New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- The conversation around BRICS and technology is moving beyond artificial intelligence as a policy priority. For Indian startups, the more practical question is whether the grouping can create a path from policy discussions to customers, deployments, and repeat business across emerging markets.

Building technology for the Global South is not simply a matter of taking a product developed for the US or Europe and offering it at a lower price. Companies operating across these markets have to account for different languages, connectivity conditions, regulatory frameworks, infrastructure maturity, and procurement systems.

That makes market access as important as the technology itself. The recent BRICS agenda has put art...