AfDB, Korea sign $28.6m grant to boost Africa’s development

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Korea have signed two agreements to support Africa’s development agenda, with the first worth $28.6 million.

This announcement was made in a recent statement on the AfDB’s website, as reported by ThePressNG.

These funding agreements were signed in Busan during the 7th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference (KOAFEC) and complement the $600 million co-financing agreement under the Korea-Africa Energy Investment Framework, established with the Korean government in 2021.

The framework aims to assist African nations in building human capacity and developing their energy sector, with a primary focus on enhancing energy access, promoting agricultural transformation, and strengthening knowledge and capacity-building in various African countries.

It will be provided to the African Development Bank Group in three installments: $4.6 million in 2023, followed by $24 million in 2024 and 2025.

The first agreement for this funding was signed by African Development Bank Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Kyungho Choo.

Choo emphasized Korea’s commitment to being a partner for African countries and supporting sustainable growth and development. Adesina, in turn, lauded Korea’s unique relationship with Africa, highlighting Korea’s transformation from a poor aid-dependent country to a donor country within a single generation as an inspiring example.

The second agreement involves the African Development Bank and Statistics Korea, to enhance statistical cooperation and improve the data-producing capacity of African countries.

The agreement was signed by African Development Bank Chief Economist and Vice President Kevin Urama and Commissioner of Statistics Korea, Hyoung il Lee.

This partnership will promote statistical awareness and facilitate the sharing of new data sources and methods, including big data, to enhance statistical quality.

The agreement identifies potential areas of cooperation, including the use of the African Development Bank’s Africa Information Highway for evidence-based decision-making.

The Africa Information Highway is a comprehensive network of live open data platforms that electronically connect all African countries and 16 regional organizations.

The Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund, supported by Korea, is highlighted as the largest of the Bank’s active bilateral trust funds in terms of contributions and project portfolio size.

As of December 31, 2022, the fund had received $108 million in contributions and had financed 203 projects since its inception.