Alibaba Cloud launched a US$30 million Anti COVID-19 SME Enablement Program to accelerate cloud adoption and provide much-needed relief during the pandemic.

New and existing small and medium-sized enterprises around the world will be able to apply for the program between 23 April and June 22 2020.

Successful applicants will receive a $300 coupon package covering 12 key products, including Server Load Balancer, Alibaba Cloud Academic Courses and Object Storage Service, an encrypted data storage and cloud backup solution.

Selina Yuan, President of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence said: “”COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges and vulnerabilities to the global economy and especially to SMEs, who are often faced with financial constraints and limited access to technological support.”

Existing customers can receive a $500 coupon to help them upgrade their cloud applications and speed up enterprises’ digital transformation with eight advanced products. 

Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, will also reach out to SME associations to find ways to meet members’ needs.

The support package follows the news that Alibaba Cloud, the top cloud provider in Asia Pacific, will invest US$28 billion more into its infrastructure over the next three years to cope with the demand of their services during the pandemic.

Alibaba Cloud joins other tech giants to support SMEs

Alibaba Cloud is the latest tech giant to offer support for SMEs during the pandemic.

Facebook announced it will offer US$100 million in cash grants and advertising credits for small businesses. 

Facebook’s programme can help businesses cover rent, operational and marketing costs. Currently, only the eligible locations for the United States have been announced, but countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand are listed as possibilities.

Google has also committed US$800 million for SMEs, governments and health organisations. US$340 million worth of Google Ads credits will be available to small and medium-sized businesses that have had an active account over the past year. 

$20 million Google Cloud credits will be offered to academic institutions and researchers identifying ways to combat COVID-19.

It is yet to be seen whether more cloud services provided by tech giants will be available to small and medium-sized enterprises.