BRICS Research Institute was established by a team of BRICS researchers led by Prof Fulufhelo Netswera, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa supported by Dr Ndivhuho Tshikovhi applied for and acquired funding in 2021 from the NIHSS’s housing the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT). The grant was intended to research the effects of COVID-19 in the BRICS nations and specifically to enquire about the linkages between entrepreneurship, agriculture and climate change during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this NIHSS grant came conditions that, among others, the BRICS research team should host a BRICS academic conference, a postgraduate student forum, fund student/staff capacity development, plan and publish journal articles or book chapters from contributions at these academic forums and exchanges.