What Drives Growth in Emerging Markets Today

Chosen theme: Factors Driving Economic Growth in Emerging Markets. Explore the real forces shaping momentum, from bustling cities to bold policies—and join the conversation by sharing your insights, subscribing for weekly briefs, and sending us your questions.

Demographic Dividends and Urban Momentum

With median ages often under thirty, emerging markets gain a growing labor force and consumer base at once. The dividend arrives when education, health, and job creation align, turning potential into productivity and rising household demand.

Demographic Dividends and Urban Momentum

Urbanization concentrates talent, suppliers, and customers, lowering transaction costs and accelerating knowledge spillovers. Smart planning around transit, housing, and services ensures density boosts productivity rather than congestion. Share your city’s story of growth or growing pains.

Demographic Dividends and Urban Momentum

In Dhaka, a small garment workshop doubled output after relocating near a fabric market and tapping a micro-logistics platform. Shorter delivery times, faster feedback, and denser networks lifted margins. Have you seen similar urban synergies in your sector?

Infrastructure and Connectivity as Catalysts

Transport Corridors That Unlock Markets

Ports, dry ports, and intermodal rail shrink distances for exporters and rural producers. Along East Africa’s key corridor, farmers reached urban buyers more consistently, reducing spoilage and price uncertainty. Well-run logistics turn perishable output into dependable income streams.

Reliable Power, Real Productivity

From industrial parks to neighborhood clinics, steady electricity determines uptime and quality. Grid upgrades, distributed solar, and modern mini-grids cut outages and fuel costs. When machines keep running, firms scale orders confidently and hire more workers with predictable shifts.

Sound Policies, Stable Institutions

Investors can plan around imperfect taxes or tariffs, but not around sudden reversals. Clear medium-term fiscal plans and independent central banks anchor expectations, lower borrowing costs, and support sustained capital formation across manufacturing, services, and agriculture.

Sound Policies, Stable Institutions

Secure titles and efficient courts encourage entrepreneurs to invest and use assets as collateral. After digitized registries launched in one province, a young agritech founder secured a loan within weeks, expanding field trials before the planting season began.

Trade Integration and Competitive Industries

Upgrading into components, final assembly, or branded goods lifts incomes and resilience. Mexico’s auto clusters and Vietnam’s electronics show how supplier development, skills, and logistics converge. The journey starts with niche strengths and deep partnerships with anchor firms.

Trade Integration and Competitive Industries

Agreements like AfCFTA and ASEAN reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, harmonize standards, and expand addressable markets. When rules align, cross-border SMEs scale faster. A trucking firm we met cut clearance times dramatically after digital customs pilots went live.

Human Capital, Health, and Skills

TVET programs, apprenticeships, and industry-designed curricula close the gap between classrooms and shop floors. Coding bootcamps and digital literacy initiatives help SMEs adopt software, not just buy it. Matching skills to demand keeps the demographic dividend from slipping away.

Human Capital, Health, and Skills

Basic healthcare, preventive screenings, and nutrition programs cut absenteeism and strengthen resilience to shocks. When workers stay healthy, firms maintain schedules and kids stay in school. Health spending isn’t a cost center—it is the substrate of sustained productivity.

Human Capital, Health, and Skills

Innovation thrives when universities, startups, and established firms collaborate. Shared labs, seed grants, and diaspora mentorship accelerate commercialization. We love hearing your campus-industry stories—send one in, and we may feature it in our next subscriber brief.

Finance, Savings, and Investment Quality

The best FDI brings technology, supplier development, and training, not just tax incentives. Supplier inclusion programs and local content strategies create lasting linkages. Communities thrive when investors co-invest in skills, infrastructure, and environmental stewardship.

Sustainability and Resilience as Growth Drivers

Clean Energy Transitions

Utility-scale solar, wind auctions, and grid modernization reduce import bills, stabilize power, and open new industries. Local manufacturing of components and maintenance services creates jobs. Firms with cheaper, cleaner energy win orders and protect margins as fuel prices swing.