Focus on emerging markets: Emerging markets, which represent nearly 60 percent of global GDP, are vital to the resilience agenda. They face exposure to trade disruptions, commodity volatility, and climate risks, yet they hold the potential to drive global growth in the decade ahead. Strengthening resilience in these economies is critical not only for their own prosperity but also for safeguarding global stability.

Resilience preparedness: Organisations are becoming more resilient, but progress remains uneven. Preparedness has improved by 13 percentage points since 2024, yet only one in four companies considers itself ready to withstand major disruptions across all resilience dimensions (e.g., financial, organizational, digital and technology resilience) and this share falls to one in five when assessing resilience capabilities (i.e., crisis response, foresight, disruption preparation, and strategic re-orientation).

Financial resilience remains the strongest dimension, with 40 percent of firms reporting readiness, while digital and technological resilience has advanced from 19 to 32 percent, underscoring the growing link between innovation and adaptability, particularly for emerging economies that are more exposed to global shifts.

The priorities for 2026:

• Strengthen infrastructure and supply chains through investment in energy, transport, and logistics networks, supported by blended finance, standardised guarantees, and local-currency lending to mobilize private capital.
• Accelerate digitalisation and skills development by expanding digital public infrastructure and investing in workforce upskilling to close access gaps and boost productivity.
• Expand capital access for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) via risk-sharing facilities, blended finance, and resilience-linked credit programs that promote affordable financing and reward preparedness.
• Reduce policy frictions by creating pro-growth policy environments, harmonizing standards, and creating predictable frameworks that attract long-term investment and help foster resilient, growth-oriented markets.

The role of MDBs: MDBs play a key role in advancing resilience across these four priority areas by combining capital mobilization, policy reform, and private sector partnerships. Institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank Group, and the Islamic Development Bank are directing financing toward sustainable infrastructure, digital transformation, and SME growth through blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms.

Collaborations such as IDB Invest’s Ready and Resilient Americas, the World Bank’s Tanger Med Port project in Morocco, and the EBRD’s Digital Hub in the Western Balkans and Ukraine show how MDBs and firms strengthen preparedness, modernize infrastructure, and enhance digital resilience to drive sustainable growth in emerging markets.

Yet challenges remain: 94 percent of survey respondents cited obstacles to public–private collaboration, including regulatory constraints (32 percent), misaligned objectives (27 percent), and funding limitations (26 percent). Improving coordination among these sectors across is essential to create long-term, inclusive growth.

A call to action: Building resilience requires a systemwide approach anchored in partnership. The Resilience Consortium invites CEOs and leaders to actively engage in shaping the resilience agenda and to participate in upcoming convenings, including the Annual Meeting in Davos. By embedding resilience as a core organisational capability, leaders can help position it as a catalyst for sustainable, inclusive growth.