Ant International signs WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu as brand ambassador

Ant International, the Singapore-based affiliate of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, has named US basketball star Sabrina Ionescu as its global brand ambassador in a fresh partnership between sports and tech.\nThe four-time all-star in the US Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was chosen as part of an effort to expand access to financial tools via innovative technology, the digital payments provider said on Tuesday.\nThe 28-year-old point guard – an Olympic gold medallist and the top draft pick in 2020 – plays for the New York Liberty, which is owned by Alibaba Group Holding chairman and co-founder Joe Tsai and his wife, Clara Wu Tsai. Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.\nThe partnership came as a sign that Ant International is trying to boost its global clout, building upon its strong presence in Asia.\n“Sabrina embodies the spirit of perseverance and the passion for excellence that is driving young talents and small businesses around the world to uplift their communities,” said Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International, in a statement.\nAnt International provides cross-border digital payments and digitalisation services to merchants and financial institutions through brands including the cross-border payment platform Alipay+, merchant payment solution Antom, inclusive financial service Bettr, and WorldFirst, a business-to-business cross-border collection and payment service.\n“I’m drawn to Ant International’s work to open up access to financial tools and opportunities for everyone,” Ionescu said in a statement. “We share an aligned vision for equitable access, and their commitment to supporting small businesses and marginalised communities mirrors the work I do with youth through sports.”\nShe is Ant International’s first North American global brand ambassador.\n\nAs the owner of New York Liberty, Wu has said she aims to build the first billion-dollar WNBA team. “There might be more than one WNBA team that actually reaches a billion-dollar valuation in the next five to 10 years,” she said at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance event in October.\nBeyond basketball, Ionescu is a co-owner and commercial adviser at National Women’s Soccer League club Bay FC and founder of the SI20 Foundation, which works to expand access to sports for underserved youth in New York City, the San Francisco Bay area and Oregon. She is also chief athlete officer at Division Street, an organisation that helps players at the University of Oregon, where she played in college, profit from endorsements.\nAnt International in November announced a series of international collaborations. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s largest bank, DBS Group, to deepen cooperation and scale cross-border payments and fintech services. It also unveiled a strategic partnership with UBS to explore using blockchain-based tokenised deposits in global treasury operations.\n