The expansion of BRICS+ marks a pivotal shift in the global economic landscape, offering a strategic response to escalating trade tensions and mounting geopolitical uncertainty. By integrating diverse emerging markets, fostering deeper cooperation and diversifying trade routes, the growing bloc can help to enhance supply chain resilience and mitigate exposure to global risks, while its vibrant consumer base offers vast growth opportunities, fuelled by rising incomes and evolving demand.
The strategic rise of BRICS+ redraws global economic influence and supply chains
With the recent inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, Indonesia and nine additional partner members, the expansion of BRICS+ marks a turning point in the global economic order. Projected to represent 30% of global GDP by 2040, and bolstered by resource-rich and strategically located members, the bloc is poised to play an important role in shaping future supply chains, cross-border cooperation, global growth and consumer demand.
As global trade and influence gradually shift east and south, and more countries seek closer alignment with BRICS+, the bloc’s economic, political and demographic relevance is set to grow. It offers businesses new opportunities in manufacturing, infrastructure and digital innovation, alongside access to large and evolving consumer markets. These trends underscore the importance for companies to anticipate supply chain shifts and engage with BRICS+ as an emerging pillar of a more multipolar global economy.
Rising incomes and dynamic demographics create a new consumer powerhouse
With an expected population of over 4.1 billion by 2040 – nearly half of the world’s total – the inclusion of demographically dynamic countries strengthens BRICS+ as a major global consumer and labour hub.
By 2040, the BRICS+ consumer market is projected to nearly double, reaching USD25 trillion in annual spending and expanding at three times the pace of the G7.
Source: Euromonitor International
Fast-growing economies like India, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia are emerging as hotspots, with rising middle classes and rapid urbanisation shaping new consumption powerhouses.
With BRICS+ accounting for an increasingly large share of global spending, a youthful and digitally savvy population is set to drive demand for goods and services across retail, mobility, housing, healthcare and digital solutions. This shift reflects the redistribution of global consumer influence, compelling companies that once prioritised mature Western markets to realign supply chains, operations and strategies to capture both value and volume growth in emerging economies, where spending power is rising fastest.
These markets are, however, far from homogeneous. Significant income inequality and persisting price sensitivity require localised strategies that balance affordability with aspirational value and quality. To win in these fast-evolving markets, businesses must focus on tailoring offerings to cultural preferences, building local partnerships and investing in local talent, and fostering trust in underserved communities.
Surging BRICS+ bilateral trade and deeper integration enable supply chain diversification
BRICS+ intra-bloc trade has surged 10-fold over the past two decades, reaching USD2.5 trillion in 2024, signalling deepening integration and the development of new trade routes. While the bloc lacks a formal free trade agreement, efforts to streamline regulations and ease market entry barriers are expected to further boost intra-bloc trade and investment flows. In addition, the integration of BRICS+ members into major regional trade frameworks – like RCEP, AfCFTA, MERCOSUR and more – positions them as strategic gateways to broader emerging markets. Therefore, the bloc’s expansion offers a pathway to greater diversification and resilience amid global uncertainty, helping to reduce overdependence on Western markets and mitigate exposure to trade tensions and tariff risks.
Moreover, as BRICS+ economies deepen ties and move up the value chain, they offer diverse opportunities in areas of manufacturing, digital technology and green innovation. In parallel, the bloc’s significant role in global commodity production as well as strategic investments in infrastructure, energy, urbanisation and value-added manufacturing – supported by initiatives like the Belt and Road, strategic partnerships and institutions like the New Development Bank – are expanding prospects across a wide range of sectors.
Nonetheless, persisting internal risks like protectionist policies, governance gaps, geopolitical tensions, dollar dependence and currency volatility, threaten stability. Navigating these challenges will require robust business planning and agile strategies to enhance resilience and effectively adapt in a new era of global economic realignment.
Learn more about BRICS+ expansion and its implications for the global business landscape in our report BRICS Expansion: Implications and Market Opportunities to identify strategic opportunities and key challenges in times of heightened uncertainty, and to anticipate supply chain shifts across emerging growth hubs.