Financing Firm Growth: The Role of Capital Markets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Events

Financing Firm Growth: The Role of Capital Markets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

May 21, 2025

Washington, DC and Online

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The new IFC-�Ӱ��̳ report explores the surge in capital market financing in low- and middle-income countries from 1990 to 2022. Drawing on data from nearly 80,000 firms worldwide, the study shows how capital markets have been a key driver of investment and job creation in developing countries.

The analysis reveals greater participation by firms from low- and middle-income countries in capital markets since the 2000s. Most of these firms are new participants in capital markets, and they tend to be smaller, younger, and more productive than those already participating. Firms are deploying capital raised in markets to become more productive��investing in physical assets, hiring more workers, and expanding operations, spurring growth both at the firm level and within their economies. Join us on May 21 as a panel of the report��s core authors takes a deep dive into the report��s findings and implications for development policy.

Additional resources:

SPEAKERS
Economist
Pablo Hernando-Kaminsky is an economist in the Economics and Market Research Department of the International Finance Corporation. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Macroeconomics and Growth Unit of the Development Research Group at the �Ӱ��̳. He obtained my PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2023. Pablo��s research interests lie at the intersection of international finance and macroeconomics.
Manuel Garc��a-Santana
Senior Economist
Manuel Garc��a-Santana is a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomics and Growth Unit of the Development Research Group. His research focuses on the macroeconomic aspects of development and trade. Before joining the �Ӱ��̳, Manuel was an Associate Professor at Pompeu Fabra University and a Kenen Fellow at Princeton University, International Economics Section.
Alvaro Pedraza
Senior Economist
Alvaro Pedraza is a Senior Economist in the Finance and Private Sector Development Team of the �Ӱ��̳'s Development Research Group. His research interests include financial economics, asset pricing and macroeconomics. Prior to joining the Bank he worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Colombian Association of Pension Fund Administrators and the National Collateral Fund of Colombia. He holds a B.A. in Physics and a M.A. in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland.
DISCUSSANTS
Doerte Doemeland
Director for Strategy and Operations, Prosperity Vice Presidency
Doerte Doemeland is the Director for Strategy and Operations in the Prosperity Vice Presidency, a role she took on in July 2024. Before this assignment, she was the Practice Manager for Economic Policy for Latin America and the Caribbean and for the Global Macro and Debt Unit. Doerte has extensive management and operational experience, engaging with senior government officials on a wide range of policy reforms in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean through advisory services and lending operations.
Chief Economist, Global Industries, IFC
Denis Medvedev is Chief Economist for Global Industries at the IFC. He was previously Director of Economic Policy Research department at the IFC and Manager of Firms, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation unit at the �Ӱ��̳. In his earlier assignments at the �Ӱ��̳, Denis was responsible for policy dialogue, lending, and analytical work in South Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Africa, and developed forward-looking scenarios for the global economy.