Firms

Firm growth in Africa depends not just on founder ideas but on building capable teams, developing local managerial talent, and equipping people with the skills needed to scale sustainably. Key gaps remain in identifying high-potential founders early, supporting team formation, retaining skilled local managers, and building the institutional capacity to harness AI in ways suited to African market realities.

Low prices paid to suppliers in global supply chains can raise concerns about unequal sharing of gains from exporting. New research on India’s garment sector shows that these low prices can reflect both mutually beneficial agreements and surplus capt...

Many formal firms in sub-Saharan Africa only register after operating informally for a few years in order to grow and overcome financial constraints. Evidence from Nigeria suggests that taxes and enforcement – rather than registration costs alone – a...

Evidence from Brazil shows that drought-driven rural-urban migration reduced urban informality over a decade, contradicting conventional wisdom.

Import competition from China can increase productivity among Indian firms not by lowering costs, but by encouraging innovation through quality upgrading.

In Mexico, better management improves firm efficiency, but a range of factors limit well-managed firms from expanding and gaining market share – reducing firms’ incentives to upgrade their practices.