I have grown up in Iran, a country with variety of opportunities and hedges at the same time! when I grew older, I experienced living and working in countries like UAE (Dubai), Cyprus (Limassol) and Spain (Malaga)

let's check these cities and countries in the shortest words:

Dubai: a city full of opportunities, booming tourism and real estate markets, a city of rush and acceleration
Limassol: a cradle for finance and money markets, fast and slow at the very same time! island and separated
Malaga: peace and home! a developed country but a under developing area. tourism and real estate opportunities again

An emerging market is a country that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not meet standards to be a developed market. This includes countries that may become developed markets in the future or were in the past.

Investors have been pouring money into emerging markets—to the tune of $50 billion last year for mutual funds that invest in developing countries, according to EPFR Global.

Pros of emerging markets:

Growth: The biggest advantage of emerging market investments is the potential for high growth.
Diversification: International investments can be a good diversified for your investment portfolio because economic downturns in one country or region, including the U.S., can be offset by growth in another.

But not only big players and giants are watching emerging markets closely, many small businesses invest time and capital to take advantage of business opportunities in emerging markets in countries across the world.

Risks in emerging markets

First, where are we talking about? Which countries are considered Emerging Markets?
The 11 Big Emerging Markets economies are: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Thailand. this list is issued by Credit Suisse Group 2017.

Institutional investors are also looking to capitalize on this as they pump money into the emerging markets and also set up business operations as well. While there is no doubt that huge gains await investors that can find the right emerging market investment at the right time, the risks involved are sometimes understated.

Emerging Market Risks
What are the risks of investing in emerging markets? Being late and being wrong are two risks.

Risk No.1
Political systems risk factor - One example that has recently been making headlines is that of Turkey - a
country often hailed as a booming economy of almost miraculous proportions. But its on-again,
off-again protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have often resulted in violent clashes.

Risk No.2
Foreign Exchange Rate Risk - Iran, my country, is a sample here; the rate of IRR dropped by 10%
against USD and EUR in roughly one month recently. this can cause several problems in your business
plan and revenue estimations.

Risk No.3
Poor Corporate Governance System - A solid corporate governance structure within any organization is
correlated with positive stock returns. Emerging markets sometimes have weaker corporate governance
systems, whereby management, or even the government, has a greater voice in the firm than shareholders.

Risk No.4
Less Liquidity - Emerging markets are generally less liquid than those found in the developed world.
This market imperfection results in higher broker fees and an increased level of price uncertainty.

I have lived and worked in Middle East, with deep knowledge of marketing and understanding risk factors and success keys in the region. If you are in the beginning or middle of a business operation or expansion here, please feel free to contact me for any assistance.

How emerging markets can boost your business?

This is the last part of a series blog post, from my own experience on emerging markets:

Missing the Train?

What are the risks of investing in emerging markets? Being late and being wrong are two risks. Being late is the more common of the two risks.

If everything is so volatile and risky, why do people invest? Because the rewards can far outweigh
the risks if some basic caution is exercised. Inflation may be an enemy for people who live and work
in a country, but may act as a friend to whom invest with foreign resources in a country.

Obvious and commonly known, the biggest advantage of participating and investing in emerging markets is the potential for high growth. These markets are fast becoming the driver of global growth. So giant companies rally to cash in where the growth is today, and for the foreseeable future. Emerging economies are expected to grow two to three times faster than developed nations.

Diversification issue: International investments can be a good diversifying machine for your investment portfolio because economic downturns in one country or region, including the U.S., can be offset by growth in another. Many small businesses invest time and capital to take advantage of business opportunities in emerging markets in countries across the world.

But there should be also CONS! is there a handbook for businesses like "How to invest in an emerging market, fo dummies"?!
Yes there is! there are too many studies in universities and discussion topics and seminar youtube channels blog posts etc! I will introduce some, which I had trust in them:

Youtube channels:

• Investment Titans: Dispelling the Myth of Emerging Markets
  

• Emerging Markets Investing for Beginners
  

• How Companies Break Into Emerging Markets
       

Overall, emerging markets will let you enjoy high growth, diversification, social proof and access to lower cost talents; while your business may be at risks we named, like lack of flexibility, political issues, corruption, bureaucracy etc
it's a decision to make, even inside a society and country, there are developing cities which you may have above challenges comparing to the capital.