Resilient firms and economies: Unlocking growth in emerging markets

The Resilience Consortium brings together governments, businesses, and multilateral development banks (MDBs) to strengthen resilience in emerging markets. Drawing on insights from the 2025 Resilience Consortium Pulse Check Survey, completed by more than 270 executives, along with a quantitative follow-up analysis, structured interviews with community members and the Consortium’s leadership group, and global, high-level convenings held throughout the year, this year’s white paper explores resilience preparedness in emerging markets and outlines how companies, governments, and MDBs can collaborate to unlock growth.

The importance of collective action: In an era of disruption, resilience has become a key driver of competitiveness and innovation. No single actor can mitigate systemic risks alone: Businesses contribute agility, innovation, and investment; governments enable progress through effective policy and infrastructure; and MDBs mobilize capital, derisk investment, and coordinate cross-sector efforts to address systematic risks. Together, these actors can build systems capable of withstanding and adapting to shocks.

Focus on emerging markets: Emerging markets, which represent nearly 60 percent of global GDP, are vital to the resilience agenda. They face exposure to trade disruptions, commodity volatility, and climate risks, yet they hold the potential to drive global growth in the decade ahead. Strengthening resilience in these economies is critical not only for their own prosperity but also for safeguarding global stability.

Resilience preparedness: Organizations are becoming more resilient, but progress remains uneven. Preparedness has improved by 13 percentage points since 2024, yet only one in four companies considers itself ready to withstand major disruptions across all resilience dimensions (e.g., financial, organizational, digital and technology resilience) and this share falls to one in five when assessing resilience capabilities (i.e., crisis response, foresight, disruption preparation, and strategic re-orientation). Financial resilience remains the strongest dimension, with 40 percent of firms reporting readiness, while digital and technological resilience has advanced from 19 to 32 percent, underscoring the growing link between innovation and adaptability, particularly for emerging economies that are more exposed to global shifts.

The priorities for 2026: Derived from the Pulse Check Survey, the next phase of global resilience efforts focuses on four strategic priorities:

• Strengthen infrastructure and supply chains through investment in energy, transport, and logistics networks, supported by blended finance, standardized guarantees, and local-currency lending to mobilize private capital.
• Accelerate digitalization and skills development by expanding digital public infrastructure and investing in workforce upskilling to close access gaps and boost productivity.
• Expand capital access for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) via risk-sharing facilities, blended finance, and resilience-linked credit programs that promote affordable financing and reward preparedness.
• Reduce policy frictions by creating pro-growth policy environments, harmonizing standards, and creating predictable frameworks that attract long-term investment and help foster resilient, growth-oriented markets.

The role of MDBs: MDBs play a key role in advancing resilience across these four priority areas by combining capital mobilization, policy reform, and private sector partnerships. Institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank Group, and the Islamic Development Bank are directing financing toward sustainable infrastructure, digital transformation, and SME growth through blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms. Collaborations such as IDB Invest’s Ready and Resilient Americas, the World Bank’s Tanger Med Port project in Morocco, and the EBRD’s Digital Hub in the Western Balkans and Ukraine show how MDBs and firms strengthen preparedness, modernize infrastructure, and enhance digital resilience to drive sustainable growth in emerging markets.

Yet challenges remain: 94 percent of survey respondents cited obstacles to public–private collaboration, including regulatory constraints (32 percent), misaligned objectives (27 percent), and funding limitations (26 percent). Improving coordination among these sectors across is essential to create long-term, inclusive growth.

A call to action: Building resilience requires a systemwide approach anchored in partnership. The Resilience Consortium invites CEOs and leaders to actively engage in shaping the resilience agenda and to participate in upcoming convenings, including the Annual Meeting in Davos. By embedding resilience as a core organizational capability, leaders can help position it as a catalyst for sustainable, inclusive growth.

Download Resilient Firms and Economies: How Companies, Governments and Multilateral Development Banks Can Unlock Growth in Emerging Markets, December 2025. This report was published in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.