Project DESA is inspired by Alibaba's Taobao villages. It is initiated as a volunteer project by a group of passionate entrepreneurs believing in the development of rural folks in Malaysia. What is DESA? DESA was founded by Anna, Ooi, Ames, and Sean with the hope of creating another "Taobao Village" to help develop the rural areas in Malaysia during their fateful encounter in Alibaba's Netpreneur program. Though initially, DESA was not well-received by the public due to skepticism; yet at this moment DESA is being supported by many parties from the private and government sector, this includes Alibaba, MDEC, Lazada and many more thanks to the founders' will and determination.

2. About
DESA Project
In this section
Background Introduction
Bainiu Village
The Co-founders
Project Mission
Our Strategic Focus
Our Products
Upcoming Plan
page
01

3. Background
Introduction
Inspired by Alibaba’s Taobao
villages.
Initiated as a volunteer project by a
group of passionate entrepreneurs.
page
02

4. What is
Taobao Village?
Residents got started in e-commerce primarily
via Taobao Marketplace;
Annual e-commerce transaction volume ≥
RMB10 million (MYR 6 million);
At least 10% of village households actively
engage in e-commerce.
page
03

5. The Growth of
Taobao Villages
Taobao Villages continue to spread rapidly and widely distributed in 24
provinces & municipalities.
page
04
3 20
212
779
1,311
2,118
3,202
4,002
2009 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

6. page
05
About
Bainiu Village
Bainiu Village Walnuts
Households551
eCommerce Companies68
mil RMB
2018 Annual Revenue350

7. DESA was founded by Anna Teo, KC Ooi, Ames Tan, and
Sean Lee with the hope of creating another "Taobao Village"
to help develop the rural areas in Malaysia during their
fateful encounter in Alibaba's Netpreneur program.
Though initially, DESA was not well-received by the public
due to skepticism; yet at this moment DESA is being
supported by many parties from the private and government
sector, this includes Alibaba, MDEC, Lazada, Ministry of
Agriculture, Ministry of Rural Development and many more
thanks to the founders' will and determination.
page
06
The
Co-Founders

8. Creating Hope,
Preparing for Future.
Project Mission
Our mission is to reconnect and revitalize the
rural communities, to aid them get ready for
tomorrow’s world.
We truly believe that a sustainable world will
require the future to be rural.
page
07

9. Consumer
First
Bridging the
Inequality Gap
Resources
Integration
Shared
Collaboration
Consumer First (Key Driving Force)
To build a healthy long-term mutually beneficial relationship, our
platform must return to the essence of business, that is, "customer
first“. Consumer buying won’t be long term if it is merely through
compassion alone. From product selection, design to platform
development, we must be customers first, rural sellers second, and
strategic alliances third.
page
08
DESA Platform:
Our Strategic Focus
Bridging the Inequality Gap (Core)
At DESA, we pay tributes to those who are working hard and
struggling but being neglected, and also, unfortunately, the access to
resources in this world is not equal to everyone. Thus, we are here to
bridge the gap to help the neglected and that is the only reason of
our existence.
Resources Integration (Key Enabler)
To combine and integrate the necessary resources from multiple
entities and make it easier for the underserved communities to have
fair and equal access.
Shared Collaboration (Key Enabler)
To explore the shared collaboration with multiple sectors to empower
and provide more support to the underserved communities.

10. Naturally hued and packed with nutrition, Orang Asli Organic Rice is
the treasure of the Orang Asli in Bentong, Pahang. Growing among
the mist, the rice receive the first drop of rain from the cloud and
nurture by the stream of mountain's freshwater.
page
09
Hero Product
Orang Asli Organic Rice

11. page
10
Bentong
Fresh Ginger & Ginger Powder

12. page
11
Bentong
Virgin Soya Sauce

13. page
12
Langit
Borneo Heirloom Grains

14. page
13
Penan Women
Handmade Bags & Baskets

15. Upcoming
Plan for DESA
page
14
Sourcing of Good Quality Products
Continue to source for good quality heritage products from villagers. Coming we are exploring the collaboration with
Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (LPP) to identify good products, especially from Sabah and Sarawak.
Collaborative Business Model
To explore a new collaborative business model with other partners, across government, private and academic sectors,
to fill in the gaps along the value chain, from product sourcing, product readiness, commercialization, sales & services
to market intelligence.
Upskill The Rural Communities
To upskill the rural people to be digital literate with the necessary knowledge to manage and operate their online store.
Cross Border eCommerce
Linking up with relevant parties and global ecommerce platform, like Alibaba & Lazada, to enable the cross-border
trading.

17. Sharing Seminar at
Bentong
Right after we came back from Alibaba
Netpreneur program, we are invited by YB Tuan
Wong Tack, Member of Parliament for Bentong,
to share on how our DESA eRural initiatives able
to help Bentong.
May 2019

18. Sharing at
Malaysia Tech Week
We were then invited by Alibaba to share our
DESA project during the Malaysia Tech Week in
MaGIC.
This is also the key turning point for us where we
started to gain more support from many others,
especially MDeC, who has been playing a vital
role since then in helping us connect to the
relevant parties to help us.
Jun 2019

19. Sharing at
7th Rural Taobao Forum
Asia
We were invited by Alibaba again to share our
DESA project during the 7th Rural Taobao Forum
Asia at Huimin, Shandong, China.
In this event, we were glad to know a group of
passionate entrepreneurs from Rwanda who wish
to do the same for their country, which they even
pinned their hopes on us to build the first success
case in Malaysia, and make it becomes a
blueprint to guide and help them in achieving the
same in Rwanda.
Aug 2019

20. Soft Launching
Double11 Campaign with
Lazada & Alibaba
Again, with the kind assistance from Alibaba and
Lazada, we will be launching our flagship store on
Lazada in align with the Double11 campaign.
Through this campaign, we strive to build the first
success case, and eventually replicate this proven
model to accelerate more villages in embracing
eCommerce transformation in Malaysia.
Our news releases:
“淘宝村”走向海外：马来西亚复制中国电商
模式 @China Daily
Oct 2019

21. Press Conference
Lazada partners with
DESA for 11.11
A press conference is organized by Lazada
Malaysia to offer heritage products under the
DESA Project initiative for its 11.11 shopping
festival, to enable rural farmers to reach a broader
consumer spectrum in Malaysia.
Our news releases:
Lazada partners with Desa Project to offer
heritage products for 11.11
Nov 4, 2019

22. Village Visit
DESA Team Visited Orang
Asli Villages
Together with MDeC team, we arranged a day of
exploration, learning and understanding how the
beras bukit is planted by our fellow Malaysian, the
orang asli in Pahang. Tired but fulfilling!
Nov 4, 2019

23. All Sold Out
DESA Store on Lazada
Sold Out Entire Inventory
We received an overwhelming response and all
products have sold out during the 11.11 shopping
festival on Lazada.
Social Media Posts:
Sharing by Lazada Malaysia CEO, Leo Chow on
DESA Project achievements
Lazada Group Post with DESA Project as one of
the great achievement in promoting heritage
products
Nov 11, 2019

24. Thank You
Q&A