The global economy's centers of gravity are shifting. Many products are no longer merely manufactured in emerging markets; they are also being developed in these markets, thus accelerating economic progress. Siemens is supporting the opportunities that arise from this trend with an international innovation network focused on development of affordable products.
Emerging economies such as Brazil's need to invest in creaking infrastructures
"Innovations originally designed for emerging economies are finding their way into high-end markets."
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Janaina de Sauza Silva was looking forward to attending the Olympic Games in London in 2012. But she will have to wait a long time before she can do so. The reason: Siemens requested that she return to her native Brazil in June 2010—much earlier than originally planned. “Business was booming in my home country and my colleagues there were desperately searching for qualified people—so I'm going back early and will be in charge of a major project,” says Janaina, who is 34. As a reward, Janaina will be able to watch the 2016 Olympic Games in her own country, because they will be held in Rio de Janeiro, including volleyball matches on the legendary beach at Copacabana. The country began developing the infrastructure needed for the Games some time ago (see article "Rebirth of a Metropolis").
The global economy's centers of gravity are shifting. That much is obvious from examples like Janaina's career, as well as from a spectrum of macroeconomic data, such as public debt, demographic developments and economic growth.
By all of these criteria, most of the emerging economies are performing better than industrialized economies. Countries such as China and Brazil seem to have passed through the global financial and economic crisis unscathed. The OECD predicts that the emerging economies will overtake the original industrialized countries in terms of aggregate economic output by 2030 (see article "Emerging Markets: Amazing Growth Ahead").
This calculation includes not only the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), but other countries such as Colombia (see article "Bogotá's Efficiency Hub"). Meanwhile, it has become fashionable to identify the economic-miracle countries of tomorrow. Investment bank Goldman Sachs, which coined the BRIC acronym, now also talks of the “next eleven.” These are nations with good growth prospects, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico (see article "Greener than You Think") and Turkey. Although the latter two have suffered recently, high growth rates have already been predicted for them again in 2010.
Mexico, a country that intends to set an example for effective climate protection, is currently investing substantial amounts in wind farms and energy-efficient technologies. In late 2010, Mexico will host the World Climate Summit and will be able to present its achievements to guest countries. A trip to Querétaro, two hours by car north of Mexico City, could be worthwhile in this context. There, Santander, a major international bank, has set up a call center where energy use is minimized thanks to the latest technology from Siemens.
According to McKinsey, a major management consulting company, climate protection technologies could create up to half a million additional jobs in Mexico by 2030. Other emerging economies, many of them in the Middle East and North Africa, for example, have also discovered this opportunity.
Morocco is a case in point. There, the first power plants are being built as foreseen by the Desertec initiative. These include wind farms and solar-thermal plants, which may one day provide energy for export to Europe. By 2020, Morocco plans to generate some 2,000 MW of power using solar facilities and another 2,000 from wind (see article "Desert Vision").
But the BRIC nations are still the most important drivers of the global economy. Enormous domestic markets are taking shape in these countries, together with an increasingly affluent middle class. More and more products are not only manufactured in those markets, but are also developed in them. This is giving rise to industrial Goliaths, which are learning to dominate markets within and in some cases outside their own borders. Jamshed J. Irani, a member of the board of directors of Tata Sons, sees the fact that the emerging economies have lagged behind Europe and the United States in their development as something of a blessing in disguise: “India does not need to repeat each stage of development—and each mistake—of the established industrialized nations. We can decide in favor of the latest technologies instead. Renewable energy sources are an example.” (see article "Greener than You Think")