Lourdes-Casanova

Lourdes Casanova

Gail and Roberto Cañizares Director, EMI

“Founded in 2010, EMI has published 9 Emerging Market Multinational Reports, organized 14 Annual Conferences, launched the Cornell EMI Mark Mobius Pitch Competition and the Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition. About 70 MBAs graduate every year as EMI Fellows. None of this would be possible without a great EMI team, the generous support of alumni, faculty, and Johnson community at large. I feel grateful and privileged to be part of the EMI community, and I am confident that EMI is in its second decade of excellence.”

Building Bridges, Encouraging Dialogue

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2025 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

Registration for the 2025 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition is now closed. A record of 1,341 participants representing 294 teams from 79 universities in 21 countries! Visit the website to learn more.

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2025 Cornell EMI Mark Mobius Pitch Competition

The 2025 Cornell EMI Mark Mobius Pitch Competition is an annual competition offering a unique learning opportunity for student entrepreneurs from around the globe. 51 startups from 28 business schools are competing for the $10,000 prize. This year, the main theme is “AI Innovations for Emerging Markets: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities.” and the finalists are:

  • AGRICAN, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
  • AIDRA HEALTH, Harvard University, United States
  • COEH, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil
  • DOCOKIDS, Universidad Javeriana Bogota, Colombia
  • NAVIGARE, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
EMI Report 2024 cover page

The Emerging Market Multinationals Report 2024

Innovation and Transformation to Emerge Stronger

Authored by Lourdes Casanova and Anne Miroux (Emerging Markets Institute, Cornell University) in collaboration with Lorenzo Pavone, Edoardo Cozzi, and Gabriela Jimenez Echeverri (EmNet, OECD development Center); Momina Aijazuddin, Mehmet Akgunay, Shivani Komma, Ceren Ozhan, and Rafia Saleem (International Finance Corporation); Veneta Andonova and Juana García (Escuela de Administración at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia); Ricardo E. Buitrago (EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico), Xuelin Bu (Management School at Zhengzhou University in China), and Dr. Nalin Shinghal.

Watch the launch of the report!

Download the report

5 people standing and posing for a photo in front of a red backdrop with the Cornell University logo and the text: Cornell SJ Johnson College of Business.

2025 Cañizares Award for Distinguished Alumni

Nominations for the 2025 Cañizares Award are closed. The award recognizes outstanding alumni from SC Johnson School of Management with international careers in emerging markets. The goal of the award is to engage alumni with the EMI to benefit its mission and raise awareness of the long history of the SC Johnson School of Management contribution to global businesses. The awardee will be announced in September and EMI will present the award during the EMI Conference.

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Inaugural Cornell EMI Distinguished Fellows Program

Iván Duque, Former President of Colombia (2018-2022), is the inaugural EMI Distinguished Fellow from 2023 to 2025. The program aims to recognize excellence and foster meaningful engagement between students, academia, and leaders from emerging markets. Iván Duque joined a panel with Dean Andrew Karolyi, Lourdes Casanova, and Miguel Gómez, and talked in the eCornell Keynote in partnership with Atkinson Center.

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EMI Graduation Celebration Class of 2025

Congratulations to the 117 EMI Fellows class of 2025. A record! The celebration hosted a keynote speech by Anupam Thareja, Founder of Phi Capital / Classic Legends, Mark Mobius, Chairman of Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund, Andrew Karolyi, Charles Field Knight Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Vishal Gaur, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, and Lourdes Casanova, Gail and Roberto Cañizares EMI Director.

Best of luck for our alumni and please keep in touch.

Find pictures here and watch the recording on EMI’s YouTube video.

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Cornell EMI 2024 Annual Conference: Innovation and Transformation to Emerge Stronger

Last year’s conference, held on Oct 31 and Nov 1 at Cornell Tech in NYC, offered an exploration of how these dynamic economies are harnessing cutting-edge innovations and strategic transformations to redefine their paths to growth. Thank you to the 37 speakers, the attendees, and the sponsors. Watch the live streaming recording and save the date, November 7, 2025, for the Cornell EMI 2025 Annual Conference.

Brochure
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Emerging Markets Institute Year In Review 2023-2024

In the past academic year, 72 fellows graduated, the 9th edition of the EMI Annual Conference had 500 attendees, 19 blogs were published, the EMI Report reached its 7th edition, and so much more happened! Join EMI in reflecting back on the past year’s events and achievements by checking the 2023-2024 Year in Review!

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NY State Assembly Recognition of EMI as an Outstanding Institution

During the EMI conference 2023, EMI was recognized by the New York State Assembly as an ‘outstanding institution worthy of the esteem of both the Community and the Great State of New York’. This recognition would not have been possible without the hard work of the EMI team, EMI fellows, volunteers, alumni, EMI advisory council, colleagues and EMI’s networks. Thanks, Steven Raga, member of the NYS Assembly, who signed the recognition.

