Beyond diplomacy: why Ghana's BRICS ambitions need real industrial muscle

Ghana's interest in deepening engagement with BRICS—the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has sparked important questions about whether the nation is pursuing meaningful economic partnership or merely chasing diplomatic prestige.

The discussion centres on a critical gap: whilst Ghana may gain observer status or closer ties with the influential bloc, these moves risk becoming hollow gestures without a coherent domestic industrial strategy to leverage the partnership. Simply joining conversations at the BRICS table does not automatically translate into investment, technology transfer, or manufacturing opportunities for Ghanaians.

Why it matters for Ghana

BRICS membership or closer association could theoretically open doors to alternative financing mechanisms, trade partnerships, and developmental models outside traditional Western frameworks. For Ghana—navigating IMF bailout conditions and seeking fiscal independence—such alternatives hold real appeal. However, the actual benefit depends entirely on Ghana's ability to offer something these powers want: either natural resources, market access, strategic positioning, or manufacturing capacity.

Ghana's current position is one of relative weakness. The nation is a commodity exporter with limited industrial capacity. Without a clear strategy to develop competitive manufacturing sectors, attract BRICS investment into productive industries rather than extractive ones, and create jobs for citizens, closer BRICS ties risk becoming another diplomatic box to tick whilst economic fundamentals remain unchanged.

The real challenge: strategy over sentiment

For BRICS engagement to translate into tangible benefits, Ghana needs to ask hard questions:

• Which sectors can Ghana develop competitively with BRICS support—potentially agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive assembly, or renewable energy?
• What infrastructure gaps must be filled to attract manufacturers to Ghana rather than to other African or Asian competitors?
• How will Ghana ensure BRICS investment benefits local workers and entrepreneurs rather than creating enclaves that extract value without building domestic capacity?

South Africa's experience within BRICS offers instructive lessons. Despite its seat at the table, South Africa has struggled to translate membership into transformative industrial growth, partly because it lacked strategic clarity on what it wanted from the partnership and how to position itself as an attractive investment destination for member states.

Moving beyond diplomatic ambition

Ghana's engagement with BRICS should be viewed as a tool to implement an existing industrial vision, not as a substitute for one. Before pursuing closer ties, Ghana should have mapped out specific sectors where BRICS partnership could drive value creation—whether through joint ventures, technology partnerships, market access, or concessional financing for industrial projects.

The opportunity is real. BRICS represents over 40 percent of global GDP and significant technological capacity in manufacturing, infrastructure development, and renewable energy. But opportunity without strategy is merely distraction. Ghana's policymakers must ensure that any BRICS initiative is anchored in concrete, achievable goals that strengthen the nation's productive base rather than simply expand its diplomatic calendar.