Jack Ma Foundation

History

In September 2018, Ma announced his retirement from Alibaba to focus on education, philanthropy, and environmental causes. In 2019, the JMF launched the Netpreneur Initiative, awarding 10 prizes of $1 million each annually to African entrepreneurs, and established a $14.6 million fund for education in Tibet. In 2020, the foundation became an alliance partner of Prince William's Earthshot Prize. In January 2025, the JMF marked the 10th anniversary of its Rural Teachers Initiative, with Ma addressing educators. He accepted an honorary professorship from the University of Hong Kong's business school in November 2024. During the pandemic, the foundation pledged 500,000 testing kits and one million masks to the United States, and with Alibaba Group donated similar supplies to Iran, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan, and South Korea. Ma also donated 1.1 million tests, six million masks, and 60,000 protective suits to all African countries; Nigeria received 100,000 face masks, 1,000 protective gowns, and 20,000 test kits. In March 2020, the JMF published the Handbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment, a 68-page book edited by Tingbo Liang based on clinical experience from the First Affiliated Hospital of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Although Ma is a Chinese Communist Party member, some analysts believe the Chinese government may view his philanthropic work unfavorably.