ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses two categories of emergent: the India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA) coalition and the Brazil, Russia, India, the People's Republic of China, South Africa (BRICS). These two groups were born at the beginning of the 21st century, but with different origins. IBSA saw the light in 2003 as a governmental initiative, while the BRICS were first defined in 2001 by the economist Jim O'Neill from Goldman Sachs, as an acronym to describe big emerging markets. At its inception 'BRICS' was a mere acronym showing a group of emerging countries: Brazil in Latin America, and Russia, China and India in Asia. Cultural and linguistic connections and a renewed Brazilian relationship with its Afro-descendant population have had an influence in making its development model especially attractive to many countries of Africa. South Africa's key priority in Africa is to promote political stability and economic growth so as to create a better environment for African development.
