Every time economic news about China comes out, we find his name: Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba the ecommerce giant with a worldwide presence.
It could be said that thanks to Jack Ma, shopping in China is much easier and safer than it was a few years ago, and he has managed to facilitate communication between international companies and the users of his online platform.
Recently, on the occasion of the annual conference of YF Capital (Yunfeng Capital), the investment firm co-founded by Jack Ma and David Yu, creator of Target Media, both presaged a major technological revolution that will seemingly affect all sectors in the coming years. According to Ma, these will be the industries of the future:
New retail system
A new retail model that combines the physical channel with the online channel through more modern logistics services.
New finance system
As Alibaba’s founder explained, banks and lenders will have to work harder in the future to support small and medium-sized enterprises as well as young consumers.
Birth of ‘smart’ factories
In the coming years, factories will undergo significant changes and will become more intelligent and customized to the product to be developed. As Ma anticipated during YF Capital’s annual conference, machines will move from being powered by electricity to being powered by data and will be more flexible in adapting to consumers’ needs.
New technological model
In recent years, the use of the Internet on mobile devices has caught up with that of computers. According to Jack Ma, the constant development of new technologies based on Big Data will offer new possibilities to people.
Data, the new artificial energy
If substances such as oil and coal were indispensable throughout human history, in the next few years they could become data, said Jack Ma. It would be the first artificial energy resource created by man and its value and usefulness will continue to grow in the future.
Entertainment
Although Jack Ma does not intend to make money through the entertainment sector, he is committed to facilitating cultural exchanges between the Asian country and the rest of the world in the next 10 years. Initiatives that are already beginning to be visible and Alibaba has already begun to diversify into the entertainment sector.
Health
Alibaba’s founder assured that the healthcare sector could have a big niche on the internet, creating a production-related online healthcare platform aimed at pharmaceuticals, online sales and medical services. And Ma went further, stating that there would also be a place for companies in the production and marketing chain of the pharmaceutical industry (ecological products, water purification and even life insurance, among others).
