Two decades after the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) partnership was established, African and Korean leaders are preparing to chart a new phase of economic cooperation, with artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, technology and investment expected to dominate discussions in Seoul next week.

The 8th KOAFEC Ministerial Conference, scheduled for September 8 to 11, will bring together African ministers, Korean government officials, development partners, investors, private-sector executives, innovators and startup founders under the theme “Harnessing AI and Digital Infrastructure for Africa’s Transformation.”

The discussions come at a time when Africa is increasingly looking beyond basic connectivity and digital adoption toward building the infrastructure, skills and businesses needed to participate more meaningfully in the global digital economy.

For Africa, the question is no longer simply how to access new technologies.

It is increasingly about who builds them, who owns the infrastructure behind them, where the value is created and how many African businesses and workers benefit from the transformation.

That makes the KOAFEC meeting particularly significant.

A partnership entering its third decade

KOAFEC was established in 2006 as a platform for economic cooperation between Korea and Africa, with the African Development Bank Group, Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) serving as key pillars of the partnership.

The 2026 conference marks 20 years of cooperation and gives both sides an opportunity to assess what has been achieved while establishing priorities for the next stage.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah is leading the Bank's delegation to Seoul, marking his first official visit to South Korea since taking office in September 2025.

The conference is expected to explore how Korea's experience in artificial intelligence, ICT, digital infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and innovation can be connected with Africa's development priorities.

That could have implications well beyond government-to-government cooperation.

For African startups, technology companies and businesses, access to infrastructure, technical expertise, financing and international markets can determine whether promising ideas remain local ventures or become regional businesses.

Why AI is becoming central to Africa's development agenda

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a foundational technology across industries, from financial services and healthcare to agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and education.

But AI requires more than software.

It depends on data centres, reliable electricity, telecommunications networks, cloud infrastructure, computing capacity, digital skills and businesses capable of turning technology into commercially useful products.

This is where the focus on digital infrastructure becomes important.

Africa has made significant progress in mobile connectivity and digital services, but major infrastructure gaps remain.

The continent needs more reliable power, faster broadband, expanded data infrastructure and a larger pool of engineers and technical specialists if it wants to capture more of the economic value generated by AI.

The Korea-Africa discussions therefore come at a crucial moment.

South Korea has developed significant capabilities across semiconductors, telecommunications, electronics, manufacturing and digital technologies. Africa, meanwhile, brings a young population, rapidly growing consumer markets, natural resources and an expanding technology ecosystem.

The opportunity lies in connecting those strengths.

From technology adoption to technology production

One of the biggest questions facing African economies is whether the continent will remain primarily a consumer of technology developed elsewhere or become a more important producer of technology, intellectual property and digital services.

That distinction could determine how much economic value AI creates locally.

African countries already have growing communities of software developers, data scientists, engineers, founders and digital entrepreneurs.

However, limited access to capital, computing infrastructure and advanced technical training can prevent those businesses and professionals from operating at the scale required to compete globally.

A deeper Korea-Africa partnership could potentially help close some of those gaps by combining Korean technology and industrial expertise with African talent and markets.

The goal would not simply be to deploy imported technologies.

It would be to create opportunities for African companies and workers to participate in the development, implementation and commercialisation of those technologies.

The financing gap remains a major obstacle

Technology alone will not solve Africa's development challenges.

Capital remains one of the continent's biggest constraints.

The African Development Bank estimates that Africa faces an annual development financing gap of more than $400 billion.

The Bank has placed the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) at the centre of its strategy for mobilising African and international capital to address that gap.

The framework focuses on strengthening Africa's financial sovereignty, mobilising capital, turning demographic growth into an economic dividend and building resilient infrastructure and competitive value chains.

KOAFEC could provide another platform through which international capital and technical expertise can be connected with these priorities.

The partnership has already generated measurable results

The Korea-Africa relationship is not starting from scratch.

Since the creation of the KOAFEC Trust Fund, the partnership has supported project preparation and investment across several sectors.

According to the African Development Bank Group, approximately $50 million in project preparation support has helped generate an investment pipeline exceeding $6 billion and mobilised around $4 billion in financing.

The projects have covered areas including energy, agriculture, digital transformation, infrastructure, natural resources and private-sector development.

