The World Bank Group’s IFC invests in Rocket Internet startups

Startup incubator Rocket Internet has secured a new, rather unusual investor for its Zalando clones in Russia and Latin American: the International Finance Corporation, a member of the Wold Bank Group.

The amounts of funding are surprisingly small for a Rocket Internet company – Russia-based Lamoda received €10m, while Latin American Dafiti secured €15m.

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The IFC invests in retailers that are based in developing countries in an effort to boost the economy in such countries. In fiscal year 2013 the IFC claims it provided over $600m in financing for companies in the retail sector.

“Internet companies are speeding up modernization of the retail supply chain in developing countries, which promotes consumer spending – a key component of economic growth,” said Atul Mehta, IFC Global Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services. “Their investments in logistics, information technology and marketing are rapidly generating employment, especially for women and young people.”

“The explosion in broadband access in developing countries is an opportunity for us to serve new markets of consumers in developing countries by providing access to higher quality goods and services at lower cost,” Oliver Samwer, one of three brothers behind Rocket Internet, said.

This story originally appeared on VentureVillage. Copyright 2014