A truck sprays water along a road at the Ahafo gold mine, run by American gold mining firm Newmont, northwest of Ghana's capital Accra.ORLA RYAN/REUTERS
Viva Ona Bartkus is professor emerita at the University of Notre Dame.
Emily S. Block is the George M. Cormie Chair of Management in the University of Alberta School of Business.
They are the authors of Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World’s Toughest Places.
In the relentless pursuit of growth, global businesses have scoured the world for new opportunities. We’ve seen gleaming skyscrapers rise in Nairobi, watched as San Pedro Sula in Honduras transformed from a violent gang-ridden city to a burgeoning hub of commerce, and witnessed the economic miracles of China and India. But as these markets mature, a pressing question emerges: Where next?
More than two decades of work in some of the world’s toughest places leads us to believe the answer lies in “the frontlines” – remote, often unstable regions that have been largely overlooked by foreign investment. These areas, while challenging, represent the final frontier of global business expansion and offer tremendous potential for those bold enough to venture there. Indeed, the frontlines are home to approximately 1.4 billion people generating more than $20-trillion in annual economic activity – a market larger than India’s entire economy. This is not just an opportunity; it’s an imperative for businesses seeking sustainable long-term growth.
Consider the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Rich in natural resources and strategically located, it nonetheless has long been bypassed by foreign investors owing to decades of armed conflict. Yet, it’s precisely such neglected areas that now present the most significant opportunities for growth.
Let us be clear: succeeding in these environments requires a fundamental shift in how we approach business. The strategies that work in New York, London or even Mumbai simply won’t cut it here. We need a new playbook.
Take Newmont Mining’s NEM-N experience in Ghana. After facing numerous challenges in other frontier markets, the company adopted a radically different approach when developing its Ahafo gold mine. Instead of operating as a fortified enclave, Newmont deeply embedded itself in the local community. It established training academies, employed local staff and fostered a small business ecosystem around the mine.
This is the kind of innovative thinking we need. It’s not just about extracting resources or selling products; it’s about becoming an integral part of the community’s social and economic fabric. It’s about creating shared value in the truest sense of the term.
Critics might argue that operating in such unstable environments is too risky. They’re not wrong about the risks, but we believe they’re missing the bigger picture.
Yes, these areas present challenges – from weak infrastructure to security concerns. But in the world of business everything is quantifiable. What these challenges really translate into is higher costs as the business expands, whether in building up infrastructure or managing new local partners. However, these costs decrease over time as the region becomes more stable. And such higher early expansion costs can be worth it because such regions also offer opportunities for outsized returns, both financial and social.
Moreover, we often talk about business making a difference in the world. Operating in frontier markets offers us a tangible way to do just that. By bringing business investment to these regions, we can drive economic development, create jobs and contribute to stability in some of the world’s most challenging environments. This isn’t just good for business; it’s good for the world.
Of course, this approach requires new capabilities. We need leaders who can navigate complex relationships with non-traditional partners, who can gather and analyze data in information-scarce environments and who can rapidly adapt their strategies based on local feedback. These aren’t skills typically taught in business schools, but they’re critical for success in the 21st century’s global economy.
Some forward-thinking companies are already leading the way. Firms such as Green Mountain Coffee, Jollibee and General Electric have made inroads into frontier markets, gaining first-mover advantages and demonstrating that it’s possible to do well by doing good.
The path won’t be easy. It will require us to rethink our business models, develop new competencies and take calculated risks. But the potential rewards – both financial and societal – are immense.
So, we put forward this challenge to businesses: Let’s set our sights on the frontlines. Let’s bring our resources, our innovation and our entrepreneurial spirit to the places that need it most. In doing so, we can unlock new sources of growth for our companies while making a real difference in the world. The frontlines are calling: will we answer?