Resilient Firms and Economies 2025

To fully unlock the potential of global and emerging markets, resilience must be strengthened through three distinct approaches: system-wide, thematic and region-specific – each addressing a unique dimension of the challenge. 1. A system-wide approach to resilience The system-wide approach to resilience explores how a new type of collaboration among private- sector companies, governments and multilateral development banks (MDBs) can help address systemic risks and contribute to a more resilient global economy. By working together, these groups have the potential to create an environment that supports stability, growth and innovation at a macro level: –Private sector: Companies drive growth by focusing on agility and innovation, enabling them to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and seize new opportunities. –Governments: Policy-makers accelerate growth by investing in critical infrastructure and providing clear, long-term policy frameworks that encourage investment and enable businesses to thrive. –MDBs: Development institutions play a catalytic role by mobilizing private capital, strengthening institutional capacity and coordinating cross-sector efforts to address systemic risks and support the economic priorities of emerging markets.2. A thematic approach to resilience Resilience also requires targeted, thematic efforts to address specific challenges. This report focuses on several key themes identified through the latest annual Pulse Check Survey. The priorities which were identified are infrastructure and supply chains, digitalization and skills, financing gap, and enabling policy. 3. A region-specific approach Resilience challenges often differ across regions due to geopolitics and geoeconomic conditions. The region-specific approach considers how resilience strategies might be tailored to address the unique needs and opportunities of regions and countries, such as Africa and the Middle East, and the individual national contexts within them. As noted by a CEO during a Resilience Consortium leaders’ convening in 2025: “Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050, which will require long-term investments in infrastructure, education and economic systems to build sustainable resilience.” This approach acknowledges that localized challenges, such as climate adaptation in vulnerable regions or economic diversification in resource-dependent areas, may require customized approaches to build resilience. 1.2 Building resilience: a three-pronged approach Resilient Firms and Economies 6