The partnership has also supported more than 1,300 startups and entrepreneurs, benefited over 1,200 businesses and contributed to the creation of more than 5,000 jobs.

Those figures provide an indication of what a more technology-focused partnership could potentially deliver.

The next stage, however, may require a much larger emphasis on digital businesses, AI infrastructure and technology-enabled industries.

Africa's young population creates both an opportunity and a challenge

Africa's demographics are one of the continent's greatest potential economic advantages.

Millions of young people enter the labour market every year, creating a huge potential workforce and consumer market.

But demographic growth only becomes an economic advantage when economies can create productive jobs and develop the skills needed to support higher-value industries.

This is particularly important as AI changes the global labour market.

Some traditional jobs will be automated or significantly transformed, while demand for workers with technical, analytical and digital skills is expected to increase.

For Africa, this creates a race between technology adoption and skills development.

If the continent builds digital infrastructure without developing enough skilled workers, much of the value may continue to flow outside Africa.

If it develops talent without sufficient infrastructure and capital, those workers may find better opportunities elsewhere.

A successful Korea-Africa partnership could therefore need to address all three areas simultaneously: infrastructure, skills and capital.

From infrastructure to industrialisation

The focus on digital infrastructure also fits into a much broader African development objective.

Digital infrastructure can support industrialisation by making it easier for businesses to access markets, financial services, logistics networks and international customers.

AI can further improve productivity in industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and energy.

But the biggest opportunity may come when digital technology is combined with physical infrastructure and industrial capacity.

For example, AI-powered systems can improve manufacturing processes, optimise energy use, predict equipment failures and make supply chains more efficient.

In agriculture, digital tools can improve forecasting, access to markets and resource management.

In healthcare, AI can support diagnostics, administration and access to medical information.

The economic value therefore comes not simply from having AI tools, but from embedding them into industries that employ people and generate economic activity.

Korea's industrial experience could offer lessons for Africa

South Korea's economic transformation provides an important reference point for the discussions.

The country moved from a largely agrarian economy into a major industrial and technology powerhouse, building globally competitive companies in electronics, automobiles, telecommunications, semiconductors and other advanced industries.

Africa's economic circumstances are different, so the Korean model cannot simply be copied.

However, its experience demonstrates the importance of long-term investment in infrastructure, education, industrial capacity, technology and export-oriented businesses.

For African economies trying to build their own technology and manufacturing capabilities, partnerships with countries that have already navigated similar transformations could provide useful expertise and investment opportunities.

Startups could become an important part of the next phase

The presence of startup founders and innovators at KOAFEC also reflects the growing role of entrepreneurship in Africa's economic transformation.

African startups have built businesses in fintech, healthtech, logistics, commerce, agriculture and other sectors, demonstrating that technology can be used to solve large-scale local problems.

The next opportunity could be moving more of these companies into deeper technology.

AI, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital identity and industrial technology could create a new generation of African companies operating further up the technology value chain.

But these companies will require more than venture capital.

They will need access to research institutions, technical talent, international markets, infrastructure and corporate customers.

That makes government, development institutions and large technology companies important participants in the ecosystem.

What comes next

The 8th KOAFEC Ministerial Conference is expected to conclude with a Joint Declaration outlining a shared vision for the next phase of Korea-Africa cooperation.

The meeting is also expected to introduce the 2027–2028 Action Plan, covering areas including artificial intelligence and digital transformation, energy, infrastructure, trade, private-sector development and human capital.

The significance of the plan will ultimately depend on execution.

Africa has no shortage of technology strategies, digital transformation plans or ambitious development targets.

The harder task is turning those plans into infrastructure, businesses, jobs and measurable economic value.

That is where the next 20 years of Korea-Africa cooperation could become particularly important.

If the partnership succeeds in combining Korean technology and industrial expertise with African capital, talent, entrepreneurs and markets, it could help move the relationship beyond traditional development cooperation toward a more commercially driven technology partnership.

And as AI becomes increasingly embedded in almost every major industry, the countries that build the infrastructure and skills today will have a significant influence over where tomorrow's economic value is created.

For Africa, the opportunity is not simply to adopt the next wave of technology.

It is to build, own and profit from more of it.