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Welcome, Emerging Markets Global Players (EMGP)

The Emerging Markets Global Players (EMGP), previously under Columbia University, is joining EMI network and management. EMGP‘s website is in the process of reactivation and all the great research and reports produced by the team will be made available soon. The EMGP research group and its Fellows have resumed meeting and will be included in EMI’s activities, going forward. A special thank you to Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

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Innovation from Emerging Markets: From Copycats to Leaders

EMI is  proud to announce that its newly released book “Innovation from Emerging Markets: From Copycats to Leaders” is now available to buy from Cambridge University Press and Amazon in hardback and ebook format. This book aims to examine innovation and the leadership of noteworthy EMs countries and EMNCs. Thanks to the Emerging Multinationals Network, the joint efforts of various institutions around the world, comprised in this book.

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Gail and Rob Cañizares gift to EMI

EMI is grateful to Gail and Roberto Cañizares ’71, MBA ’74 for their $1.8 million gifit to EMI. The gift will establish the Emerging Markets Institute Case Writing Program pilot fund and the Cañizares Award for Distinguished Alumni in International Business and Emerging Markets. Read more about their generous gift!

EMI Year in Review in Numbers

117

EMI Fellows 2025 Class

from 46 Countries

500

2024 EMI Conference attendees

10k

EMI Report downloads

705

Participants in the 2024 Case Competition

from 15 countries

2,639

EMI eCornell Keynote Webinars Attendees in 2025

30k

Social media followers

in all platforms

51k

Views to EMI Blogs

170

Startups Competed in the Pitch Competition

Since the first edition

Emerging Markets News & Stories

Panel of seven speakers seated on stage with banners.
September 18, 2025

Conference prompts reflection on ‘Growth Markets’

In a time of economic, political, and environmental change, how can people proactively contribute to economic prosperity in their communities?

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September 8, 2025

Quiet Starts in Bangalore, Busy Clocks in London

An award from the Cañizares Fund provided support for an internship at Infosys in India’s Silicon Valley, India.

Two men with microphones sit in chairs on a stage.
September 3, 2025

Former Colombian president launches Climate Impact Speaker Series

In conversation with Miguel Gomez, Ivan Duque shared his perspective on implementing pro-environmental policies amid challenging circumstances.

Disclaimer

All the views expressed in the articles published in the Emerging Markets Institute webpage are those of the author(s) and should not be taken as reflecting the views of the Emerging Markets Institute.

Education

eCornell Emerging Markets Certificate Program

Emerging markets are key players in the global economy but often lack funding to become developed markets. This program explores investment opportunities and challenges in these markets. You’ll learn strategies for competitive advantage and a framework to evaluate risks in six dimensions, gaining insights into investing in emerging markets.

Learn More

Recent Courses Featuring Emerging Markets

  • NBA 6370 – Current Global Issues for Business: China, India, Latin America, Europe and beyond
  • NBAE 6440 – Disruptive Innovative Companies from China and Other Emerging Markets
  • NBAY 5550 – Entrepreneurship and Alternative Finance in Emerging Economies
  • NBA 5920 – Experience in International Management
  • NBA 5260 – Leaders in Emerging Markets
Learn More
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Johnson’s Karolyi Releases Rankings of Emerging Markets for Investors

Research takes a first-of-its-kind look at the fundamental risks associated in investing in emerging foreign markets

Read More

Upcoming Events from EMI

October 9 2025

EMI Fellows Office Hours

Thursday, October 9, 2025
Office hours for any students about the Emerging Markets Institute https://cornell.zoom.us/my/danieldosanjos?pwd=clg0dXllRlF4TWZXTUo1aEVxZWdMUT09 — Event Details: https://johnson.campusgroups.com/rsvp?id=2256996
9:00am - 10:30am EDT -04:00
Sage Hall atrium or Zoom, Sage Hall, 114 Feeney Way, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
October 16 2025

EMI Fellows Office Hours

Thursday, October 16, 2025
Office hours for any students about the Emerging Markets Institute https://cornell.zoom.us/my/danieldosanjos?pwd=clg0dXllRlF4TWZXTUo1aEVxZWdMUT09 — Event Details: https://johnson.campusgroups.com/rsvp?id=2256980
9:00am - 10:30am EDT -04:00
Sage Hall atrium or Zoom, Sage Hall, 114 Feeney Way, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
October 17 2025

EMI Fellows Meeting

Friday, October 17, 2025
Dear EMI Fellow, Please find the invite to the EMI monthly meetings attached. The agenda will generally cover the following subjects: EMI Fellows Program...
12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT -04:00
Sage Hall 131, Sage Hall, 114 Feeney Way, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States

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