• Contact
Saturday, July 19, 2025
  • Login
The African Business - News About African business
  • Home
  • EconomyNew
    Angola Taps U.S. Firm Cybastion to Boost Cybersecurity

    Angola Taps U.S. Firm Cybastion to Boost Cybersecurity

    Burkina Faso boosts gold royalties to align with regional standards e1698698921979

    Burkina Faso mine delivers first gold pour as Australian firm hits milestone

    Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag Photo, High Quality Image of Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag. Waving Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag

    Congo wins $1bn from World Bank to revive giant hydro plan

    Trending Tags

  • Business
    agri preneur

    How a young agri-preneur returned from Israel to modernise avocado farming in Rwanda

    dangote

    “We can turn Africa into a ‘heaven’ in the next five years” — Dangote

    Yellow Card Financial and Visa

    Yellow Card, Visa agree to hasten stablecoin adoption in Africa

    starlink

    Elon Musk’s Starlink goes live in another African country

    agriculture

    Standard Bank agriculture expert says now is the time for tangible AfCFTA progress

    Simon Mann

    Simon Mann, mercenary behind failed ‘wonga coup’, dies aged 72

    de beers

    De Beers to shut down lab-grown diamond brand Lightbox

    cannabis

    South Africa to revise cannabis food laws amid public backlash

    BFA

    BPI expects to earn over €95 million from partial sale of BFA in July

  • Finance
    Armando Jorge Mota

    Armando Jorge Mota Announced as New CEO of Sanlam Angola Seguros

    Nigeria asks banks to save forex gains amid currency risks

    Nigeria asks banks to save forex gains amid currency risks

    PayPal finally launches Apple Pay support for its credit and debit cards

    PayPal finally launches Apple Pay support for its credit and debit cards

    TLG Capital launches ₦2.25B collateralized credit facility for OnePipe

    TLG Capital launches ₦2.25B collateralized credit facility for OnePipe

    Silicon Valley Bank: Global bank stocks slump despite Biden reassurances

    Silicon Valley Bank: Global bank stocks slump despite Biden reassurances

    [Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years

    [Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years

    Digital banking revolution can help SA banks regain their customers’ love, says BCG

    Digital banking revolution can help SA banks regain their customers’ love, says BCG

    Nigeria launches payments card program to rival Visa and Mastercard

    Nigeria launches payments card program to rival Visa and Mastercard

    Mastercard and ZoodPay join forces to launch the first virtual installment card across EEMEA

    Mastercard and ZoodPay join forces to launch the first virtual installment card across EEMEA

  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Green Economy
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • EconomyNew
    Angola Taps U.S. Firm Cybastion to Boost Cybersecurity

    Angola Taps U.S. Firm Cybastion to Boost Cybersecurity

    Burkina Faso boosts gold royalties to align with regional standards e1698698921979

    Burkina Faso mine delivers first gold pour as Australian firm hits milestone

    Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag Photo, High Quality Image of Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag. Waving Democratic Republic of the Congo Flag

    Congo wins $1bn from World Bank to revive giant hydro plan

    Trending Tags

  • Business
    agri preneur

    How a young agri-preneur returned from Israel to modernise avocado farming in Rwanda

    dangote

    “We can turn Africa into a ‘heaven’ in the next five years” — Dangote

    Yellow Card Financial and Visa

    Yellow Card, Visa agree to hasten stablecoin adoption in Africa

    starlink

    Elon Musk’s Starlink goes live in another African country

    agriculture

    Standard Bank agriculture expert says now is the time for tangible AfCFTA progress

    Simon Mann

    Simon Mann, mercenary behind failed ‘wonga coup’, dies aged 72

    de beers

    De Beers to shut down lab-grown diamond brand Lightbox

    cannabis

    South Africa to revise cannabis food laws amid public backlash

    BFA

    BPI expects to earn over €95 million from partial sale of BFA in July

  • Finance
    Armando Jorge Mota

    Armando Jorge Mota Announced as New CEO of Sanlam Angola Seguros

    Nigeria asks banks to save forex gains amid currency risks

    Nigeria asks banks to save forex gains amid currency risks

    PayPal finally launches Apple Pay support for its credit and debit cards

    PayPal finally launches Apple Pay support for its credit and debit cards

    TLG Capital launches ₦2.25B collateralized credit facility for OnePipe

    TLG Capital launches ₦2.25B collateralized credit facility for OnePipe

    Silicon Valley Bank: Global bank stocks slump despite Biden reassurances

    Silicon Valley Bank: Global bank stocks slump despite Biden reassurances

    [Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years

    [Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years

    Digital banking revolution can help SA banks regain their customers’ love, says BCG

    Digital banking revolution can help SA banks regain their customers’ love, says BCG

    Nigeria launches payments card program to rival Visa and Mastercard

    Nigeria launches payments card program to rival Visa and Mastercard

    Mastercard and ZoodPay join forces to launch the first virtual installment card across EEMEA

    Mastercard and ZoodPay join forces to launch the first virtual installment card across EEMEA

  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Green Economy
No Result
View All Result
The African Business - News About African business
No Result
View All Result
Home Uncategorized

Ethiopia wants to join the Brics group of nations …

An expert unpacks the pros and cons.

TAB by TAB
15/07/2023
in Uncategorized
0
Ethiopia wants to join the Brics group of nations …
0
SHARES
3
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A few years ago, the Brics grouping – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa – had lost salience because three of its members were in severe economic difficulty. Brazil, Russia and South Africa are primarily natural resource exporters and were badly affected by the global commodity price bust of 2014.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now given Brics a new geopolitical salience as the members and their respective allies respond to events.

