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.

Bentong, Pahang is full of resources and a variety of local products, including durian, ginger, soy sauce, rice and many more. Most of the people, especially the Orang Asli in the rural area make their living by selling these products that they produce themselves organically. The living condition of the Orang Asli is poor and they have limited access to common amenities like schools, hospitals,  roads, and transportation. These are the reason why Bentong, Pahang is DESA's current focus.

DESA assists the Orang Asli to sell its organically-grown product online by educating them on ways to increase the product value through

1)  The knowledge of product packaging and branding

2)  The elimination of intermediaries

3)  Connecting with the government sector to gain technical support in terms of improving product quality and production