Allegedly there were isolated precursors before the Netherlands, namely in Toulouse. Granted it really took off in the Netherlands. It seems the concept was invented independantly serveral times.

http://blog.yalebooks.com/2015/08/11/the-worlds-first-corpor...

https://qz.com/219270/bazacle/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazacle_Milling_Company

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03044...

That’s a fascinating story. That’s how I learned of it because the wallpaper in my hotel bathroom was in English and French and Dutch and had these factoids about Netherlands. One was the stock corporation thing and the stock exchange.

Sadly the east India trading company resulted in untold millions of death for people on the wrong end. But it made a lot of money.

Another bit I learned was how the Dutch stopped Napoleon by flooding their country.