Rashtriya Newsflash

Over her two-decade entrepreneurial journey, Miumiu MIAO has embodied the perseverance and passion of “choosing one path and sticking to it for a lifetime”. Fuelled by a commitment to lifelong learning and grounded in constant reflection, she has not only built a robust business empire but also cultivated a profound and enlightened state of mind. From an English teacher to a global supply chain leader, from a student at three prestigious universities to a cross-industry entrepreneurial trailblazer, her experience is a testament to two truths: passion is the bedrock of long-term career success, and learning is the key to breaking through boundaries. Together, these two forces have propelled her to achieve fulfillment in both her professional and personal life.

As the founder of Baobabtree Supply Chain and co-founder of Valternative Energy, Miumiu MIAO has emerged as a benchmark female entrepreneur leading Chinese enterprises’ expansion into Africa and driving global supply chain integration and industrial collaboration, thanks to her two decades of dedicated efforts. With a keen insight into global construction and cross-border supply chain management, she has led her team to anchor its core mission in “connecting Chinese manufacturing with global projects”, building a full-chain service system covering centralized procurement, international logistics and project delivery. She has tailored industrial solutions in agriculture, manufacturing, new energy and other sectors for more than 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, emerging as a pivotal driver of local industrial upgrading.

She has seized market opportunities with precision, focusing on economically vibrant and institutionally mature English and Portuguese-speaking nations including Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. Leveraging Guangzhou’s geographic advantage as China’s core trade hub with Africa, she has forged stable, long-term partnerships with leading local importers and key engineering projects, solidifying her company’s leading position in the regional market. In recent years, she has further expanded her business reach, deepening her presence in the high-end building materials and project delivery track. She provides integrated solutions that balance design quality and cost efficiency for high-end hotels, boutique residences and commercial landmarks across Africa, Europe, Central and South America, successfully extending the proven “Chinese manufacturing + global delivery” model to core markets such as the UK, the US and India, and achieving a leapfrog expansion of global business.

Miumiu MIAO’s foray into Valternative Energy also stems from the reliable cooperative resources she accumulated during her years of in the African market. As an early project planner and co-founder of Valternative Energy, she leveraged the profound business network and trust she built over years in Africa, combined with China’s mature industrial supply chain and business models in the new energy mobility sector, to smoothly enter the new energy track and actively advance the upgrading of infrastructure and industrial innovation in sustainable mobility in South Africa. When talking about her connection with Africa, Miumiu MIAO always smiles and says, “Cross-border business was an active choice, but the African market was not—it was more like an unexpected gift, a fate that bound me to this land.” Two decades of rooting and cultivating in Africa have earned her the trust of local partners and clients, and the endearing title of the “African Queen” has become her unique hallmark. Through her diversified industrial layout, Miumiu MIAO has demonstrated the strategic vision and social responsibility of an entrepreneur, establishing herself as an outstanding example in cross-border entrepreneurship and industrial empowerment.

Miumiu MIAO with the Chairman of the Board and CEO of METL, Tanzania’s leading conglomerate.

A Cross-Border Leap: Anchoring in the Cross-Border Track, Forging a Bond with the African Continent

Miumiu MIAO’s professional journey began with a stable position as an English teacher at a public school. As a top-performing government-funded student, she was assigned to a school upon graduation—a coveted “iron rice bowl” in that era. Yet her innate drive for exploration and adventure made her unwilling to settle for a life with a foreseeable future. “My parents strongly opposed my decision to quit the public sector. They thought for a girl, even a meager salary was not as good as a government job—it was all about stability; they just never wanted me to struggle,” Miumiu MIAO recalls, her voice still carrying the resolve of that time.

A twist of fate came by chance. Prior to this, she was selected by the state to study computer science at Guangdong University of Technology, where she clearly realized that neither teaching nor programming was the career she wanted to devote her life to. She thus resolved to pivot and find a path that truly suited her.

