Unicorns from Emerging Economies

In business terms, a ‘unicorn’ is a privately-owned startup company valued at over $1 billion. While unicorns have predominantly been a feature of well-developed economies, such as the USA and Europe, recent years have seen their increase in emerging economies – to the extent that these markets now host one-third of the world’s unicorns. The emergence of unicorns from the Global South represents a transformative shift in the global business and innovation landscape. Despite limited systematic knowledge on this novel phenomenon, high-growth, innovation-driven companies from emerging economies are rapidly positioning themselves at the forefront of technology and business model innovation. These firms challenge the traditional dominance of established markets, asserting their influence on a global scale. This book offers an in-depth analysis of this fast-evolving process, covering a wide geographical range of unicorns. These dynamic new players have the impact and potential to reshape the future of business worldwide.

Author Biography

Veneta Andonova is a Professor and the former Dean of Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia. She serves on UN PRME and GBSN International Advisory Boards. Professor Andonova’s research on the topic of multilatinas and the Latin American business environment is collated in the edited volume Multilatinas: Strategies for Internationalisation (Cambridge University Press, 2017) Diego Finchelstein is an Associate Professor at Universidad de San Andrés and a researcher at CONICET. His research focuses on institutions, internationalisation, and innovation from emerging markets. He was Executive Director of the EMRN and is member of the executive board at AIB-LAC. He has also performed consultancy work for multilateral agencies. Juana García Duque is a Professor at Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia. She was a Visiting Scholar 2019-2020 at David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). Her research activity in international development includes the role of international cooperation and the private sector in peace building and the study of internationalisation and emerging economies.