Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School and economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has cautioned that Ghana’s planned membership of the BRICS economic bloc should not be seen as a solution to the country’s economic challenges.
According to him, while joining BRICS could create new opportunities and strengthen Ghana’s ties with emerging economies, membership alone would not transform the economy without strong domestic reforms.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, October 8, 2026, during a discussion on Ghana’s quest to join BRICS, Prof Bokpin said Ghana must continue to manage its economy competitively regardless of its international affiliations.
“I think we should just bear in mind that BRICS is still evolving, even within the original founding members, in terms of the framework, where exactly this is heading towards, and all of that. And so there are quite a lot of nuances that would have to be ironed out of that,” he said.
He stressed that Ghana should not expect immediate economic gains from joining the bloc.
“But it is good to also say that merely joining BRICS necessarily does not transform your economy overnight, or even over a 15-year period,” Prof Bokpin said.
“It is not a substitute for what you have to do in managing your own economy competitively, and all of that.”
Despite his caution, Prof Bokpin said he supports the government’s intention to join BRICS, arguing that the global economic order is changing and Ghana needs to position itself accordingly.
“If I look at it from an economic perspective, it’s a good move that the government plans to join BRICS. That is where the world is heading towards, and that is a fact,” he said.
He pointed to the growing economic influence of BRICS, saying its combined economic strength has become significant compared with traditional Western-led groupings.
“If you look at the commanding position of BRICS within the global economy today, the combined GDP of BRICS, especially across the 11 founding members, and then also the 10 partner countries today, actually exceeds the GDP of the G7 that we used to know,” he said.
“It accounts for almost 40 percent of the global GDP. The BRICS member countries have higher growth potential today than literally any other economic bloc you can think about,” he said.
Prof Bokpin also cited long-term projections indicating that BRICS countries could increasingly dominate the global economy.
“It may interest you to know that by 2050, three out of the top five big economies globally will all be BRICS members,” he said.
“Three out of the top five by 2050.”
He said China was projected to become the world’s largest economy by 2050, followed by the United States.
“In fact, by 2050, China will be number one, and the U.S. will be number two in terms of the global economic order,” Prof Bokpin said.
“You can understand this also gives you a perspective as to the tension between the U.S. and China and all of that. It’s all playing out carefully within the global geopolitics, and how the global order, some want it to be rewritten in a certain way, and all of that.”
Looking further ahead, he said projections for 2075 suggest that four of the world’s five largest economies could be BRICS members.
“And that said, it’s also important to look at the world economic projections. By 2075, the top five economies in the world measured in USD, actually there will only be one that will not be a BRICS member,” he said.
“So four out of the top five big economies by 2075, four of them will be BRICS members.”
However, Prof Bokpin cautioned that such projections should not be treated as certainties.
“I’m not asking people to put on faith to believe in this,” he said.
He also cited Nigeria’s projected economic rise, saying its private sector and major entrepreneurs could drive much of its transformation.
“The understanding is that if you look at what Nigeria is doing, the transformation is going to come from big Nigerian entrepreneurs, billionaires, who have decided, and it’s not just Aliko Dangote,” he said.
Prof Bokpin said Ghana was already experiencing the growing influence of emerging economies, particularly through its expanding trade relationship with China.
He said Ghana should therefore consider closer engagement with BRICS while also assessing the geopolitical implications.
He concluded by stressing that BRICS membership alone would not address Ghana’s economic challenges.
“So specifically for Ghana, I think that merely joining BRICS would not necessarily transform our economy,” he said.