“Finding your passion is actually a process of constantly eliminating what you don’t want,” she says. A summer job as a part-time translator at a foreign trade company in Guangzhou in 2003 became the defining moment of her life. “The company’s boss was from Saudi Arabia, and I worked as a part-time translator. Back then, China had just joined the WTO, and a flood of foreign importers started coming to China to source goods from trade hubs like Dubai, Hong Kong and even Thailand. Every day, I accompanied buyers from different countries and industries to connect with Chinese suppliers across various sectors,” Miumiu MIAO remembers. The clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and the wide range of product demands filled her days with fresh experiences. To communicate effectively, she had to quickly learn knowledge about building materials, furniture, electrical appliances and other industries, painstakingly mastering the ins and outs of unfamiliar fields—from product parameters to trade processes. “When I was a teacher, I could almost see myself at 80. That kind of predictable life was desperate for me. But foreign trade was different; I learned something new every day and solved new problems. The thrill of exploring the unknown and turning uncertainty into certainty was utterly addictive.”

In 2004, on the fertile ground of Guangzhou, a millennial trading hub, Miumiu MIAO founded her own foreign trade company. Taking advantage of China’s WTO accession, Africa’s demand for Chinese goods was experiencing an explosive growth, yet few companies in Guangzhou specialized in Africa trade at that time.

The details of her early entrepreneurial days are still vivid in her memory. “We had no advertising team or marketing department back then—all our clients came through word of mouth.” In her early twenties, some clients were willing to transfer tens of millions of yuan to her account in advance, a testament to her unwavering commitment to integrity. “There were many companies in the market that took payment but never delivered goods, but I have always believed that honesty is the foundation of success. Your best advertisement is to do what your clients entrust you with well, and even exceed their expectations—your clients will then speak for you.”

Over the past two decades, Miumiu MIAO’s company has weathered numerous market fluctuations. In 2014, the global oil price plummeted, triggering an economic recession in oil-exporting African countries. Currencies in Angola, Nigeria, South Africa and other nations depreciated sharply against the US dollar, severely eroding the purchasing power of many local importers in China. “Those were really tough times,” but she refused to give up. Instead, she led her team to restructure its business. During this period, Miumiu MIAO came to a profound realization: the single product trade model was fragile with thin profit margins. She began to ponder how a trade company rooted in service trade could expand its profit points and achieve in-depth profitability. This led Baobabtree to transform from a single product trader to a full-service project delivery provider. “We no longer just sell building materials and furniture; we offer one-stop solutions for clients from scheme design to on-site implementation.” With this flexible adjustment, the company successfully navigated the economic cycle and gradually expanded its business to Europe, Central and South America, India and other markets.

Every detail of her entrepreneurial journey has become a source of growth. She remembers the shock of her first trip to Angola in Africa in 2008—a place misunderstood by the outside world as a land of thatched huts, yet its capital Luanda had for years been ranked as one of the world’s most expensive cities, with towering skyscrapers and stunning coastal scenery. “This taught me never to be bound by stereotypes; to do business in a market, you must approach it with awe and understand it on the ground.” She also recalls the early days of entrepreneurship, when she and her team burned the midnight oil for days on end to polish project proposals to win bids. “In the early days, we rarely left work before 10 pm. Every night, my mom would call me around 8 or 9 after dinner, and her first question was always, ‘Have you finished work? Have you eaten?’ Those hard days, in hindsight, are all treasures. They taught me that I can tough it out, and they helped me understand my strengths more clearly.” What has supported her through the lows and kept her going is her profound passion for this career. “Only when you truly find something you love can you manage it rationally and sustain it for the long term.”

Miumiu MIAO with the Chairman of the Board and the design team of a UK hotel group.

Lifelong Learning: Soaring on the Wings of Education, Breaking Through Cognitive Boundaries

“My first self-proclaimed label is ‘lifelong learner’. Learning is not just confined to the classroom; it is an attitude that runs through one’s entire life,” Miumiu MIAO firmly believes in the power of learning. Language, as a bridge connecting the world, is an important cornerstone of her cross-border business endeavors. “Language is like a person’s skin—it is our first perception of the world and a vital tool to connect with it.”

While being selected to study computer science, Miumiu MIAO took the initiative to apply for a self-taught undergraduate degree in English. “Back then, the teacher would be lecturing on C language at the front of the classroom, and I would be memorizing English words at my desk.” In addition to English, she taught herself Portuguese out of interest and work needs. Today, this language has become her second working language, enabling her company to deepen its presence in Portuguese-speaking African markets such as Angola and Mozambique.

