Resilient Firms and Economies: How Companies, Governments and Multilateral Development Banks can Help Unlock Growth in Emerging Markets

As global markets are reshaped by geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain volatility and rising climate impacts, companies face mounting pressure to stay competitive while navigating uncertainty.

The Resilience Consortium’s 2025 Pulse Check Survey, which surveyed more than 270 executives, reveals that only one in four companies feels prepared across resilience dimensions, and just one in five feels equipped across resilience capabilities. Macroeconomic instability, skills shortages and financial constraints are the main barriers. Written by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, this white paper examines how coordinated action can turn these challenges into engines of sustainable growth.

The paper outlines a three-pronged resilience approach, highlights four priority areas for collaboration and demonstrates how companies, governments and multilateral development banks (MDBs) can strengthen infrastructure, expand digital and skills capabilities, close financial gaps, and enable policies for growth. Through global case studies, it shows how resilience can shift from crisis response to a driver of long-term, inclusive economic opportunity.