Unlocking growth in a rewired Global Economy

Morocco’s fruit exporters and Southeast Asia’s auto parts makers are gaining new prominence as vital nodes in the rapidly evolving global trade network. While all this rerouting supports broader trade resilience – as highlighted in the DP World Global Trade Observatory findings this week – its bigger implication is growth. Emerging markets are set to drive 65% of global growth by 2035, but only if infrastructure and capital flows keep pace with demographic and technological change.

Across discussions from government-led initiatives to Africa’s economic prospects, a clear theme has emerged at Davos this week: redirected trade drives growth only when investment matches local needs, supported by coordinated corridors, streamlined cross-border rules, and workforce development. Without that fit, new routes may move goods but will not create the dependable lanes or income gains that allow growth to endure.

To unlock this potential, three practical shifts are required:

1. First, capacity must match redirected demand
   Growth accelerates when ports and energy networks are built to capture redirected trade flows at scale. Energy is now central to the trade conversation, and corridors without reliable power struggle to attract sustained investment.
2. Second, reducing friction can turn new routes into growth corridors
   Shared customs regimes, interoperable data systems and coordinated inspections can cut transit time, turning new regional routes into commercially viable growth corridors.
3. Third, growth only endures when it creates local value
   Projects last when they build skills and keep a fair share of returns in‑country. That point matters especially in regions facing intense demographic pressure: Africa, for example, sees around 30 million young people enter the labour market each year. As Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum put it, “Growth is messy, not simple.” Without local value creation, it will not be politically or socially sustainable.
    

The Lobito Corridor in South Africa was highlighted as an example of a growth-focused trade route this week. Here, transport infrastructure, border procedures and energy systems are being planned together so that businesses can grow alongside the mining and processing of natural resources.

When designed this way, corridors change how value is created and shared. Small firms see lower input costs and overseas buyers get routes they can commit capital to. The message running through Davos made it clear that in a rewired trade system, growth goes where routes are deliberately designed and investment is made to fit.