Resilient Firms and Economies 2025

Opaque rules, inconsistent enforcement and lengthy approvals inflate the policy-risk premium embedded in infrastructure tariffs, logistics fees and the cost of capital in emerging markets. According to the Resilience Pulse Check Survey, 82% of respondents reported significant ambiguity in their country’s industrial policies, while 94% encountered obstacles in public-private collaboration. Institutional weaknesses – ranging from gaps in data systems to shortages of skilled personnel and weak inter- agency coordination – further slow progress. These challenges hit businesses hardest as they often lack the resources to navigate shifting trade policies, fragmented agreements and complex customs procedures. Addressing these systemic weaknesses requires coordinated reform efforts that can improve predictability, efficiency and investor confidence. The World Economic Forum works with its partners on a suite of initiatives to improve investment climates and reduce policy-related frictions. Through its Investment Facilitation for Development programme, the Forum helps governments optimize procedures and strengthen regulatory frameworks to reduce the time, cost and risk of investing in emerging markets.63 Complementing this, the Global Investment Policy and Practice Initiative64 brings together business and government leaders to reform outdated rules, design new international frameworks and implement practical measures that unlock investment potential. Reinforcing collaboration between the public and private sectors is also central to achieving these goals. Effective reform depends on trust, dialogue and shared accountability among governments, private companies and MDBs. Strengthened collaboration ultimately creates more predictable, transparent and resilient investment environments where businesses can thrive. Cutting the policy-risk premium in infrastructure finance MDBs can play a central role in reducing the policy- risk premium that often constrains infrastructure finance. By combining advisory services with lending, MDBs help standardize risk allocation in public-private partnership (PPP) contracts and channel project preparation through platforms that replicate bankable structures. Resources from the World Bank’s PPP Legal Resource Center and the EBRD’s PPP Regulatory Guidelines Collection – developed with the UN Economic Commission for Europe – provide model clauses and risk- allocation matrices for issues such as changes in law, tariff indexation, force majeure, termination and dispute resolution.65,66,67 Embedding these standards into feasibility studies and bid documents shortens negotiations, aligns bankability with private expectations and ultimately helps increase private- sector participation. The Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) is a G20 initiative that supports governments and MDBs in building bankable pipelines of sustainable infrastructure projects.68 By institutionalizing standard approaches, GIF and MDBs can reduce uncertainty, leading to longer loan tenors and stronger supply-chain participation. Diagnostics such as World Bank’s Business Ready (B-READY) 3.4 Enabling policy for growth 94% of respondents reported encountering obstacles in public-private collaboration. Resilient Firms and Economies 23