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espite the slowdown in macroeconomic growth, the drop in commodity and currency prices, the crash of equity markets, and the rise of geopolitical risks, top companies from emerging markets have not only survived, but they are also still growing and keeping on expanding overseas.

A new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), highlights 100 large, ambitious companies from emerging markets, two of whom are from Indonesia: Indofood and Golden Agri-Resources.

The report shows that in the last several years, regardless of the economic turmoil in emerging markets, these companies have maintained both their growth rates and profit margins.

The top companies from emerging markets grew three times faster than their counterparts in mature markets from 2009 through 2014.

These companies have grabbed market share from multinationals in several key categories within countries, and they nearly quintupled their share of overseas revenue from 2005 through 2014.

Companies from emerging markets have captured global market shares exceeding 40 percent.

Ten years ago, the BCG list was dominated by industrial goods and resources companies competing on cost. Today, the sectors are as varied as household appliances, construction and engineering, industrial conglomerates, and real estate development. They are appealing to the hopes and dreams of middle-class consumers in emerging markets and elsewhere.

Some examples: Handsets in China, notably Meizy, Oppo and Xiaomi increased their share of this expanding market from 19 percent to 57 percent from 2009 through 2014; cement in Kenya, where multinationals have their market share dropped from 55 percent to 40 percent because local companies are growing more than three times faster; Business Process Consulting in India, where Indian companies more than doubled their global market share.

Although the geographic composition of the companies list has not changed significantly since 2014, when the last report was published, a few trends are emerging.

First, consumer-oriented companies, such as Discovery, a financial services firm from South Africa, are moving beyond advantages based on cost and access to raw materials.

Second, new companies, such as Axiata, a leading regional telecom operator based in Malaysia, and Chinese smartphones maker Xiaomi, are appealing to the expanding middle class in emerging markets.

Third, as discretionary consumer spending increases in emerging markets, airlines like China Eastern Airlines and Pegasus Airlines of Turkey, are also making strides.

So what are the attributes of these companies?

Vision and culture. Their vision is easy to describe and see in action, and they create a culture that unified the company and amplified individual effort and achievement.

Operating model. The operating models are built to go global and to be adaptive. They are not modified versions of the model designed for the company’s home market. Global leaders build global processes, especially for risk management and other core activities, but are willing to bend the rules so that local markets can make adaptations. Hindalco, for example, has deliberately created a portfolio of high- and low-margin products to provide a buffer against ups and downs in the economy.

Talent and organization. They have globally competent leadership, global talent acquisition and development, as well as strong global organization model and governance. They build global leadership and talent programs, rotate top people through geographies, and create opportunities for star talent outside of the home market. They establish an employer-of-choice brand in key recruiting markets. They know how to integrate talent and retain key aspects of their culture when they acquire other companies. India’s Tata Consultancy Services, for example, has learned to scale its recruiting, onboarding and training engines for the 50,000 or more employees that join the company each year. Lenovo and Emirates Airlines have created a diverse and international workforce at all levels.

Go-to-Market Model. The companies have clear globalization master strategy, they make smart local acquisitions and develop local partnership to fill in the gaps in their coverage, product portfolio, or distribution networks. Meat processer JBS, for example, has example, has created strategic partnerships in key geographies, established direct-sales teams, and located production facilities in low-cost countries.

Innovation and Reinvention. Global leaders are continually innovating and, when necessary, reinventing themselves to stay relevant. Li & Fung will create and shutter business units as necessary. Recognizing that beer tastes are regional, SABMiller uses local ingredients in its breweries. In Africa, for example, it offers many bottle and can sizes and uses local crops like sorghum to brew affordable beer.

To be sure, the road ahead will be more challenging than the one just traveled. Despite the growing middle class and increasing disposable income in many of these markets, companies in emerging markets are not immune to macroeconomic forces. They cannot necessarily count on the purchasing power of mature markets to fuel growth or on foreign investors to fund their capital needs.

More than US$500 billion of net capital flew out of emerging markets in 2015. Commodity players cannot depend on China’s once insatiable appetite for raw materials.

Against the backdrop of slowing economies, rising geopolitical risks, falling commodity prices and greater competition, companies in emerging markets will need to do more than float higher on the tide of an expanding economy. They will need to compete.

This will be tougher for some than for others. Many state-owned enterprises, such as shipping and port giant COSCO, are facing pressure to restructure. As for the Family-owned companies, especially new ones, will likely need to transition to a new generation of leaders. The average age of CEOs at family-owned businesses in Asia is 61, so this is real and present concern. Conglomerates in particular will need to focus on productivity and profitability, not just top-line growth.

Companies from emerging markets increasingly will need to rely on strategic M&A to build their capabilities and reach their goals. Tech Mahindra, an Indian IT service company, has thoughtfully expanded its business through deals.

In 2015, Tech Mahindra and a sister company bought Italian design house Pininfarina to expand their high-end capabilities. That same year, Tech Mahindra also bought Geneva-based Sofgen Holdings, to move into the banking industry, and Light-bridge Communications, to expand its network-services capabilities.

Still, we are bullish on the long-term growth of many of these markets and even more so on the homegrown companies they have produced.

These companies know how to win in volatile and uncertain times.
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The writer is partner and managing director of The Boston Consulting Group.