HCM CITY — Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce has launched the seller selection process for the 2025-26 phase of its Việt Nam Pavilion in collaboration with the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The programme aims to identify and support 200 exceptional local businesses by granting them the "Featured Business” status on the Alibaba.com marketplace and offering increased online exposure to global buyers.

The announcement was made during the 2025 Annual Digital Export Promotion Summit themed “New Trends, New Technologies, New Solutions”, co-hosted by Alibaba.com and Vietrade. This summit brought together industry leaders, global buyers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to discuss innovative strategies and explore opportunities for enhancing Việt Nam’s digital export landscape.

The Việt Nam Pavilion stands as Alibaba.com’s flagship initiative in the country, aimed at boosting the involvement of Vietnamese SMEs in cross-border e-commerce. The programme has achieved remarkable success. For instance, in October, participating sellers received over 100 buyer inquiries every 30 days, highlighting the strong global demand for Vietnamese products.

Vietrade Director, Vũ Bá Phú said: "Promoting trade promotion in the digital environment plays an important role in supporting Vietnamese enterprises to diversify market development channels and easily access international customers. The Việt Nam Pavilion on Alibaba.com will support Vietnamese enterprises to build their image, promote product brands, support business connection activities, and enhance understanding of Vietnamese products and enterprises for international customers."

To qualify for programme, businesses are expected to meet 16 criteria across five categories, covering aspects such as product quality, operational performance on Alibaba.com, and export potential in key sectors, such as agriculture, food and beverages, furniture, gifts and crafts, apparel and accessories. This year, the programme is especially focused on supporting businesses that have recently started their B2B e-commerce journey, particularly those operating on the platform for less than three months. This prioritisation aims to accelerate the digital transformation of these businesses and their integration into the global economy.

Applications are open from December 13, 2024, to March 15, 2025. The final list of 200 selected businesses for the Alibaba.com Việt Nam Pavilion will be announced on April 25, 2025.

Young Liu, head of Vietnam Business at Alibaba.com, said: “Building on the success of the 2024 edition, we are thrilled to expand the Việt Nam Pavilion initiative in 2025 by doubling the number of featured Vietnamese enterprises, boosting the global visibility of a broader pool of ‘Made in Vietnam’ brands. However, the expansion goes beyond just the number of participants.

"We have strengthened our partnerships with local trade associations to deliver a more substantial impact on the participating sellers across diverse industries. Additionally, we have enhanced our digital tools, training programmes and customer support to ensure a seamless experience for participants as they strive for sustainable growth in the global marketplace.” — VNS