The worlds new growth frontier: Midsize cities in emerging markets

Over the next 15 years, 400 cities that most executives have never heard of will power global growth. This narrated slideshow explores them.
MARCH 2011 Richard Dobbs, JaanaRemes, and Sven Smit Source: McKinsey Global Institute Senior executives searching for growth face a stark new reality: roughly 400 midsize cities in emerging marketscities they mostly will have never heard ofare posed to generate nearly 40 percent of global growth over the next 15 years. Thats more growth than the combined total of all developed economies plus the emerging markets megacities (those with populations of more than ten million, such as Mumbai, So Paulo, and Shanghai), which together have been the historic focus of most multinationals. Learning about consumer attitudes in the emerging markets middleweight cities (three-quarters of which have less than two million people), figuring out market entry strategies for them, and deciding how to allocate resources within and across them will all be crucial priorities in the years ahead. New research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) seeks to arm executives with the knowledge theyll need to tap into global urban growth. Midsize cities in emerging markets are poised not only to generate much of the worlds growth in the years ahead but also to become dramatically richer. By 2025, for instance, more of the worlds middle-class households will be in emerging rather than in developed markets. Companies selling products for middle-class children and retirees alike will find many of their biggest markets in emerging economies. The same will be true for infrastructure and basic-material companies that are helping to create these rapidly growing cities. It all adds up to a brave new world for the multinationals targeting themand a better one for their inhabitants.
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Growth/The_worlds_new_growth_frontier_Midsiz e_cities_in_emerging_markets_2775

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