After experiencing an initial period of rapid growth, many developing countries have fallen into the middle-income “trap”—stuck between low-wage, low-technology markets and high-income, innovation-based developed economies. This note argues that inadequate access to finance has an adverse effect on innovation, directly, through the financing of fewer research and development (R&D) projects, and also indirectly, as fewer individuals may choose to invest in the skills necessary to work in R&D fields.