BRICS in Africa
At its admission into the BRIC in 2010, South Africa emphasised the importance of its membership in advancing the African course. Ever, additional African nations have become members of the BRICS admitted the Johannesburg Summit in 2023 (Ethiopia and Egypt) and as BRICS Partners at the Kazan Summit (Nigeria, Algeria and Uganda). Africa’s development in the post colony and how African states economically relate to each other and to the rest of the world including their former colonial masters and other multilateral formations like BRICS remains important points of interest.
Africa has the highest youth population in the world, 70% of which is in sub-Sahara; has at least 30% mineral deposits of all sorts, and 60% of the global arable land. However, the role of Africa in global affairs (political and economic) is way underestimated. Projections however are that will become the most dominant economic powerhouse of the future.
This COP intends to bring BRICS scholars whose primary interest is Africa in BRICS and in Global Affairs to network, research and contribute to the scholarship of Africa’s social, economic and political affairs. The COP intends to support student and academic mobility across the African continent and among BRICS nations, equally supporting scholarly publications.
Cop lead- Prof Akpome
Prof Aghogho Akpome
Department of English, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa
Biography
Aghogho Akpome is an associate professor in the Department of English at University of
Zululand, South Africa. He taught English literary studies and academic literacies briefly at
University of Johannesburg and University of Witwatersrand and was a research associate at the Centre for Africa Studies, University of the Free State, South Africa from 2013-2016. He was a visiting researcher at the Centre of Postcolonial and Gender Studies, University of Naples
L’Orientale, Naples as well as the Institute of English Language and Literature, Freie University,
Berlin in 2019 and 2020. His intellectual interests include geo-politics, BRICS Plus, African Thought, decolonisation, African literatures (with a focus on Nigerian and South African texts), discourse and migration. He is currently rated C1 by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.
Dr. Misheck Musaig
Dr. Misheck Musaigwa is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the past two and half years. Specializing in digital transformation, Misheck is at the forefront of research that explores the intersections of technology, management, and industry innovation. His work particularly focuses on the implications and applications of Industry 4.0. In addition to his research, Misheck is deeply committed to academic responsibilities of mentoring postgraduate students. This role enables him to share his expertise and cultivate the research skills of the next generation of scholars, significantly enhancing their academic and professional trajectories. Misheck holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.