Kaifu Lee’s Innovation Works gets $15m investment from the World Bank

Innovation Works’s Beijing office.

World Bank investment arm IFC is investing US$15 million into the latest fund of Chinese VC and startup incubator/accelerator Innovation Works, the two companies announced at a press event yesterday. This is the first time the World Bank has made a direct investment in early-stage Chinese internet startups.

The funds will go into Innovation Works’s Sinovation Fund III LP, which is focused on early- and mid-stage internet companies. The total sum of this fund has not yet been disclosed, as Innovation Works is still raising money, but founder Kaifu Lee says that IFC’s investment could go a long way towards helping Innovation Works become more global. It’s also an important stamp of approval for Innovation Works’s investment-plus-incubation model.

For IFC’s part, VC fund director Atul Mehta told reporters that the firm is impressed with entrepreneurship in China. IFC is also interested in connecting with local incubators and accelerators, so Innovation Works – one of China’s largest tech accelerators and incubators – was an obvious place to start.