Alibaba Group has successfully concluded its LiveNOW Training Programme this year, equipping 293 Malaysians across English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin sessions with fundamental skills of Key Opinion Leader (“KOL”) live streaming and video production to unlock potential opportunities in the interactive e-commerce sphere.
Conducted in collaboration with special training partner MODEN KOL Academy and supported by Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp), MYNIC Bhd, Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) and Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC), the second edition of LiveNOW was again a corporate social responsibility initiative by Alibaba Group dedicated to the Malaysian community.
It primarily targeted individuals interested in developing a career in e-commerce live streaming or video production, and business owners who wish to leverage interactive e-commerce marketing tools to boost their business growth.
On the foundation of KOL live streaming training covered by the 2020 edition, this year’s LiveNOW programme included an online video production component in view of the increased use of short videos as a marketing means in recent years.
During the three full-day free online training sessions respectively conducted in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin, participants had the opportunity to learn from sharing sessions hosted by popular local KOLs including Kate Ke En, Kartini Ariffin, Jae C and Xiao Gu, as well as lectures by trainers from Taobao, MODEN KOL Academy, Lazada and homegrown video production house UNINESS.
“We hope the programme has not only provided our participants with the relevant knowledge to explore this arena with confidence, but also demonstrated through the stories of our KOL trainers that success is not unattainable if we have the will to reach for our goals,” said Jess Lew, country manager, Tmall Taobao World Malaysia.
“In recent years, we have noticed a growing demand from the younger generation to become KOL livestreamers or video producers, and we are delighted to leverage our training experience over the years to help them fast-track relevant skills through this programme.
“We hope they would put these learnings to good use to grow their self-worth to greater heights in e-commerce,” said Jerry Hang, founder of MODEN KOL Academy.
Commenting on the training programme, Billion Tiu, LiveNOW 2022 Training Programme participant, said: “Today I began to understand why the current trend of live commerce and online videos is developing rapidly, and the commercial network is even more dazzling. It is a good business model to build your own commercial network by doing live streaming as it involves less capital and lower risk. Thank you, Alibaba, for giving us the opportunity to learn.”
Another participant, Jasmine Ong, shared: “I’ve always admired the confidence of live streamers and dreamed of being able to conduct my own live streams to sell accessories and jewelleries as an additional marketing avenue.
“The Alibaba LiveNOW training programme has given me a better understanding of how achievable it is, and I plan to kickstart my own live streaming sessions in the near future. Thank you for organising the programme and making it much more accessible for us to master the interactive marketing skills!”
Participants who completed the LiveNOW 2022 training are eligible to join the LazTalent Community – Lazada’s pool of grassroots live streaming KOLs. Additionally, they have the option of becoming a Lazada Marketplace seller and enjoy the benefits and hands-on support under Lazada Malaysia’s Hari-Harimau New Seller Kickstarter Package.
First organised in 2020, the inaugural LiveNOW training saw participation from 200 Malaysians aspiring to become KOL live streamers. With the conclusion of the 2022 edition, the programme has benefited close to 500 Malaysians, furthering Alibaba’s goal of enabling access to the digital economy for all.
