BRICS Summit in India to weigh startup fund, incubator network and supply-chain pact
BRICS leaders meeting in India will fine-tune plans for a Startup Innovation Fund, an Incubator Network and a Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting leaders, ministers and officials from 32 countries and agencies for the BRICS Leaders' Summit, where a set of new cooperation initiatives is expected to take shape.
Among the likely outcomes are a BRICS Incubator Network, a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund and a BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework. The proposals have already been discussed by BRICS Sherpas and will be fine-tuned by the leaders on September 12 and 13.
The Incubator Network is envisaged as a digital interface linking national nodal agencies, selected incubators and startups across member countries. It would allow startups to register, connect with participating incubators and be referred to incubators in other BRICS nations.
The Startup Innovation Fund is intended to spur financing for early and growth-stage startups and encourage innovation-driven entrepreneurship across the grouping.
The Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework would be a voluntary, consensus-based arrangement aimed at making cross-sector transport logistics more resilient and sustainable. It seeks to tackle fragmented supply chains and weak connectivity through technical exchange, knowledge-sharing on cargo and shipping services, locally rooted assembly and manufacturing ecosystems, and capacity-building, while promoting environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient logistics practices. Officials see the framework as particularly relevant to the movement of goods amid uncertainty caused by the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The summit will draw Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is not attending, having travelled to India earlier for the AI summit in February this year; Brazil will be represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is attending as one of the 10 partner countries, alongside Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Vietnam Prime Minister Lee Minh Hung. Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr will attend as ASEAN chair, and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani as Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff will also be present.
BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became partner countries last year.
The grouping now brings together 11 major emerging economies, accounting for about 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of global GDP and roughly 26 per cent of global trade.