10/08/2026
How does sustainability look in frontier markets?
A missing ESG data point tells you that the data is missing. It does not necessarily tell you whether a company is sustainable.
That distinction matters in frontier markets.
Many of the companies we meet operate in countries where sustainability reporting is still developing. They may lack dedicated ESG teams, extensive sustainability reports, or the resources to report hundreds of data points according to European frameworks.
For us at Tundra, sustainability analysis therefore starts with understanding the company and the role it plays in society.
Does a bank expand access to credit? Does a pharmaceutical company make medicines more accessible? Does an infrastructure company remove bottlenecks to economic development?
But what a company does is only part of the equation. How it does it matters just as much.
Who are the owners? How are minority shareholders treated? How does management allocate capital? How are employees treated? What environmental risks does the business create?
This is why sustainability analysis in frontier markets cannot be reduced to an external ESG score.
Data, exclusions, and international standards are important. But they need to be combined with fundamental research, company dialogue, and an understanding of the local context. Through our Tundra ESG Spectrum, sustainability is integrated into our investment analysis, while our local presence allows us to follow companies and their development over time.
And this is where sustainability and investment opportunity meet.
Many of the largest sustainability challenges in frontier markets - healthcare, financial inclusion, infrastructure, food security, and cleaner energy - also represent enormous unmet demand.
Companies that successfully address those needs can have long growth runways ahead of them.
Sustainability is not just a responsibility. It is also part of value creation.
