By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

In this insightful conversation, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Dubai BRICS Investment Forum, academician Konstantin Klimenko-Bogdanov, highlights the primary importance of the forthcoming corporate business forum within the context of the geopolitical situation and offers a distinctive roadmap for economic collaboration of the BRICS countries. Here are the interview excerpts:

What does the upcoming BRICS Investment Forum in Dubai mean, especially in the context of geopolitical rivalry and competitive struggle?

In theory, competitive struggle should contribute to the development of the economy. After all, competition does not allow for the establishment of a monopoly, the dominance of only an exclusive minority of market participants. But on the condition that this is fair competition. But we are witnessing uncivilized methods of dividing spheres of influence in the market, cynical exploitation of natural resources in Africa and Asia by Western transnational corporations, and monopolization of entire industries in developing countries.

For example, the telecommunications sector, and the banking sector in Africa practically do not belong to Africans. Sometimes the name of a bank can have the word “Africa”. The real owners of banking capital are in Paris, London, and New York.

The income from the national wealth of African and Asian countries is distributed amazingly cynically. For example, coffee is purchased in Africa for a price of 1 dollar per kilogram, and sold in Europe for 4 dollars!

Unfair competition is supplemented by geopolitical rivalry in the form of escalating international tensions, declaring trade wars, and sanctions, and creating artificial military conflicts. Again, the goal of conflicts and military operations is only one – to seize resources. For example, in Iraq, and Syria, the Americans brazenly pump oil, without losing money on its purchase. And the US President does not hesitate to take away the Panama Canal or seize the island of Greenland.

Therefore, the goal of holding the Dubai BRICS Investment Forum is to find ways to facilitate civilized international economic cooperation in the conditions of trade wars, military conflicts, and sanctions. It is necessary to make an honest analysis and develop a roadmap for the joint economic development of the BRICS countries and friendly states.

Can you point to the prospects for its preservation (the forum) as an extraordinary annual platform for stimulating bilateral and multilateral transactions, and investments and, possibly, establishing a flow of corporate transactions between BRICS+ members and partner countries?

The Dubai BRICS Investment Forum is definitely not a one-off event. It is the basis for creating a global BRICS business community, which will operate on an ongoing basis. It will consist of the BRICS International Club, the BRICS House International Network, the Alliance of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Tourism Alliance, the Women’s Business Association and a number of other organizations. A digital platform, BRICS INFO, will be created.

The task of these structures is to establish a flow of trade, concentrate investment resources, and create a flow of corporate transactions.

Special attention will be paid to small and medium businesses. We intend to connect about 10,000 small and medium businesses into one ecosystem. The total turnover of this ecosystem in 2025 alone will amount to about US$700 billion.

We will also have social investment projects. The BRICS Student Card project is being created for students. With this card, students will receive various forms of social support in the form of discounts on air tickets, train tickets, purchases of goods in supermarkets, and so on. The most talented students will receive incentive scholarships.

It is planned to create a network of BRICS campuses through joint investments of BRICS businessmen. The campuses will house a university, college, and lyceum. The network will operate in 10 countries.

What priority investment projects will the forum promote?

Our priority is the Small Energy project. Half of the African continent and part of Asia have no electricity at all! This is unacceptable for the 21st century! We plan to create hundreds of small power plants on solar panels, wind turbines, and diesel generators through joint investments.

We have very interesting joint investment projects planned in the real estate sector. New housing complexes under the BRICS House brand will be built in many countries. In essence, these will be “cities of the future.” The main priority in the concept of these cities is “human ecology.” For example, these cities will not have any gasoline-powered vehicles at all. Only electric vehicles. But there will also be restrictions on cellular repeaters that emit harmful electromagnetic radiation. The goal of the project is to create areas that are as favourable as possible for human life. Many investors are already ready to invest in these projects.

By the way, why are you holding this important BRICS event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates? Are there any distinctive advantages that it offers to potential business participants, including women and young entrepreneurs?

The choice of Dubai as a permanent venue for our forum is based on expert opinion. We are confident that the most comfortable infrastructure and conditions for holding large-scale summits and creating business development centres have been created here. The UAE has a balanced tax system, thoughtful economic policy, and a tolerant atmosphere. And Dubai is a city of dreams, a bright future. Therefore, our forum will be held here annually and the residences of the BRICS House, BRICS Club, and the Alliance of Small and Medium Business will operate here permanently.

