Africa: KOAFEC 2026 - African Development Bank and Korea's Export-Import Bank Strengthen Partnership to Finance Africa's Strategic Priorities

What the report says

The African Development Bank Group and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) have agreed to expand their co-financing partnership for projects across Africa, according to AllAfrica’s reporting from an African Development Bank release. The memorandum of understanding was signed on 9 September in Seoul by AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah and KEXIM President and CEO Hwang Ki-yeon. It updates a cooperation framework first established in 2005 and is meant to create new ways to identify and finance projects in sectors seen as priorities for the continent.

The five-year arrangement is intended to support sustainable and inclusive growth by combining the institutions’ financing tools, including loans, guarantees and equity investments. The agreement was announced on the sidelines of the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation, or KOAFEC, Ministerial Conference, which the article says is marking 20 years since the forum began. KOAFEC has shifted over time from a dialogue platform toward a mechanism for project preparation, investment mobilisation and private-sector engagement.

AfDB said the partnership will focus on areas such as artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, critical minerals, energy, transport, urban development, green infrastructure and trade-support products for financial institutions. The bank also linked the deal to its broader strategy for attracting more private investment and expanding Africa’s development finance options. More generally, the report reflects growing interest from Korean institutions in Africa’s technology, infrastructure and industrialisation opportunities.