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Washington D.C., January 28, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest in Dafiti and Lamoda, two online retailers rapidly adding jobs and expanding choices for consumer goods in developing countries. The apparel and general merchandise retailers were launched in 2011 by Rocket Internet, an online ventures incubator based in Germany. Dafiti operates in Latin America, while Lamoda operates predominantly in Russia and Kazakhstan.
IFC will support Dafiti’s expansion with an equity investment of up to €15 million, and will invest up to €10 million in Lamoda. Both companies employ thousands of people in Latin America and the CIS region with over two-thirds of them women. The companies also support jobs indirectly in logistics, information technology and by facilitating demand for locally sourced goods.
“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,” said Oliver Samwer, co-founder of Rocket Internet.
“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.”
IFC supports investments in the retail sector in developing countries because of its economic importance in terms of employment, consumer spending, and tax revenues. In fiscal year 2013, IFC committed more than US$600 million of long term and short term financing in the retail sector.
About Dafiti
Dafiti is one of the leading online retailers in Latin America selling footwear, clothing, accessories, sporting goods, perfumes, beauty products, bed and bath and home furnishings. Its online store has a variety of national and international brands and predominantly operates in Brazil but also in other countries of Latin America, including Colombia, Chile and Mexico. For more information, visit
www.dafiti.com.br
About Lamoda
Lamoda is Russia’s leading online retailer offering a large range of products from apparel, shoes, accessories, to beauty & home. The company focuses on providing a wide online selection of fashion brands and superior customer service running a dedicated courier fleet. Since 2012, Lamoda also operates the leading online shop in Kazakhstan. For more information, visit
www.lamoda.ru
or
www.lamoda.kz
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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