Rosine Tedajo, trust fund manager and senior resource mobilization officer of the African Development Bank (AfDB), speaks during a webinar co-hosted by the AfDB and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) at La Maison Palmier in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Thursday. Courtesy of KOTRA
As the conflict in the Middle East continues, Korean firms are increasingly casting their gaze toward the African continent, seeking a strategic hedge against regional instability.
The pivot comes as investors reconsider oil and gas producers such as Algeria, Nigeria and Angola as viable alternatives to Middle Eastern suppliers. With Africa’s GDP growth projected at a robust 4 percent through 2025, the continent is emerging not just as a resource hub, but as a frontier for massive infrastructure and digital industrialization.
On Thursday, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), alongside the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the African Development Bank (AfDB), hosted a webinar designed to demystify African project markets for Korean industry leaders. The event, which drew representatives from more than 70 companies, signaled a concerted effort by Seoul to leverage intergovernmental financing bodies to mitigate the traditional risks associated with the continent’s emerging markets.
“In the midst of global uncertainty, Africa is surfacing as a market of new opportunities, particularly in AI (artificial intelligence), digital infrastructure and energy,” said Kang Yoon-jin, director general of the Development Finance Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The scale of the opportunities discussed was immense. AfDB developers highlighted the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, a $15.6 billion expressway project spanning five West African nations — Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Slated for international bidding later this year, the 1,080-kilometer highway represents the kind of high-stakes, public-private partnership that Korean engineering giants are now being encouraged to pursue.
Beyond traditional concrete and steel, the dialogue focused on "new industry" demand: data centers, renewable energy grids and AI-driven public services. To facilitate entry, the AfDB emphasized the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Trust Fund, a specialized financial vehicle designed to bridge Korean technical expertise with African infrastructure needs.
The outreach is part of a broader diplomatic offensive. Officials confirmed that these efforts would culminate in September at the KOAFEC Ministerial Conference in Seoul, where the government plans to pair private sector investment with official development assistance to secure a permanent foothold in the region.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
