South Korea and Africa Draft Blueprint for Digital Partnerships at 8th KOAFEC Ministerial 2026
South Korea convened the 8th Korea – Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference at the Grand Walherhil Hotel in Seoul from 8 to 11 September 2026. The theme for this Ministerial was ’Harnessing AI and Digital Infrastructure for Africa’s Transformation.’ The event was jointly organized by South Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy, South Korea’s Export-Import Bank (SKEXIM), and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The 8th Ministerial in 2026 marked 20 years of South Korea – Africa partnership and saw the attendance of ministers, public officials and private business leaders from 40 African nations.
In his welcome address, South Korea’s Prime Minister HAN Seong-sook underlined that all countries and people should be able to benefit from opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence (#AI). AfDB President Sidi Tah underscored that AI has the potential to reshape the global economy, and Africa has the unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional development pathways.
In that regard, South Korea presented the K-AI package, its flagship program for advancing the Korea – Africa partnership to seize digital opportunities. The Package is not just about providing financing or software, but also bundles physical infrastructure, data capabilities and green energy into a unified framework. South Korea is willing to partner with African countries to develop AI software and build AI data centers, preferably powered by renewable energy.
During the Ministerial, the South Korean Export-Import Bank and the African Development Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to join hands in order to make more financial resources available. The MoU also calles for the joint creation of the Korea – Africa AI Hub, which will act as the Central Coordinating Platform for the program.
In terms of sectors that could benefit from digitalization, the Ministerial identified seven sectors for possible cooperation: (1) Water Resources, (2) Healthcare, (3) Agriculture, (4) Energy, (5) Transportation, (6) Education, and (7) Culture.
The first pilot project is the setting up of an AI and Digital Training Center in Tanzania. The Center is financed by a USD 170 million concessional loan from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), administered by South Korea’s Export-Import Bank (SKEXIM).
The Center will house laboratories to train Tanzanians, especially the youth, for hands-on training in AI, robotics, data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). In the margins of the Ministerial, Tanzania’s Finance Minister negotiated a separate USD 2.5 billion financing package from SKEXIM to upgrade infrastructure, manufacturing and healthcare.
Burundi already has a World Bank-funded Digital Economy Foundations Project and sought ways to align it digitalization drive with South Korea’s K-AI model to create more impact. In particular, Burundi is keen to secure more financing to build AI Data Centers powered by solar energy.
Under the Botswana Economic Transformation Program (BETP), Botswana is particularly interested in applying predictive AI to optimize its supply chain for #CriticalMinerals. Similarly, Mozambique would like to leverage drone technology in agriculture to enhance its #FoodSecurity.