As her business grew, Miumiu MIAO increasingly recognized the importance of systematic learning. She went on to study at the business schools of three world-renowned universities: Sun Yat-sen University, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Harvard University—each time with clear questions and goals in mind. “My first EMBA at Sun Yat-sen University was to solve the management challenges of the early entrepreneurial stage and expand my management horizons; studying at NUS allowed me to see the world from a perspective that blends Chinese and Western cultures; and my time at Harvard was about breaking through cognitive boundaries and exchanging ideas with the world’s top business elites.”

Learning in Harvard

Her experience at Harvard Business School left an indelible impression on Miumiu MIAO. At the opening ceremony, a foreign professor quoted Bruce Lee’s philosophy of “empty cup mindset”, a lesson she still cherishes to this day. “Each of us is a leader in our own field, but when we return to the classroom, we must let go of our attachment to existing experience and cognition, and embrace new knowledge like an empty cup—only emptiness allows for fullness.” In class, she was surrounded by 153 classmates from more than 50 countries around the world, all industry leaders in their respective nations. Their diverse perspectives and experiences shared during discussions on the same cases and questions gave her a more three-dimensional understanding of business. A profound remark from a Harvard professor also reinforced the core principle she has always practiced in running her company: “No enterprise should be obsessed with pursuing growth and scale alone. Instead, it should choose to do the right things, and do them well—growth and scale will follow naturally.”

A lecture by another professor on “Be Bold” also struck a chord with Miumiu MIAO. “Eastern culture teaches us to be humble and low-key, while Western culture encourages bold pursuit.” This insight has made her business decisions a balance of prudence and courage to break new ground. It was this courage that led her to venture into the new energy mobility sector. In 2024, she forged a strategic partnership with Uber International to launch an electric two and four-wheeler battery swapping project in South Africa—a project that has created nearly 2,000 jobs in the country to date. “It took 18 months to turn this idea into reality, with numerous challenges along the way. But whenever I thought of the professor’s words ‘Be bold’, I knew it was worth trying as long as the direction was right.”

Her three EMBA studies have brought Miumiu MIAO more than just knowledge—they have upgraded her way of thinking. She has flexibly applied the theoretical knowledge she learned to corporate management: for example, integrating the concept of “co-construction” into team building and striving to create an organization based on functional division rather than hierarchical division; and embedding a long-termism mindset into business decisions, rejecting the temptation of short-term gains and focusing on building core competencies.

Integrity and Innovation: Upholding Long-Termism, Building a Solid Foundation for Business

“I’m not smart enough to take shortcuts, but I love to reflect. After finishing everything, I always look back to see what I did well and where I can improve,” Miumiu MIAO says. This habit of constant reflection has helped her avoid many detours on her entrepreneurial journey and nurtured a more open-minded perspective. What propels her forward is three core principles she has always adhered to: “Reverence for the market, choosing the right people, and a long-termism mindset—these three are the basic values of my business operation.”

These principles are not abstract ideals but hard-won wisdom distilled from practice. “First and foremost, respect the market: never assume you are smarter than the market, and avoid counter-cyclical expansion. Second, choose people with aligned values: whether it’s the team or clients, integrity and a sense of responsibility are more important than ability. Third, uphold long-termism: before doing something, ask yourself—will this still make sense in 5 or 10 years? Is this beneficial to all parties? If the answer is yes, then do it. ‘Quick wins’ simply do not exist in my company. If something is a quick win, why would it be you who seizes it? I often ask myself this question.”

In her view, long-termism is never passive “perseverance” but active “passion and commitment”. “The essence of long-termism is finding something you truly love. When you do, you will pursue it with unwavering enthusiasm, and it will no longer feel like perseverance—because perseverance is hard.” Her two decades of dedication to the cross-border supply chain industry have made her acutely aware that when you do something you truly love and the direction is correct, sticking with it for the long term becomes a natural choice, not a burden to endure. And this practice of long-termism ultimately yields rich rewards.

