Forbes Media has honored Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma with the Malcolm S.

Forbes Media has honored Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma with the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to supporting small businesses and the significant impact Alibaba has had since its inception 20 years ago.

The award is given to individuals who exemplify the ideals of entrepreneurship promoted by Forbes. During the 19th annual Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore, Steve Forbes, the media company's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, praised Ma as one of the most influential figures of our time and a great liberator who has empowered people through commerce.

Ma discussed Alibaba's journey and its focus on addressing social issues, such as enabling small businesses to sell products through its various platforms like Alibaba.com and Taobao, and creating Alipay to serve the underserved in the financial sector. Alipay has been particularly successful in providing financial inclusion to the less wealthy in China and beyond, with Ant Financial, Alipay's parent company, serving 900 million annual active consumers.

Ma also touched on his philanthropic efforts, which include improving education and conservation in China through the Jack Ma Foundation. He is now focusing on supporting entrepreneurship in Africa, aiming to empower the next generation of business leaders who can drive the continent's economic growth. As part of this, he is launching the Africa Netpreneur Prize, which will award $10 million to entrepreneurs across the continent over the next decade. The first competition will take place in Ghana in November.