In 2014, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known collectively as BRICS, formed the New Development Bank with the aim of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the group of countries, as well as in other emerging and developing markets. With $100 billion in initial capital, the bank in 2016 started to finance projects in infrastructure, sustainable development, and other priority sectors such as health and energy.
While NDB continues to strengthen its partnership with other development and multilateral organizations, it has yet to expand its membership to other countries. Currently, NDB’s membership and operations remain limited to its five founding member countries.
In its General Strategy for 2017-2021, NDB reiterated its focus on sustainable infrastructure development projects, dedicating two-thirds of its financing commitments in its first five years to the area. However, this priority seemed to shift with COVID-19, as most of the top-funded projects were pandemic responses — such as direct health response, social services, and economic recovery.