India has called on BRICS countries to strengthen cooperation in the startup sector to boost innovation, according to the commerce and industry ministry on May 27, 2025.

This proposal was shared at the 9th BRICS Industry Ministers’ meeting on May 21, 2025 in Brasilia.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE.

India will hold the BRICS presidency in 2026 and recently launched the BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub on January 31, 2025.

The hub is designed to promote collaboration and support startup ecosystems across member countries.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The economic significance of a unified BRICS startup ecosystem

The BRICS bloc represents an enormous market opportunity for startups, now accounting for approximately 40% of the global population and 37.3% of global GDP with its expanded membership of 10 nations.

This collaborative approach to startup development comes as each member country brings distinct strengths to the table, such as India with its strong digital infrastructure and unicorn production, China’s manufacturing capabilities, Brazil’s agricultural innovation, and others’ unique sectoral advantages1.

The potential economic impact is particularly significant for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which form the backbone of these economies, with India’s MSMEs alone contributing 45.73% of total exports in 2023-24 and employing over 25 crore individuals2.

India’s call to dismantle export controls among BRICS nations, if implemented, would create a more seamless environment for technology startups to scale across these markets, potentially accelerating innovation in key sectors3.

The BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub represents a concrete infrastructure to realize this vision, providing startups with cross-border resources, insights, and collaboration opportunities that were previously difficult to access.

2️⃣ Digital transformation as the foundation for cross-border innovation

The dramatic growth in digital connectivity across BRICS nations has created unprecedented opportunities for startup collaboration, with India alone seeing internet users increase from 251.59 million in 2014 to 954.40 million in 20244.

This digital transformation has established the technical infrastructure necessary for knowledge sharing and innovation across borders, enabling the BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub to function effectively as a collaborative platform.