Continuous learning and reflection have also given Miumiu MIAO a more insightful understanding of “success”. “Secular success is often defined by company size and profits, but to me, success means doing what I love, creating value for clients, fostering the growth of team members, and making a small contribution to social development.” Her company is named “Baobabtree”, after the African baobab—known as the “Mother Tree”, a symbol of resilience, inclusiveness and dedication. “I hope my company will be like the baobab tree: rooted in the market, growing steadily, and bringing value to clients, the team and society.”

Today, while Miumiu MIAO’s company has not deliberately pursued large-scale expansion, it has expanded its business to numerous global markets through joint ventures and other models, emerging as a highly reputable cross-border supply chain service provider in the industry. Personally, she still maintains her passion for learning. Having settled in Silicon Valley, she regularly meets with leaders of benchmark enterprises across various industries to explore the digital transformation of traditional enterprises driven by AI innovation. She firmly believes that “an unexamined life is not worth living”. In both life and work, she persists in reflection, leading her team to review the gains and losses of each project and explore ways to do better.

In December 2019, the five co-founders of the foundation presented themselves with a commemorative plaque marking a decade of philanthropy.

Philanthropic Practice: Lighting the Torch of Love, Illuminating the Hope of Education

While deepening her presence in the business world, Miumiu MIAO has also walked a philanthropic path for 16 years. Her charitable endeavors were sparked by a chance encounter after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. In the wake of the disaster, many schools in the Daliang Mountains were reduced to dangerous buildings, forcing a large number of children out of school. A co-founder of a foundation, while hiking and sketching in the Daliang Mountains, discovered more than 60 out-of-school children gathering in front of a dangerous building. He took photos and posted them on Weibo, sparking widespread attention. After seeing the photos, Miumiu MIAO made a donation at once, hoping to build mobile prefab classrooms for the children and help them return to school as soon as possible.

Over the past 16 years, Miumiu MIAO and her philanthropic partners have invested substantial resources in the Daliang Mountains. What began as a small group of like-minded people who met on Weibo with the simple wish to do something for others has evolved into the Sichuan Suoma Charity Foundation, which now has nearly 30 full-time staff. The foundation has built more than 60 schools in the Daliang Mountains and launched a number of philanthropic programs including free nutritious lunches, volunteer teaching and student assistance, benefiting more than 300,000 children in total. The busyness of the early entrepreneurial stage did not stop her from pursuing philanthropy. She recalls that in 2012, while pregnant, she spent her evenings making phone calls to screen and recruit volunteer teachers. In that round, she recruited more than 60 volunteer teachers for the foundation—the first systematic recruitment of volunteer teachers since the organization’s establishment. Since then, the foundation has sent nearly 3,000 volunteer teachers to the Daliang Mountains. “Back then, I handled company business during the day and devoted all my evenings to recruiting and screening volunteer teachers. It was tiring, but knowing that the children would have teachers and a chance to study made it all worthwhile.”

Sixteen years is long enough to witness the growth of a life. What touches Miumiu MIAO the most is that many of the assisted children, after graduating from university and starting work, take the initiative to donate their first month’s salary back to the foundation to help more children who were once like them. “Those who have been through the rain are always willing to hold an umbrella for others,” Miumiu MIAO says with emotion. The gratitude of these children has made all her efforts worthwhile and strengthened her resolve to continue her philanthropic work. Today, she and her enterprise are also carrying out philanthropic education assistance programs in many African countries, taking concrete actions to promote educational equity for African women. In her view, business and philanthropy are never separate: “Business is not just about making profits; it also needs to respond to the needs of the times and society.” This sense of social responsibility has also given her career greater warmth and depth.

With students at the school BBT support in Uganda

“Life is like a long entrepreneurial journey—there is no fixed path, only the motivation for continuous learning and the clarity that comes from constant reflection.” With two decades of entrepreneurial experience and 16 years of philanthropic dedication, Miumiu MIAO has interpreted the power of passion, lifelong learning and kindness. With passion as her boat, she has navigated industry cycles; with lifelong learning as her sail, she has broken through cognitive boundaries; with kindness as her soil, she has nurtured the flowers of hope. In the future, she will continue to move forward firmly on the paths of business and philanthropy with her unique insight and open-mindedness, writing a brilliant life of her own.

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