World
BRICS and Africa: Balancing Interest Between Geopolitics and Development
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), a group of emerging market powers and one of the most popular organizations, seeks to approve African States into its fold and build on its existing economic and trade with other invited African leaders during the 15th summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The BRICS members are meeting to deliberate on a broad range of important multiple issues, including new membership, common currency, various parameters of development and security and institutional architecture. More than 70 states are participating, including African leaders, while 23 States have submitted formal applications to join the group.
During his pre-summit visit to Addis Ababa, Foreign Minister Qin Gang pointed out Chinese support and solidarity with the government. Ethiopia’s relations with the West have deteriorated over the deadly conflict in its northern Tigray region.
In 2021, Washington imposed sanctions on Ethiopian officials involved in the conflict, cut aid and denied Ethiopia special access to the United States market under its African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000. However, China accused the United States of meddling in Ethiopia’s internal affairs and assured Addis Ababa’s desire to join BRICS.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has also been vocal on critical issues, most of the time urging African leaders to look for inside, within the concept of African Problems, African Solutions. His views are mostly focused on creating a fairer global system even while diversifying their partnerships under African strategies.
After a series of media monitoring and research, only three African States might gain membership into the bloc. These are Algeria, Ethiopia and Egypt. BRICS members have to agree on the criteria; the differences of opinion between China and India, as well as Brazil, preclude a quick resolution to the issue of accepting new members.
But both Brazil and India have promptly rebutted this “assumption” against BRICS expansion. The essence of BRICS lies in unity, and while India harbours concerns about China’s economic clout and has consistently asserted the border disputes.
Notwithstanding these, if expansion finally happens, it will bring the total African representation to four, including South Africa. It implies, in principle, the new members contribute to the changing processes and further give potential force for substantial geopolitical shifts.
Many experts believe that the expansion of BRICS would help Beijing promote its Belt and Road Initiative projects. The potential expansion of the group has set off alarms for Brazil and India, which are proud of BRICS’ exclusive nature. In this group, China is the strongest country from an economic point of view. It is really positioning itself as a leader of the Global South.
China needs raw materials, and Africa has a lot of them. China needs markets for its goods. It also needs investment projects, in particular for investing in infrastructure. China has a lot of companies building railroads, airports, and seaports. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to hold a special meeting with African leaders to be chaired by the host South African Cyril Ramaphosa.
In addition, Xi and Ramaphosa are talking about strengthening ties and will witness the signing of some agreements with African delegations, according to the South African president’s office. China and South Africa would have comprehensive bilateral agreements.
Already on August 10, ahead of Xi’s visit, Chinese companies signed 20 deals to buy products worth US$2.2 billion from South Africa. South African Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao witnessed the signing at a joint economic and trade committee meeting aimed at boosting South African manufacturing exports to China. Anglo American Platinum, Glencore, Sappi and Pioneer Fishing were among South African companies involved in the agreements.
Across Africa, BRICS members are seen as important trade partners, sources of foreign investment and champions of the concerns of so-called developing countries, according to Tim Zajontz, a Research Fellow in the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
“We can expect President Xi to stress at the summit that China and the BRICS are at the centre of South-South cooperation and ready to boost economic development across Africa,” Zajontz said, referring to collaboration among countries in the Global South.
In the run-up to the summit, however, the grouping’s shortcomings are in the spotlight. Some say there is a lack of coherent vision. “The objective necessity for a grouping like BRICS has never been larger,” said Rob Davies, South Africa’s former trade minister, who helped usher his country into the bloc in 2010. “The multilateral bodies are not places where we can go and have an equitable, inclusive outcome.”
Still, challenges abound for the BRICS and, indeed, the discussions surrounding its expansion. BRICS members have to reach the needed consensus; a broader problem was referred to recently by Jim O’Neill, namely that there is a lack of focus on pragmatic themes that matter for the economy and markets. Too much effort has sometimes been expended on secondary issues that have no bearing on the economy, markets or global governance.
Lord Jim O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist who first gave the BRICS bloc its name, has slammed the idea of the five nations ever collaborating to create a common currency. But O’Neill, who coined the bloc’s name in a 2001 research paper, is unconvinced. “It’s just ridiculous,” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “They’re going to create a BRICS central bank? How would you do that? It’s almost embarrassing.”
De-dollarization is the latest buzzword to capture the market’s imagination and refers to efforts aimed at undermining the greenback’s command of global trade by promoting the use of other currencies.
According to the International Monetary Fund, proponents of the idea point to the fact that the dollar’s share of global reserves has fallen over the past two decades — though it still makes up nearly 60% of the world’s foreign-exchange holdings.
In the interview, O’Neill criticized the dollar’s role in directing the movements of other currencies around the world. “The dollar’s role is not ideal for the way the world has evolved,” he said. “You’ve got all these economies who live on this cyclical never-ending twist of whatever the (US Federal Reserve) decides to do in the interests of the US.”
