazada Singapore.

More than 1,000 people, ranging from existing and new sellers on Lazada, SME owners, professionals, managers and operational staff, are expected to complete courses between April to December 2018. Topics covered include supply chain and inventory management, introduction to data analytics and how business owners can sell efficiently and effectively in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market.

All courses are in English. The courses will be available on Lazada University’s new online learning management system. The new system enables sellers to access training materials on their phones, making training more convenient and on-the-go. Singaporeans above 25-year-old will be able to use their SkillsFuture Credit to offset for two existing courses – Getting started on Lazada (Onboarding) and Implement Innovative Change.