Related posts

Africa climate summit latest: UAE pledges $4.5bn

Africa climate summit latest: UAE pledges $4.5bn

05/09/2023
2
Climate emergency in Africa: time for adaptation solutions

Climate emergency in Africa: time for adaptation solutions

07/11/2022
3

In the emerging world order there is also now increased demand to join Brics, in part as a countervailing power to “the west”. Argentina, Saudi Arabia and lately, Ethiopia, have expressed strong interest in becoming members.

I have researched the political economy of globalisation in Africa over the last 30 years. I have specifically examined the scramble for Africa by the US and China, South Africa’s involvement in Brics, the nature of Brics engagement with Africa and market and resource access by Brics in southern Africa.
It would be a major coup for Ethiopia if it were able to join the grouping as it would raise its global profile, allow it to interact and coordinate more closely with some of the major world powers and move the discourse beyond the recent civil war there, potentially enabling it to attract more investment.

Opportunities

Ethiopia has cited its key role in founding the African Union and other institutions, along with its national interest as grounds for seeking BRICS membership. In my opinion, there are five key reasons why Ethiopia would want to join the grouping.

Deteriorating relations with western powers: Ethiopia has historically depended on substantial western support through aid and security cooperation. But its relations with the west have soured as a result of the civil war, in which human rights violations were reported. Joining BRICS would make the country more geostrategically important, perhaps encouraging western powers to downplay human rights concerns, as they have in the past in the interests of “realpolitik”.

Alternative growth frontier: Ethiopia remains one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, at over 5% a year. It has developed strong economic ties with China in recent decades. Similarly, Indian companies have been acquiring land in Ethiopia. China and India are now Africa’s two largest single trading partners (not counting the European Union as a single entity). Joining Brics would signal openness and lead to greater cooperation through platforms like the business council and forum. It could also add impetus to the “resurgent Ethiopia” narrative, an image the authorities are keen to promote to attract investments.

Negotiations over finance: The Ethiopian government is negotiating a financial package with the International Monetary Fund. Joining BRICS might give it greater leverage. Western powers, which largely control the IMF, might be more wary of alienating Ethiopia in BRICS and driving it further “into the arms” of China. The creation of a new Brics currency, to challenge US dollar hegemony, is on the agenda and its existing Contingency Reserve Arrangement already partly competes with the IMF.

Non-interference policy: Brics powers rhetorically largely subscribe to non-interference in the sovereign affairs of other states, with the qualification that President Lula de Silva of Brazil talked about “non-indifference” to human rights when he was previously in power and Russia has violated the principle through invasions and election interference, amongst others. Ethiopia may be interested in the political cover that joining Brics would provide. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has received political cover from China, and some would argue from South Africa. The Ethiopian government may be keen to avoid human rights governance conditions attached to new loans, aid or debt relief from the west.

A prime minister seeking new friends: Brics membership would help restore the tarnished image of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is a Nobel peace prize recipient. Ahmed was heavily criticised as a war-monger during the civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Joining the Brics club would show that his government is still politically acceptable to some major world powers.

The risks 

There would of course be risks in Ethiopia joining the Brics. Western powers might perceive it as drifting into the alternative geopolitical bloc or alignment, which could reduce aid and investment from them. But this could also have advantages for Ethiopia’s relations with the west by making the country more geo-strategically important.

Based on past experience, Ethiopia would be an unlikely addition to the grouping. The last and only country to be admitted after the group’s founding was South Africa in 2010. Other countries have applied and have not been admitted. Brics now operates in what is sometimes described as a Brics-plus format with countries such as Egypt already members of its development bank and all African leaders invited to the up-coming Brics’ summit in South Africa.

Ethiopia’s economy, estimated at around US$126.78 billion in 2022, is less than half the size of South Africa’s US$405.87 billion. South Africa is by far the smallest economy in the Brics. But in some ways Ethiopia might be seen as a more representative African country in Brics than South Africa. Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Its capital, Addis Ababa, is sometimes described as the continent’s diplomatic capital. The outcome of Ethiopia’s application will likely be known after the next summit in August.

Source: Bloomberg
Previous Post

Angola prepares ratification of amendments to African Court’s protocol

Next Post

Ghana approves cannabis cultivation for industrial and medical purposes

Next Post
Ghana approves cannabis cultivation for industrial and medical purposes

Ghana approves cannabis cultivation for industrial and medical purposes

RECOMMENDED NEWS

There’s a 50% chance of a global recession as central banks hike rates to curb inflation, says Deutsche Bank chief

There’s a 50% chance of a global recession as central banks hike rates to curb inflation, says Deutsche Bank chief

3 years ago
5
Kenya’s agripreneuer queen using data analytics to drive farming

Kenya’s agripreneuer queen using data analytics to drive farming

2 years ago
7
World Bank approves $335m to scale up grid extension and densification in Tanzania

World Bank approves $335m to scale up grid extension and densification in Tanzania

3 years ago
3
Inflation, debt, and forex crisis is pushing many African economies to the brink – IMF warns

Inflation, debt, and forex crisis is pushing many African economies to the brink – IMF warns

3 years ago
2

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Economy
  • Finance
  • Green Economy
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Ads

Categories

  • Business
  • Economy
  • Finance
  • Green Economy
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized
The African Business - News About African business

We bring you the best Premium news about African Business.

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • How a young agri-preneur returned from Israel to modernise avocado farming in Rwanda
  • Angola Taps U.S. Firm Cybastion to Boost Cybersecurity
  • Burkina Faso mine delivers first gold pour as Australian firm hits milestone

Category

  • Business
  • Economy
  • Finance
  • Green Economy
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Legal Information

Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Complaints Book

  • Contact

© 2021 The African Business

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Green Economy

© 2021 The African Business