Yaroslav Lissovolik, former Advisor to Russia’s Executive Director in the International Monetary Fund and currently the Founder of BRICS+ Analytics, argues that, despite the challenges and risks, BRICS+ together have the capability of creating a new layer of global governance that is represented by regionalism, i.e. coordination mechanisms for regional blocs and their development institutions.
With respect to the core, the BRICS are likely to unveil the main criteria for the expansion of the core, which may include, among other things, the economic weight of the candidate countries in their respective regions.
But before these grand plans are to materialize, BRICS needs to deliver on some of the most pressing issues for the global economy and for Africa, he explained and added “the best contribution is for BRICS to create and deliver through a support mechanism to the African States. This, for instance, would go a long way towards contributing to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
With an estimated 58 million population, South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world. South Africa welcomed and fully supported the adoption by African nations of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which we believe will contribute tremendously in pursuit of the economic integration of our continent towards the attainment of our vision: Agenda 2063, the Africa We Want.
At a broad glance, Africa is becoming an essential part of the world. And it is a natural task for South Africa to promote the African agenda in this group. The theme: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism” reflects the priority for Africa.
Four BRICS leaders will attend in person. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit in an online format. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg to represent Russia at the summit in person.
But today, what is South Africa’s investment in BRICS? How do we assess the level of development and food security if BRICS control that huge natural resources and human capital? How has South Africa, these several years as the only African State in BRICS, used its membership to facilitate and promote investment from BRICS into the African continent?
Ultimately, the BRICS alliance represents a distinct shift in global power dynamics; it somehow provides a platform for greater influence and assertiveness on the global stage and will continue potentially reshaping the existing world order. At present, BRICS members account for 23% of the global gross domestic product and 18% of trade, further having around 42% of the world’s population.
Irvine Partners, a leading creative communications agency with offices in Africa and Europe, has signed an exclusive licence with Dreaminfluence as their Africa partner. Dreaminfluence, an all-in-one platform that empowers brands to build and scale influencer marketing has executed 1,000s of influencer campaigns and worked with over 20,000 influencers.
This innovative platform’s digital capabilities will support the content creators who are driving Africa’s rapidly expanding $3.08 billion creator economy. Despite creators on the continent taking advantage of platforms like TikTok, African creators still earn significantly less than their counterparts in other regions, despite producing high-quality content. Furthermore, infrastructure limitations and a digital skills gap hinder the progress of the creator ecosystem.
Monetization should not be out of reach for African creators says Rachel Irvine, CEO of Irvine Partners. She adds that “Dreaminfluence provides digital infrastructure and connects creators to brands, backing their work so they too can unlock opportunities while brands can grow their reach with authentic content that resonates with audiences.”
Dreaminfluence CEO, Mads Wedderkopp, explains “We have worked with many leading brands in the Nordics and are excited to finally bring our platform to Africa through this exclusive partnership with Irvine Partners.”
“The decision to work with Irvine Partners as our Africa partner was a no-brainer, given the roster of clients they serve, and their continental and European footprint.”
Some of the leading brands that use Dreaminfluence for their influencer campaigns are Nivea, L’Occitane, and Estee Lauder Group.
How it works
Dreaminfluence was founded in 2018, to transform influencer marketing from being about affiliate links and discount codes to focusing on actual brand ambassadorship. This vision is translated into the features that Dreaminfluence offers, for both brands and influencers.
These brand features include:
-
Discovery of influencers: Brands can find the right influencers for their campaigns, without wasting time on influencer outreach
-
Campaign analytics: Track campaign performance, report the value and identify the best-performing influencers
-
Building relationships: Influencers move from short-term brand campaigns to long-term brand ambassadorship
-
Campaign management: Manage influencer payments, product shipping and secure content usage rights
-
Paying multiple influencers at a time with one click
For influencers, the features are:
-
Apply to join a brand team or campaign through the app
-
Be selected as part of the ambassador team
-
Join new campaigns when they are published
-
Run all campaign admin including payments, content ideas, and approvals through the app
The Dreaminfluence difference
Irvine Partners is constantly working with influencers across Africa on different campaigns for its clients and Dreaminfluence provides an innovative way to streamline agency relations with leading and emerging content creators on the continent.
Mohale Moloi, Content Director at Irvine Partners explains that “creator marketing studies tell us that more than 50% of brands plan to increase their spending on influencer marketing in 2025. But making sure these campaigns deliver results across the whole marketing funnel requires an in-depth understanding of market nuances, which is what we bring to the table.”
By working with a dynamic platform like Dreaminfluence, Irvine Partners will take influencer campaigns to the next level by combining local insights with a platform that makes everything from campaign selection to payments more efficient.
“We are most excited about the actionable campaign data and high ROI that Dreaminfluence offers,” says Moloi.
