This paper explores how board independence and corporate governance quality affects economic growth across twelve BRICS+ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Argentina, Vietnam, UAE, Thailand, Malaysia, and Turkey) over the period 2014-2019. Based on a balanced panel of 72 observations, we apply an Ordinary Least Squares and Robust Least Squares regression analysis to study the effect of governance measures on real per capita GDP growth. The main independent variables under consideration are the Board Independence ratio and a summary Corporate Governance Index, consisting of two main dimensions: Conflicts of Interest Regulation (CGI1) and Shareholders' Rights (CGI2). Additionally, we controlled for investment, human capital, and political stability, rule of law, regulatory quality and institutional quality indicators. Overall, we find that the overall Corporate Governance Index is a good predictor of economic growth: a 1-unit increase in the overall corporate governance index explains roughly 1 percentage point of additional real per capita GDP growth. Both investment and human capital also display strong positive growth effects, which persist through the various specifications. Notably, we find that while CEO duality negatively predicts standard growth effects, the growth effect of improvements in governance are far more pronounced for combined CEO-Chair firms than for separate roles. Our findings highlight the significant macro-economic importance of corporate governance for emerging economies and present governance reforms, particularly regarding shareholder rights and conflict of interest regulations, as a potential way to stimulate growth in the BRICS+ countries. Our results are suggestive that a particular focus on improving governance in companies with separate Chairman and CEO positions might lead to very significant economic gains.