Based on the above reasoning, can we perhaps see the difference between the World Economic Forum in Davos and the BRICS Investment Forum in Dubai in the current situation of ongoing global transformations and development?

The difference in key approaches. At the Davos Forum, the agenda is set by Western transnational corporations. They initiate discussions of globalization plans. Our forum is intended for small and medium-sized businesses in Eurasia and Africa. We intend to discuss not globalization, but how to develop national economies and establish active cooperation between them.

At the Davos Forum, trends are created by politicians. Many participants go to this forum to listen to heads of state and high-ranking government officials. There will also be officials and parliamentarians at the Dubai Investment Forum. But they are not the main participants here. They will listen more than they speak. It will be entrepreneurs and taxpayers who support officials with their taxes who will speak more often. Because this is a platform for business, not a tribune for politicians.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A working capital loan of up to $15 million has been given to Robust International by Swedfund to support food processing and smallholder farmers in Africa.

The credit facility is to ensure food security and an increased local processing capacity on the continent.

It was stated that the loan would enable Robust to source local commodities to new processing facilities and thereby spur job creation, economic growth and trade.

The company will buy sesame seeds and cashew nuts directly from cooperatives, aggregators and farmers locally to support operations at its new processing facilities in Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Burkina Faso.

The $15 million funding is part of a joint initiative together with the Dutch, British and French development finance institutions and the Dutch fund manager, ILX.

Robust is a multi-national trader of agricultural commodities, specialising in sesame seeds and cashew nuts, sourcing primarily from East and West Africa.

Swedfund now joins FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), British International Investment (BII), Proparco and ILX, the Dutch fund manager, to further support the development of enhanced local processing. The total working capital facility amounts to up to $105 million.

Africa exports many agricultural products for processing and refining. Robust now takes the step to do this locally instead, leading to job creation, development of the local supply chains, increased capacity and lower emissions.

The organisation has a strong focus on human rights and decent conditions for workers and farmers in their supply chain.

“Through the working capital facility, we offer funding where local banks are not able to,” the Head of Sustainable Enterprises and Food Systems at Swedfund, Sofia Gedeon, said.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched an urgent appeal for $22 million to provide emergency assistance to children in eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo amid spiralling violence.

Business Post reports that fighters from the M23 rebel group allegedly backed by Rwanda have taken control of most of Goma – a major city of more than a million people in the east of DR Congo.

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

With the latest spate of escalation, UNICEF in a statement noted that it is gravely concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern DR Congo.

“An additional 658,000 people became displaced in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the past three months alone, at least 282,000 of them are children,” it said in a statement.

Amidst the increasingly volatile situation, with fighting moving into Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, families have abandoned displacement camps on the northern and western outskirts of the city and moved to other locations in the centre of town.

Some of these people are moving for the third, fourth or even fifth time in recent weeks, UNICEF said.

According to Mr Jean Francois Basse, UNICEF DRC’s acting Representative, “The situation in Goma is extremely grave and further complicating a humanitarian situation that was already beyond dire.

“People have been exposed to traumatic events, and they are hungry, thirsty and exhausted. Families are sheltering in place to avoid being caught up in the violence. Electricity, water and internet have all been cut. It’s hard to overstate how deeply children and their families are suffering.”

“Ultimately, we need parties to the conflict to put an end to the military escalation, which is exacerbating the suffering of children and worsening the already appalling humanitarian conditions,” Mr Basse added.

For UNICEF, children are at high risk as crowded and unsanitary conditions make the spread of diseases – such as cholera, measles and mpox – all the more likely.

“Parents are unlikely to take sick children to hospitals for fear of being caught in the crossfire and because they know there are no beds,” it added.

It also warned about the danger of kidnapping and abduction, recruitment by armed groups, and sexual violence.

“UNICEF is calling for $22 million to continue delivering life-saving support which includes the provision of clean water and proper sanitation, medications and medical supplies, treatment for children who are severely malnourished, and protection services,” the UN agency added.