BRICS is no longer the relatively small grouping of emerging economies it once was. With its expansion and growing network of member and partner countries, the bloc is becoming an increasingly important platform for trade, investment, diplomacy and cooperation among countries of the Global South.
For Africa, this changing global landscape presents both opportunities and questions.
As more African countries deepen their engagement with BRICS, the debate is shifting from whether the continent should participate to what Africa can actually gain from the relationship.
Can BRICS help African countries expand their economies, attract investment, gain access to new markets and strengthen their voice in global affairs? Or could the continent simply be exchanging one form of economic dependence for another?
These questions formed the focus of The Agenda on LN247, as experts examined BRICS’ growing relationship with Africa and what it could mean for the continent’s economic and geopolitical future.
THE EXPERTS
Dr. Joseph O. Oboko | Accountant & Business Consultant
Dr. Joseph Oboko is an Accountant and Business Consultant with more than three decades of experience spanning corporate finance, banking, audit, assurance and consultancy.
He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Finance as well as a PhD in Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), and an alumnus of Lagos Business School, where he completed the Senior Management Programme and Advanced Management Programme.
Orji Udemezue | Chartered Banker, Business Analyst & CEO, Flame Academy & Consulting Limited
Orji Udemezue is the Managing Consultant and CEO of FLAME Academy & Consulting Limited, a training and consulting firm in Nigeria.
He has more than 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, with expertise in commercial banking, internal control, retail banking and private banking.
He is a member of professional bodies including CIBN, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) and the Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN).
Dr. Victor Okhai | Policy Analyst & Business Strategist
Dr. Victor Okhai is a Policy Analyst, Business Strategist and Corporate Consultant with more than 27 years of experience in Nigeria’s film and entertainment industry.
His areas of expertise include leadership development, executive coaching, business consulting, strategic planning, video production, digital marketing, public relations and marketing consulting.
With experience across the creative and business sectors, Dr. Okhai focuses on developing people, strengthening organisations and applying strategic communication to drive growth and impact.
BRICS AND AFRICA: WHAT IS THE REAL DEAL?
One of the central issues is what Africa can realistically gain from deeper engagement with BRICS.
For African economies, the relationship could provide opportunities to expand South-South cooperation, attract investment, access emerging markets and strengthen economic ties with major economies outside traditional Western markets.
But opportunities do not automatically translate into development.
African countries must consider what they bring to the partnership and, more importantly, how they can ensure that cooperation results in measurable economic benefits.
With South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia among BRICS members, and countries including Nigeria and Uganda participating as partner countries, Africa has an expanding presence within the BRICS framework.
The question is whether this presence can translate into a stronger collective African voice in discussions about global trade, finance, development and international governance.
For Nigeria in particular, the conversation also centres on investment, industrialisation and local value addition. Attracting foreign capital is one thing; ensuring that such investment creates industries, jobs, skills and sustainable economic opportunities is another.
This raises an important issue: Can Africa use BRICS relationships to move beyond exporting raw materials and become a stronger participant in global production and value chains?
Also Read this: BRICS partner country
AFRICA BETWEEN BRICS AND THE WEST: A NEW BALANCE OF POWER?
BRICS’ expansion is also taking place against the backdrop of a changing global power structure.
African countries maintain significant economic, diplomatic and security relationships with the United States, European countries and other Western institutions, while simultaneously deepening relations with China, India, Russia, Brazil and other emerging powers.
This does not necessarily mean African countries have to choose one side over another.
Instead, the growing BRICS platform raises questions about whether African states can pursue a more diversified and strategic foreign-policy approach — working with different global powers according to their national interests.
Greater engagement with BRICS could potentially give African countries additional options when negotiating trade, infrastructure, energy, mining, technology and financing agreements.
However, diversification itself does not eliminate the risk of dependency.
If African economies become overly dependent on any particular group of countries, markets, commodities or sources of finance, the underlying structural challenges may remain.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply to replace one major economic partner with another, but to build stronger African economies capable of negotiating partnerships from a position of greater strength.
FROM SUMMIT TO STREET: CAN BRICS DELIVER FOR ORDINARY AFRICANS?
For many Africans, the ultimate measure of international partnerships is not the number of summits held or declarations signed, but what changes in everyday life.
Can international cooperation translate into jobs?
Can it support businesses and local industries?
Can it improve infrastructure and access to technology?
Can it provide financing that supports sustainable development?
And can it help African economies become more competitive globally?
These are the questions that will determine whether BRICS becomes more than a diplomatic platform for African countries.
Nigeria has also emphasised the importance of moving beyond dialogue and commitments towards implementation and measurable development outcomes.
For Africa, this means paying close attention to what happens after the summit tables — particularly in areas such as trade, investment, technology transfer, manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development.
Technology transfer and local manufacturing are especially important. Without stronger domestic productive capacity, increased trade can still leave African economies primarily exporting commodities while importing higher-value finished products.
A genuinely transformative partnership would therefore need to contribute to Africa’s ability to produce, process, innovate and compete.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
The BRICS-Africa relationship is still evolving, and its long-term impact will depend largely on how individual African countries negotiate and implement their partnerships.
Success could be measured through concrete outcomes: increased investment in productive sectors, expanded market access for African businesses, technology transfer, industrial development, employment opportunities and stronger participation in global value chains.
It could also be measured by Africa’s ability to use relationships with multiple global powers without surrendering its policy independence or allowing new concentrations of economic dependence to emerge.
Ultimately, BRICS offers Africa another platform in an increasingly multipolar global economy. But the platform itself is not the outcome.
The bigger question is how African countries use it.
Can the continent turn expanding diplomatic relationships into stronger economies, better opportunities and greater control over its own resources and development priorities?
The future of BRICS may be about power. But for Africa, the real issue is what that power delivers.
This is The Agenda on LN247.
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