There is little doubt that the BRICs -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- have become big players in Africa. According to Standard Bank of South Africa, BRIC trade with the continent has snowballed from just $16 billion in 2000 to $157 billion last year. That is a 33 percent compounded annual growth rate.

What is behind this? At one level, the BRICs, as they grow, are clearly recognising commercial and strategic opportunities in Africa. But Standard Bank reckons other, more individual, drivers are also at play.

In a new report, the bank looks at what each of the individual BRIC countries is trying to do. To whit:

-- Brazil's immediate intererest in Africa is securing access to natural resources, particularly oil. But is also motivated by a desire to create a new "Southern Axis" with itself at the forefront.

-- Russia is also interested in Africa's natural resources. But it faces a problem because of the sullied reputation of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. So Moscow has also embarked on a rebranding programme within the continent by ramping up its aid programmes.

-- India is attracted to Africa in part because of long historic ties. Commercial engagement, however, is also motivated by a need to guarantee the natural resources it needs for its own growth. Furthermore Africa is seen politically as a key ally in the pursuit of a competitive advantage over its Asian competitor China.

-- For China, Africa provides a long-term partner in its ongoing bid to gain global economic ascendancy, providing it with the resources, markets, geopolitical support, and, eventually, food and social security in the form of a growing and engaging diaspora.

A full copy of Standard Bank's report, which was written by Simon Freemantle and Jeremy Stevens, can be found here.

(Photo: Jeremy Gaunt)

Organisers have postponed a conference of Nobel peace laureates in South Africa after the government denied a visa to Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who won the prize in 1989 - five years after South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu won his and four years before Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk won theirs for their roles in ending the racist apartheid regime.

Although local media said the visa ban followed pressure from China, an increasingly important investor and trade partner, the government said it had not been influenced by Beijing and that the Dalai Lama's presence was just not in South Africa's best interest at the moment.

The conference, ahead of the 2010 World Cup, had been due to discuss how to use soccer to fight xenophobia and racism.

"We stand by our decision. Nothing is going to change. The Dalai Lama will not be invited to South Africa. We will not give him a visa between now and the World Cup," said government spokesman Thabo Masebe.

Whatever the reasoning, it angered the Nobel laureates in a country which has prided itself as a model of democracy and human rights since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, one of the conference organisers said the rejection was tainting South Africa’s democratic credentials.

"The government needs to review its decision and come to the party," said Mandela, set to become a parliamentarian with the ruling African National Congress after the election in April.

Allowing a visit by the Dalai Lama could certainly have made relations with Beijing more difficult. Ties between France and China were badly strained after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met him in December, when France held the European Union presidency.

But banning the Dalai Lama has also created a storm that South Africa was unlikely to have wanted either.

Was the ban the right thing to do?

Despite setbacks ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, Kenya will leave Beijing in glory after capturing 5 gold medals, 5 silvers and four bronze in distance running.

Kenya’s hope for an Olympic marathon medal were dealt a blow when Robert Cheruiyot pulled out due to injury and three-times London marathon winner Martin Lel’s training was affected by flu. But Sammy Wanjiru saved the day and brought the marathon gold medal, proof that distance running is Africa’s forte.

Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, collected four gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals, showing that poverty does not have to stand in the way of great sportsmanship. Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele both cruised to victory for the 10,000 and 5,000 metres, the first time the double has been achieved since the 1980 Games.

Kenya’s assistant athletics coach put it down to dealing with hardships from a young age and altitude, which helps the athletes deal with hot conditions.

“Our athletes have to walk long distances from a very young age to go to school unlike those in developed countries, so they just get used to it quite early,” Peter Mathu told Reuters. “We are very good at long distance because of the hardships we face. Training at high altitudes has also helped.”

Kenya and Ethiopia’s Olympic success stems from focusing on what they do best and a strong culture of athletics. While other countries see sports as a diversion Mathu said they start identifying and nurturing talent from Primary school.

Kenya and Ethiopia’s victory contrasts the underperformance of bigger teams such as Nigeria and South Africa, the latter having some of the best developed facilities on the continent.

Nigeria’s team official Dony Nezianya was candid in admitting that Africa could learn from Kenya and Ethiopia. “Most of it is just better planning. Kenyans and Ethiopians work very hard at developing their talent and raising the level of their performance,” he said.

Nigeria got three bronze medals in women’s long jump and 4×100 metres relay and heavyweight taekwondo and a silver from soccer.

“We had expected to perform better so this calls for sober reflection on our part,” he said.

Perhaps embarrassed by getting only one silver medal in long jump after sending the biggest team ever to the Olympics, South Africans did not want to comment.

