Resilience roundtable: How emerging markets can thrive amid geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty

To generate resilient growth, emerging markets must collaborate with businesses and multilateral institutions. This was the key message that emerged from the World Economic Forum’s inaugural Resilience Leaders’ Roundtable on 7 July 2025, a virtual gathering that we co-chaired.

The first in a three-part series that will continue with in-person meetings at the Forum’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Davos and 2026 Special Meeting in Riyadh, the meeting brought together a high-impact coalition of leaders from both global industry and international organizations to drive private-sector-led growth and innovation across high-potential sectors and regions.

The opening roundtable was split into four themed sections, each offering a deep dive into a different pillar underpinning emerging market resilience in the face of today’s complex geopolitical and economic environment.

The first section focused on how businesses can create resilient supply chains in emerging markets to help them navigate geopolitical risks.

The discussion considered the challenge of balancing immediate actions to address short-term uncertainties – such as tariffs and supply chain shortages – with the necessity of tackling long-term issues such as climate change.

The section also touched on an optimistic perspective regarding vulnerable supply chains, noting that their fragmentation, in extreme scenarios, could have significant cost implications for the global economy. Resilience, however, is not merely a short-term defensive strategy – it serves as a foundation for long-term growth. By addressing tail risks and fostering adaptability, resilience enables businesses to build a more agile and future-proof foundation.

The impact of trade tensions, tariffs, regional conflicts and political instability on supply chains also came under the microscope. One participating CEO highlighted that resilience strategies are most effective when co-led at the local level, ensuring alignment with company values and tailoring solutions to regional needs. This localized approach not only strengthens community connections but also enhances the ability to manage disruptions effectively.

Working to spread and embed essential skills and innovative technologies will also help companies to adapt and thrive, with strategic partnerships highlighted as a way of helping achieve this.

During the discussion on revitalizing emerging markets, participants noted that governments need to take a more proactive role in fostering private-sector growth, particularly amid global volatility and tighter fiscal space. These efforts must also include regulatory reform and digital transformations that help unlock private investment.

The developmental impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) must also be fostered. FDI is a gateway to technology, global market integration and productivity. Moreover, increasing FDI inflows can lift GDP.

Saudi Arabia, for example, has seen success in pursuing investment policies that strengthen and enable private-sector participation, ensuring fair competition, streamlined procedures and stronger investor protections.

Furthermore, participants in the roundtable echoed the call for emerging markets to prioritize FDI attraction, eliminate regulatory bottlenecks and accelerate digital infrastructure as part of broader strategies for diversification and sustainable growth.

The next section of the roundtable explored how expanding access to finance and enabling capital flows are essential to growth in emerging markets.

The discussion highlighted the role of multilateral institutions in financing critical infrastructure and mobilizing private investment. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) in particular can help bridge that gap by working upstream to create the conditions for investment via early-stage project preparation.

Furthermore, private capital is available – but risk-averse. Reducing both real and perceived risks requires robust legal frameworks, deeper local capital markets, and transparent data such as that provided by the Global Emerging Markets (GEMs) database.

Public-private partnerships can also attract private investment, but they need to be structured well. MDBs in particular can support enabling legislation, the structuring of transactions, and often act as anchor investors to attract private capital.

The discussion also underscored the need for innovative financial instruments and de-risking tools to support investment in fragile and frontier markets. EBRD’s Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility (URGF), for example, supports war-risk insurance in Ukraine.

Collective action is vital to creating resilient emerging markets, and this was the main talking point in the roundtable's final section.

The Forum’s Resilience Consortium – a group of ministers, chief executives, and heads of international organizations launched in collaboration with McKinsey & Company in 2022 – is accelerating collective action to embed resilience across emerging economies. The discussion looked at how Consortium partners are identifying opportunities to drive tangible progress on critical business challenges in emerging markets.

Future events in this series of talks will serve as key milestones to assess the Consortium’s progress as an enabler of concrete, private sector-led solutions.

In the spirit of the discussions, the roundtable ended with a call to action to turn the day’s dialogue into concrete initiatives that respond to the real and evolving needs of emerging markets.

The talks yielded many interesting insights, spotlighting proven and potential ways to break down structural barriers and open pathways for growth. The Resilience Consortium, together with its diverse community of public and private sector partners, will continue to advance these critical issues through strategic convenings. Building on this momentum, the sessions at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Davos and the Special Meeting in Riyadh will further develop these efforts and foster continued progress.

Seeds may be easy to sow, but the roots that make a plant truly resilient take years of persistence and diligence to nurture. That is the job that now lies ahead.