BRICS–AFRICA COOPERATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The document examines how the BRICS nations can better support African development priorities, specifically industrialisation and infrastructure. It highlights the role of South Africa in leveraging the BRICS forum for continental interests and discusses the potential of the New Development Bank (NDB). The briefing identifies critical challenges, including rising external debt, lack of transparency in lending, and unequal trade patterns where Africa primarily exports primary commodities. It recommends the creation of a dedicated BRICS–Africa strategy, a specialized BRICS unit within the African Union Commission (AUC), and improved coordination between bilateral BRICS initiatives and the AU's Agenda 2063.

• African development priorities are centered on inclusive growth and industrialisation, as outlined in the AU's Agenda 2063, which targets a 7% GDP growth rate by 2023 with at least one-third of outputs generated by national firms through labour-intensive manufacturing.
• South Africa has actively sought to channel BRICS capital into African infrastructure, noting a requirement of $480 billion for infrastructure development over a ten-year period.
• While the New Development Bank (NDB) established a regional centre in Johannesburg to facilitate access for African countries, as of March 2018, no African country had formally requested membership, and the bank's 20172021 Strategy does not specifically prioritise sub-Saharan Africa.
• Trade between BRICS and Africa is characterized by significant inequality; in 2017, over 80% of African exports to BRICS were primary commodities, while BRICS exports to Africa were primarily manufactured goods.
• External debt in Africa is rising, with the average debt-to-GDP ratio increasing from 40.2% to 57.3% between 2012 and 2016, raising concerns about sustainable lending and transparency.
• There is a lack of transparency in infrastructure financing reporting; among the BRICS, only South Africa and Russia report data to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA).

APA

SIDIROPOULOS, E., PRINSLOO, C., MPUNGOSE, L., & GROBBELAAR, N. (2018). BRICS–AFRICA COOPERATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BRICS-Africa-cooperation-achievements-opportunities.pdf

Chicago

SIDIROPOULOS, ELIZABETH, CYRIL PRINSLOO, LUANDA MPUNGOSE, and NEUMA GROBBELAAR. BRICS–AFRICA COOPERATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BRICS-Africa-cooperation-achievements-opportunities.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=SIDIROPOULOS |first1=ELIZABETH |last2=PRINSLOO |first2=CYRIL |last3=MPUNGOSE |first3=LUANDA |last4=GROBBELAAR |first4=NEUMA |title=BRICS–AFRICA COOPERATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BRICS-Africa-cooperation-achievements-opportunities.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sidiropoulos2018bricsafrica, author = {SIDIROPOULOS, ELIZABETH and PRINSLOO, CYRIL and MPUNGOSE, LUANDA and GROBBELAAR, NEUMA}, title = {{BRICS–AFRICA COOPERATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BRICS-Africa-cooperation-achievements-opportunities.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }