CHAPTER 11Cross-Pollination of Global Markets
ALTHOUGH OUR BOOK STARTS with a focus on Chinese tech firms in their overseas expansion, they are not alone in their quest to seize opportunities globally. Truth be told, the fact that some of the major Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba and Tencent could grow to their level of success today can be attributed to earlier pioneers who started seeking global tech opportunities more than two decades ago.
South Africa's Naspers, Japan's SoftBank, and Germany's Rocket Internet were among some of the key players of that era. All of them are still active to this day. Now we are seeing much more exchange of business models, product and operational expertise, and capital and talent across all the major markets globally.
A TRIPLET OF PIONEERS IN SEEKING GLOBAL TECH OPPORTUNITIES
Several Chinese tech firms accomplished the miracle of quick growth to join the “100-billion club” in company valuation. Undoubtedly, the leadership, people, organization, and product parameters all played a critical role in the firms' historical development. Their journey was not smooth, however, especially in the early stages. Without funding, knowledge, and human capital from earlier pioneers in searching for global opportunities, it is hard to imagine that Chinese tech firms could stand as they are today.
How Naspers Discovered Tencent
As the year 2000 was close to its end, Pony Ma's new product, OICQ (later renamed QQ), was rapidly gaining popularity, as ...
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