The projects were presented to business and financial executives during the Korea-Africa High-Level Dialogue on Investment, Critical Minerals and Sustainable Value Chains in Seoul on September 8.
The meeting took place ahead of the eighth Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference, which marked 20 years of cooperation between Korea and Africa through the AfDB.
AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said Africa’s population growth, urbanisation, regional integration and mineral resources offered substantial investment opportunities. “The Korea-Africa partnership now has the necessary foundations to move from goodwill to investment, from ideas to projects, and from the exchange of resources to the creation of shared industrial value,” Ould Tah said.
Critical minerals are essential for renewable energy, batteries and other clean technologies. However, many African countries continue exporting minerals in raw form, limiting the economic value retained by the continent. “Africa’s ambition is to process more, refine more, produce more, create more jobs and retain a greater share of the value on the continent,” Ould Tah said.
The five projects cover almost every African region, although AfDB did not provide details about their locations, costs or development stages.
The Bank also presented guarantees, co-financing arrangements and risk-mitigation instruments intended to make projects more bankable and reduce risks facing private investors.
One proposed mechanism is the Pan-African Guarantee Platform, which AfDB is developing under the New African Financial Architecture for Development.
The platform is intended to support continental risk-sharing and mobilise capital for infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, mining and other priority industries.
Korean businesses expressed interest in electricity, renewable energy, railways, artificial intelligence and digital technology.
An energy operator requested information about developments in African electricity markets, while a railway company asked how AfDB could help harmonise regulations and create conditions more supportive of foreign investment.
AfDB said the dialogue focused on concrete projects and opportunities for combining Korea’s technology, manufacturing expertise and investment capacity with Africa’s resources and development priorities.
The Bank reaffirmed support for African countries seeking to improve the business environment and attract private capital.
AfDB urged Korean investors to move “from dialogue to action, from opportunities to investment, and from resource extraction to shared prosperity”.
–AfDB/ChannelAfrica–
