Final answer:
The Alibaba Group was launched in 1999 by Jack Ma and a team of 18 as a B2B marketplace. It aimed to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers, capitalizing on the internet boom to facilitate international trade for SMEs. The platform transformed e-commerce by making sourcing products from China easier and more direct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Alibaba Group was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, a former English teacher from Hangzhou, China. The launch aimed to create a business-to-business (B2B) platform to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers. Initially, Alibaba.com was established as a global wholesale marketplace, focusing on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in international trade more effectively. Jack Ma and his team of 18 people worked out of a small apartment to create a user-friendly platform that capitalized on the internet boom that was transforming global commerce at the time.
Having recognized the potential of the internet to level the playing field for SMEs, Alibaba set out to eliminate the middlemen and make sourcing products from China more straightforward and cost-effective. This innovative platform allowed for a more efficient process, simplifying communications and transactions between suppliers and buyers. Over time, Alibaba expanded to offer various other services but its founding in 1999 was a pivotal moment that reshaped global e-commerce.