As heads of states from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa prepare to gather in the coastal city of Durban ahead of the 5th BRICS summit, local business leaders have been assessing South Africa's awkward standing within a trade group that compromises of almost 20 percent of the world's GDP.
Can economic minnow South Africa really stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the global powerhouses of Russia and China and trade as an equal?
Finishing touches were being put to Durban's International Conference Centre on Monday ahead of the much anticipated summit, the first to be hosted by South Africa since its inclusion into the five-country trade bloc in 2011.
The two-day summit will not only be Chinese premier Xi Jinping's first official trip to Africa, but it will also be the first BRICS summit since Vladimir Putin was returned to the Kremlin as president of Russia.
And as the spotlight turns on South Africa's inclusion into the BRICS partnership, an uncomfortable comparison was being made between the might of the Russian and Chinese economies and South Africa's comparative "third-tier" economy.
At a recent BRICS-related breakfast with South African captains of industry, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane gave a rallying call for home grown businesses to step up a level and compete as partners within BRICS, rather than suffer the crisis of confidence that is seemingly afflicting the South African economy.
"If we change the mind set, and we need to change like seated here, and do things differently, we shall and we have an opportunity to be counted amongst the 10 biggest economies in the world. We are - why, why did BRIC countries admit South Africa in BRICS? They saw the potential in us. They actually thought we were thinking like they do," said an impassioned Nkoana-Mashabane.
One company to heed the foreign minister's call to arms is state owned Denel Aviation.
Specialising in helicopter repairs and distribution across the African continent, Denel has recently negotiated a multi-million dollar partnership with Russian Helicopters to provide an African-based repairs facility to the Russian state company.
And although Denel CEO Mike Kgobe believes that this South Africa-Russian partnership would not have been made possible without South Africa's involvement in the BRICS group, he also believes that South Africa has a genuine standing within the alliance.
"There's no grading within the formation, I mean it's all equal partners. And eh, and and South Africa needs to step up to that, South African businesses need to step up to that. I think Denel Aviation has done exactly that. We've stepped up to the party and we've shown the Russians what what what we can do and they've seen the value in that. So it's not a one-sided thing, it's a, it's a two-way transaction," said Kgobe from Denel's main workshops near Johannesburg, South Africa.
During the summit, economic manoeuvring will be balanced with political rhetoric and diplomatic negotiations. It is expected that the BRICS countries will announce plans to form a BRICS-based development bank, as well as discuss the relaxing of trade restrictions within the bloc.
All this is welcomed by Geoff Rothschild, head of international affairs at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Rothschild believes that even though South Africa might not be of a similar economic standing to other BRICS countries, there is still much that can be gained from inclusion into the group.
"I think we've got a lot to offer and I think South Africa has got a population that's in need of development," he said.
"Many of the challenges that have been encountered in the other BRICS countries, we can learn from and I think that by sharing our experiences and growing and the very fact that South Africa is a very resource-rich country can be to the benefit of all."