But sports development looked set to remain a challenge for the continent where funds are directed to more pressing issues as millions live in abject poverty. Athletes that are now competing for other countries on lucrative deals say the migration could continue if earning a living as remains difficult.

PHOTO: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia leads the pack on her way to winning the women’s 5000m final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 22, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

One by one, African athletes at the Beijing Olympics have fallen by the wayside, with most not going beyond preliminary rounds five days into the Games.

With the exception of Zimbabwe’s swimmer Kirsty Coventry, who has collected three silvers, Algeria’s Soraya Haddad and Egypt’s Hesham Mesbah, who won judo bronze meals, and Benjamin Boukpeti, who got bronze in men’s singles kayak slalom for Togo, there have been no Africans on the podium.

And while Boukpeti and Coventry are competing for African countries, they are not based on the continent.

Fortunes may turn in the second week with athletics. Kenya, for example, is targeting at least six golds and Ethiopia may bag two medals from Tirunesh Didaba and Kenenisa Bekele in the 10,000 metres.

South Africa and Nigeria have the biggest African teams for Beijing, with 142 and 89 athletes respectively, but may leave the summer games empty-handed.

Some participants blame inadequate preparation, poor technical support and a lack of finance for the lacklustre performance.

“You do not start preparing for the Olympics a few months before you come,” said Muatara Kaunda, boxing coach for Namibia. “You cannot hope to compete with the other countries that have been preparing for years. Finance is also a big challenge. If you do not pay well, do not expect too much from them.”

Nigerian-born Francis Obikwelu started running for Portugal in 2000, frustrated with the difficulties of earning a living as an athlete in Africa.

“There is a lot of talent in Africa but you need more than that to make it at the Olympics,” the 29-year-old who will compete in the 100 metres and 200 metres told reporters.

“You should not have to worry about whether you will get paid or not and worry about raising money for a ticket to go to competitions. That is difficult for some of us because we have families to take care of.”

Unlike their other counterparts, Olympic medallists from Africa are unlikely to pocket big payouts.

Uganda’s press attache Norman Katende told Reuters their medallists would get “some kind of reward”.

“We do not want to put them under pressure so we do not tell them what they will get if they win a medal but they will get something,” he said not disclosing the amount.

PHOTO: Hesham Mesbah of Egypt bites his medal in the men’s -90 kg judo bronze medal contest A at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 13, 2008. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Togo won its first ever Olympic medal on Tuesday, when Benjamin Boukpeti picked up a surprise bronze in the men’s slalom kayak event. Now he says he’s going to visit Togo.

Excuse me?

Athletes competing for countries other than the ones they were born in is nothing new. Middle-distance runner Lopez Lomong, who left his village in southern Sudan in 1991 aged six, carried the stars and stripes into the Bird’s Nest stadium at the head of the U.S. team.

Other athletes have switched countries for different reasons, often financial (see here for a Reuters Factbox). Kenyan-born double world steeplechase champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen, for example, emigrated to Qatar for a package including a monthly stipend of $1,000 for life.

But Boukpeti, so far at least, shows no sign of actually wishing to live in the country he competes for. Born in France to a French mother and Togolese father, he has only visited the African country once, as a child, to visit his grandmother. He only decided to compete for Togo when it became clear he was too old to make it into the far more competitive French team.

After winning his medal on Tuesday, he commented that it was time he paid Togo another visit.

Boukpeti is one of five athletes competing under Togo’s flag in Beijing. Four years ago in Athens, he was one of just three.

Lamine Gueye, also born of a French mother and African father — in his case the son of one of Senegal’s most famous politicians — says the odds are stacked against African sportsmen and women.

He became the first Olympic skier from black Africa at the 1984 Sarajevo Games. He was lucky in that he was living in France at the time, relatively close to Alpine skiing resorts, and received training and help from other national teams and equipment suppliers.

But he says that stringent minimum qualification standards in some events exclude athletes from poor countries who simply can’t afford the equipment, training and investment needed to compete at the highest level.

Gueye’s book ‘Skieur Senegalais Cherche Esprit Olympique’ (Senegalese Skier Seeks Olympic Spirit), published this summer, is highly critical of restrictions he says keep athletes from poor countries out of what is billed as the world’s most inclusive sporting event.

So, is it better for poor African countries to be represented by foreign-based athletes than no athletes at all? Or is that kind of representation simply mis-representation for countries where many people struggle just to get by? Should there be stricter rules on who can compete for a country, or should national Olympic Committees in African countries be more selective?

On the other hand, should the International Olympic Committee be putting more of its funding into developing sport in poor countries?

PHOTO: Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo kisses his bronze medal after the men’s kayak single (K1) final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 12, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside