Rural Taobao Reaches Impoverished Villages, Farmers Share the Light of the Internet
Original title: Let Villages Share the Light of the Internet
On December 17, a smart home product called "JD Laidian" attracted many visitors at the "Light of the Internet" Expo. "It looks like just a small white box with a brand logo, but after binding it with the JD mobile app, users can set the quantity of products represented by each button press. When you find there is no milk at home, just one press and you can wait for the delivery to arrive at your door with cash on delivery." said Zheng Xiangyu, a staff member at the booth. It can be stuck on a refrigerator, dining table, cabinet or anywhere else. At present, the product has cooperated with 12 companies including Mengniu New Yogurt, Abbott, Arawana and Nongfu Spring.
199 county Taobao service centers, 9,527 Taobao village points, 686,235 rural loan enterprises, cumulative rural loan amount of 147.2 billion yuan... These figures kept flashing on a huge screen in the Alibaba exhibition area. The area is located at the entrance of the "Light of the Internet" Expo of the 2015 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, in a prominent position. On the huge business introduction boards on both sides of the screen, half of the content was devoted to Rural Taobao.
As an important part of the second World Internet Conference, the Expo was jointly held by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. It mainly displayed China's internet development achievements over the past 20 years and its contributions to global internet development.
On December 16, Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman of the Board Jack Ma introduced the development of Rural Taobao to President Xi Jinping, who was visiting the exhibition. He said that in the future Alibaba would continue to promote the development of rural e-commerce, use e-commerce to eliminate poverty, and stimulate real change in rural areas. At the same time, he hoped that the internet ecosystem would continue to cover the whole country and truly help the broad masses of farmers improve their lives.
"Starting in 2015, we plan to invest 10 billion yuan within 3 to 5 years to establish Taobao service points in 1,000 counties and 100,000 natural villages. On the one hand, we help e-commerce reach downward, so that farmers can enjoy online services without leaving home; on the other hand, we help agricultural products go upward, bringing rural specialty products and culture out." said Tian Fan, a staff member at the exhibition area. So far, Taobao service points have covered nearly 10,000 villages and towns in 199 counties across the country.
Rural Taobao has not only prospered the county economy, but also brought new culture and new ideas to the villages. Photographs on the display boards show the new changes brought by the service points. Mudun Island Village in Jiangsu Province has a village Taobao speedboat delivering goods to the door; in Dinglou Village, Cao County, Shandong Province, a 60-year-old man runs an online store selling local specialties; in Luotang Village, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, villagers bought a dragon boat online to participate in a race. Every household has a different story, but the joy they radiate is the same.
The interconnection of information makes rural logistics smoother. Can technological innovation drive the flow of rural finance?
"By the end of 2014, the ratio of bank financial service personnel per 10,000 people in urban and rural areas reached 329:1. China's rural finance still needs a breakthrough." At a sub-forum of the World Internet Conference, Peng Lei, Chairwoman of Ant Financial Group, a strategic partner of Alibaba, said, "It is difficult for farmers to obtain traditional financial services, but internet technology is changing all of this. We use big data to establish a new risk screening system, reduce financing costs, and build a credit loan system, which will quickly and effectively serve small and micro enterprises, low- and middle-income groups, especially rural users." The MYbank initiated and established by Ant Financial launched the "Wangnong Loan" product for the rural market, which has now covered 65 counties in 17 provinces across the country, nearly 1,000 villages.
"I hope farmers can also enjoy 'small but certain happiness'." Peng Lei used a popular phrase to explain her expectations for internet finance. "'Small' means a low starting point and broad coverage; 'certain' means certainty, the trust between people; 'happiness' means a sense of well-being." (Our reporter Liu Wanting)