The Global South is at a critical crossroads, grappling with rapid urbanization, widespread deindustrialization, and enduring poverty. These challenges demand urgent attention as they threaten to widen existing inequalities and hinder sustainable development in a world increasingly interconnected by technology and economic interdependence. The ongoing deindustrialization has significantly impacted their economies, as traditional manufacturing sectors shrink due to global competition, automation, and environmental concerns. Unlike advanced economies that relied on industrialization to alleviate poverty, the Global South cannot replicate this strategy. Instead, they must navigate these challenges by leveraging emerging technologies like AI, robotics, IoT, and smart cities to foster inclusive growth and adapt to a knowledge-based economy.
Challenges in the Global South
Key barriers include:
- Infrastructure Deficits: Limited access to electricity and internet connectivity hinders technological deployment.
- Digital Divide: Socioeconomic disparities restrict access to digital tools, exacerbating inequality.
- Ethical Concerns: AI’s use raises questions about data privacy, bias, and accountability.
How BRICS Can Bridge the Gap
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Indonesia, and Iran) recently welcomed Nigeria as its ninth partner country. These nations join a diverse coalition that also includes Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. This expansion reflects the strategic importance of BRICS in fostering collaboration and addressing the unique challenges faced by the Global South, according to a report by the Associated Press. This expanded coalition not only strengthens BRICS’ ability to address challenges faced by the Global South but also enhances its global standing. By promoting innovative solutions such as smart cities and AI-driven policies, BRICS can attract additional countries to join its network. This growing influence positions BRICS to advocate for a more equitable global order, ensuring fairer bargaining power for its members and partners on the world stage.
Funding for Smart Cities: BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) allocates significant resources to infrastructure and technology projects. These investments can support smart city initiatives that enhance urban management, public services, and quality of life.
Technology Transfer: With advanced AI capabilities, China and India can share expertise and tools to accelerate digital transformation in less-developed nations. For China and India, this strategy is mutually beneficial as it opens access to untapped markets in the Global South, creating opportunities for exporting technologies and services. Furthermore, by leading the establishment of global standards in AI and smart cities, both countries can strengthen their positions as technological leaders. This collaboration allows BRICS to expand its influence while enabling the Global South to adopt scalable, locally relevant solutions.
Research and Policy Development: BRICS can facilitate collaborative research to develop policies and incentives that harness AI and smart cities for poverty alleviation. This includes fostering innovations uniquely tailored to the needs of the Global South—solutions that OECD countries and advanced economies might struggle to envision due to differences in socio-economic contexts. BRICS can create transformative policies and technologies by addressing specific challenges such as resource limitations, urban overpopulation, and informal economies. Unified frameworks ensure ethical and inclusive technology deployment while fostering global competitiveness and offering alternatives that resonate with the realities of the Global South.
Job Creation and Reskilling: By establishing digital workforce programs, entrepreneurship hubs, and relevant syllabi, BRICS can help countries in the Global South address job losses from deindustrialization. This includes creating open online courses that are affordable and easily accessible to the public, ensuring widespread skill development. Training initiatives aligned with Industry 4.0 standards can equip workers with future-ready skills, enabling them to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.
Promoting the Creative Economy: Encouraging creative industries such as digital media, design, and content creation by providing access to technology, funding, and global markets. BRICS can champion digital platforms and equitable IP frameworks to transform the Global South into active producers in the global creative economy. This fosters innovation, cultural exchange, and economic resilience.
Promoting Fair Digital IP: Advocating for equitable frameworks for digital intellectual property (IP) to ensure fair compensation and access for creators in the Global South. Additionally, BRICS can champion the creation of distribution platforms tailored to the Global South, enabling these nations to shift from being mere consumers to active producers and distributors of digital content, thus fostering a more equitable digital economy.
Conclusion
BRICS offers a pathway for the Global South to overcome structural challenges by leveraging technology and collaboration. Rather than positioning itself as a competitor to OECD countries, BRICS seeks to complement existing global frameworks rather than compete with them, recognizing that in today’s interconnected and interdependent world, economic and technological progress relies on collaboration. By aligning efforts with global systems, BRICS amplifies the voice of the Global South and builds bridges to foster mutual growth.
For example, BRICS has successfully supported collaborative infrastructure projects through the New Development Bank (NDB), which has approved over 90 projects worth more than $33 billion since its inception. According to the NDB’s official website, these projects focus on areas like clean energy, transport infrastructure, water and sanitation, and digital infrastructure. Many of these initiatives are located in less-developed regions of BRICS nations, funding smart city initiatives that improve urban living standards. Technology sharing between member nations, such as China’s expertise in AI and India’s advancements in digital solutions, has accelerated development in these regions. These efforts demonstrate how BRICS can drive practical outcomes, enhancing its reputation as a champion of equitable global development.
Through smart investments, technology sharing, and inclusive policies, BRICS enables these nations to transition from consumers to producers. For instance, the New Development Bank has financed smart city projects in South Africa and India, improving urban infrastructure and service delivery. China’s expertise in AI has been instrumental in piloting agricultural technologies in Brazil. These case studies highlight BRICS’ capacity to foster tangible progress, making this transition more actionable and impactful.
This approach not only addresses poverty and inequality but also strengthens BRICS’ appeal to additional countries, creating a broader coalition. This fosters a fairer global order, enhances global stability, and ensures shared benefits for all stakeholders, including OECD nations and other alliances. BRICS’ collaborative efforts underscore the importance of interconnected growth in a technologically interdependent era, where mutual success is achievable through complementing rather than competing with established global frameworks.
