Africa: KOAFEC 2026 - African Development Bank, Kaist Sign Agreement to Advance Africa's Digital Transformation

What the report says

The African Development Bank Group and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have signed a letter of intent aimed at supporting Africa’s digital transformation, according to a report distributed by AllAfrica from the African Development Bank. The agreement was signed in Seoul on 9 September, during the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference. It creates a three-year framework for cooperation between the two institutions.

The partnership is designed to strengthen African capacity in artificial intelligence, digital governance, research and knowledge transfer. The plan includes joint work on public policy and datasets related to AI, along with studies and strategic advice intended to support African countries as they modernize digital systems. It also calls for training programmes for public officials, researchers and technical experts, as well as technical workshops and policy dialogues.

The signing brought together Ousmane Fall, the African Development Bank’s Director of Industrial and Trade Development, and Seung Hun Han, dean of KAIST’s Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation. Fall said the agreement is a step toward building a stronger digital ecosystem in Africa; that quotation was provided in the source material. The bank also linked the initiative to broader regional hopes that AI could boost growth if countries invest in infrastructure, data, skills, trust and funding.

More broadly, the report places the deal within a longer Korea-Africa development relationship, including Korea’s membership in the African Development Fund and the African Development Bank, and the role of the KOAFEC Trust Fund in supporting technical assistance and investment preparation.