By Louis Gouend
The Cameroonian diaspora in the Russian Federation, although relatively recent, constitutes an essential vector for Cameroon’s influence and the maintenance of strong ties with the nation. In this perspective, and following a fruitful video conference on January 27, 2024, with the Minister of Youth and Civic Education, it was decided to organize, on February 8 and 11, 2025, the first celebration of Youth Day within the Russian diaspora.
This unprecedented initiative, benefiting from the Minister’s valuable support, aimed to consolidate patriotism and the spirit of initiative among Cameroonian youth residing in Russia, by offering a framework for exchange and promotion of Cameroonian cultural wealth. It mobilized Cameroonian students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs established in Russian territory.
The commemoration of the 59th anniversary of Cameroon’s Youth Day took the form of a dual celebration: a physical meeting at the Cameroonian Embassy in Moscow on February 8, 2025, and a virtual meeting on Zoom on February 11, 2025. These events brought together a total of more than 150 participants from over 50 cities in Russia, representing diverse backgrounds, including presidents of Cameroonian associations, members of the Diaspocam executive council, deans, honorary guests, and embassy officials.
The diaspora had the honour of welcoming, via video conference, Mr Mounouna Foutsou, Minister of Youth and Civic Education, whose encouragement and vision were a source of inspiration. The Minister outlined the productive initiatives implemented by the Cameroonian government in favour of its youth in the diaspora in Russia, emphasizing the willingness to support projects led by young entrepreneurs through a specific support mechanism and the operationalization of the guarantee fund.
During his address, the Minister recalled the commitments made during the video conference of January 27, 2024, emphasizing the need for increased collaboration between the government and the youth of the diaspora. He stressed the immense potential represented by this youth and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing their concerns.
Among the initiatives put in place to support the youth of the diaspora, he mentioned:
- The Guarantee Fund for Young Entrepreneurs (FOGAJEUNE), which finances projects in four key sectors (agriculture, digital economy, industry/crafts and technological innovation).
- The special DIALYJ window, designed to promote co-ventures between young people from Cameroon and the diaspora.
- The Program to Aid the Return and Integration of Young People from the Diaspora (PARIJEDI), which facilitates the return and integration of young people in Cameroon.
“We express our deep gratitude to the Cameroonian government and personally to Minister Mounouna Foutsou for their support of our initiative,” said the President of Diaspocam, Louis Gouend. “Thanks to their assistance and the support of the Cameroonian Embassy in Russia, we were able to organize this important event, which has strengthened ties between the diaspora and Cameroon.”
Aware of the positive impact of this first celebration, we hope that this innovative initiative will be included in the calendar of activities of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education for the years to come.
Diaspocam establishes a legal platform to come together, helps each other, interacts and establishes viable strategic networks and partnerships; presents, shares and expands proven diaspora business models; promotes and assists businesses and investments in Cameroon.
It strengthens a good image of Cameroon in Russia while maintaining close liaison with the Cameroonian and Russian governments and any other representative body pursuing objectives similar to those of the Association. Cameroonian Diaspora in the Russian Federation is a public organization which encourages participation, representation, diversity and cooperation between Cameroon, African diaspora and Russian society.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Union has announced the launch of its rating agency, the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) to provide accurate ratings for countries on the continent.
According to Kenya’s President, Mr William Ruto, while unveiling the new agency at an AU event held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, AfCRA will address biases by global rating firms.
Global firms like Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor (S&P) are some of the ratings agency which provide insights into African countries to aid investors and stakeholders.
There have been criticisms that these ratings lead to higher borrowing costs for African countries and make it harder for them to access international financial markets.
“Global credit rating agencies have not only dealt us a bad hand, they have also deliberately failed Africa,” Mr Ruto stated during the launch.
“They rely on flawed models, outdated assumptions, and systemic bias, painting an unfair picture of our economies and leading to distorted ratings, exaggerated risks, and unjustifiably high borrowing costs.”
According to President Ruto, improving Africa’s rating by one notch could unlock $15.5 billion in additional funding for the continent, which could help replace a significant portion of official development assistance or be invested in Africa’s infrastructure needs.
Despite Africa’s abundant natural wealth, only two African nations are currently ranked as investment grade.
“It is time for Africa to use the right scale, one that reflects its true weight,” Mr Ruto added.
The African Union has previously criticized global rating agencies’ characterization of African economies. In January, the AU pointed out that Moody’s Ratings’ fluctuating assessment of Kenya’s outlook was flawed.
“As the continent continues its march towards economic integration and resilience, the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) represents a pivotal step in asserting Africa’s position on global financial governance.”
The agency aims to provide fair, transparent, and development-focused credit ratings that reflect the realities and potential of African economies.
The idea comes more than a year since the AU officially announced its plans to move forward with the project since September 2023.
The push for an African credit rating agency became viable in 2022 when Senegal’s former president Macky Sall, then the chairman of the AU, called for a new system to “end the injustices” faced by African countries.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN