Alibaba to fund mobile commerce start-up incubator in India

People walk at the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, April 23, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW DELHI - China's Alibaba group will set up a start-up incubator for mobile internet and mobile commerce in the southern Indian city Bangalore, said local daily the Times of India Wednesday.

The project will be set up with the Globals, a Bangalore-based mobile and analytics solution company, after a meeting between Alibaba chairman Jack Ma and Globals founder Suhas Gopinath.

The two companies want to focus on mobile internet as e- commerce is moving rapidly to mobile.

"It becomes easier to mentor the startups, and find the right set of funders if you have a focused incubator," the report quoted Gopinath as saying.

The idea for the incubator came from Guru Gowrappan, chief operational officer and head of product and marketing in Silicon Valley-based Quixey, of which Alibaba is an investor.

The project is expected to start by May or June, according to the report.