Governments form alliances to promote economic growth or to assist one another when needed. Emerging-market nations and countries across the globe benefit from association with a range of organizations that bring the leaders of different nations together. Some groups are mostly symbolic, while others wield real political and military power.

Asian Development Bank

Politicians in emerging and frontier markets in Asia often turn to the Asian Development Bank for funding and expertise for infrastructure projects. Asian Development Bank projects are in operation all over the Asian continent and in the Pacific Islands. The bank can provide loans, grants, and technical assistance for electric power distribution, water purification, or higher education, sparking progress that can improve growth prospects for companies and investors.

African Union

The African Union has every country in Africa except Morocco as a member. It works to further the economic and political prospects of the people on the African continent, and it has a court of justice to help resolve treaty and border disputes peacefully. Members have agreed to allow for an African central bank, monetary fund, and investment bank, but those institutions aren’t set up yet, and may not be.

Seven nations in the African Union are emerging or frontier markets: Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa.


The Commonwealth consists of 54 nations committed to democracy after being part of the former British Empire. Each nation is independent but accepts its historic connection as a fellow colony. Many, although not all, recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. Members with out-migration tend to lose citizens to other Commonwealth countries, especially Great Britain. That makes for strong economic and cultural ties within the organization.

Twelve members of the Commonwealth are emerging or frontier markets: Bangladesh, Botswana, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago.

European Union

The European Union has 27 member countries with 501 million citizens. Eight EU members are emerging or frontier markets: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. Turkey, an emerging market, and Croatia, a frontier market, are on the list of candidate nations.

The EU regulates travel and trade among its members. Citizens of member nations can travel and work anywhere in the EU. Trade, health, and safety regulations are standardized, making it easy for companies to develop a product in one market and sell it throughout the EU.

The EU has helped Europe form a strong economy and assisted many nations in their transition out of Communism. The EU’s success is a result of hard work and the commitment of wealthy nations, especially France and Germany, to its success.

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the banker to the world’s central banks. Its programs include loans and economic advice for countries that have developing economies. In particular, the IMF gets called when a country has a currency crisis and needs help stabilizing its currency and rebuilding its financial system.

The IMF collects comprehensive data on the world’s economies, making it a great source for your research on emerging markets.

World Bank

The World Bank has the goal of eliminating poverty through economic development. Its two lending arms are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association.

The World Bank is no stranger to controversy. Critics charge that its loan programs keep developing nations perpetually in debt. And its stated goal of fighting government corruption runs up against an unfortunate fact of life that corruption is part of doing business in many frontier and some emerging markets. Corrupt people don’t like big, multinational organizations funded by developed countries telling them what to do.

World Trade Organization

To make it easy for people to do business with one another regardless of what nation they live in, the World Trade Organization (WTO), helps settle disputes about tariffs, quotas, and other practices that restrict trade. The group helps negotiate trade disputes among its 153 member nations, which include almost every developed, emerging, and frontier market in the world.

Involvement in the WTO creates a more organized approach to international trade, and that helps companies and investors everywhere take advantage of global business opportunities.