Joaquin Lennon has been an economist at the International Monetary Fund's Statistics Department since 2022, where he leads projects to improve data standards and transparency of countries' official economic data. Previously, Joaquín worked as an economist at the Strategy and Development Department of IDB Invest during the years 2018 and 2021, where he contributed to the preparation of the IDB Group’s Country Strategies, among other strategic products, and led the implementation of data-driven tools to identify the of the Group's borrowing countries’ development challenges and to better understand which interventions could generate the greatest development impacts through the private sector. Joaquin is a co-author of numerous knowledge products on Latin American and Caribbean economic development.
Other previous positions Joaquín has held include researcher in economic and public policy issues at the University of Chicago, market analyst at Euromonitor International, economist in the Chilean Chamber of Construction's economic studies department, and consultant on policy evaluation projects in Chile, his native country.
Joaquin has a master's degree in applied research methods from the University of Chicago, a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chile, and a bachelor's in economics from the same university.
A recent study by IDB Invest and FinDev Canada analyzes survey data from over 1,000 firms across seven Caribbean countries in 2020, finding that investing in new or improved products, services, processes, methods, or distribution channels drives productivity and financial performance and can also make companies more resilient in the face of crisis.
Fintech solutions and digital banking services offer a unique opportunity to serve previously underbanked individuals and SMEs. Though most commercial banks are adopting these solutions, there is an opportunity to deepen the collaboration with Fintech firms in order to close financial inclusion gaps in the region, while promoting responsible finance practices.