Africa’s AI Future Gets a Skills Boost as AfDB and KAIST Join Forces

Training for public officials, researchers and technical experts forms a central part of the planned cooperation, drawing on KAIST’s experience in educating public sector executives and engineers around the world.

Africa's ability to turn artificial intelligence into better public services and economic opportunities depends on people who can develop the technology, shape its use and understand local needs. A new letter of intent between the African Development Bank Group and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) puts those capabilities at the centre of a three-year cooperation framework covering AI, digital governance, research and knowledge transfer.

Signed in Seoul on 9 September during the eighth Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference, the agreement brings together the Bank's understanding of Africa's development priorities and KAIST's technical and educational expertise. Ousmane Fall, the Bank's Director of Industrial and Trade Development, and Seung Hun Han, Dean of KAIST's Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation, signed the document, establishing a framework to help African countries strengthen the skills and institutions needed for digital transformation.

Giving African Professionals the Skills to Lead

Training for public officials, researchers and technical experts forms a central part of the planned cooperation, drawing on KAIST's experience in educating public sector executives and engineers around the world. Existing programmes supported through KOAFEC will provide another foundation for developing African leaders who can make informed decisions about AI and guide its use in development, connecting technical understanding with the responsibilities of managing public institutions and services.

Fall described the agreement as a step towards a stronger African digital ecosystem built on skills, research and innovation, with African leadership shaping the transformation. That emphasis gives the partnership a clear human focus: building the expertise needed within the continent to make choices about emerging technologies, develop locally relevant approaches and support broader participation in the digital economy.

Connecting AI Research With Public Policy

The framework provides joint research and development on AI-related public policies and datasets, supported by studies and strategic advice for African countries pursuing digital transformation. Knowledge generation, technical workshops, policy discussions and exchanges between Korean and African experts are also included, creating opportunities to connect research findings with the decisions governments face as they introduce new technologies.

The potential economic gains are substantial, according to African Development Bank estimates, which suggest AI could contribute up to $1 trillion to Africa's GDP from 2035, representing nearly 4 percent in additional growth. Those projections depend on investment across five pillars identified by the Bank: computing power, data, skills, trust and funding. The KAIST framework addresses skills, research and governance within that wider set of requirements, making capacity development part of the groundwork needed to pursue the projected gains.

Building on Korea's Investment in African Development

Korea's financial relationship with the Bank stretches back to its membership of the African Development Fund in 1980 and the African Development Bank in 1982. The KOAFEC Trust Fund, established in 2007, is now the Bank's largest active bilateral trust fund, with cumulative Korean contributions reaching $132.82 million as of 31 May 2026, providing a substantial base for cooperation on technical assistance, project preparation and business development.

About $50 million allocated to technical assistance and project preparation has helped finance more than 40 investment operations and programmes worth over $6 billion, and helped mobilise at least $4 billion in additional funding. The fund has supported more than 1,300 African start-ups and entrepreneurs, benefited over 1,200 businesses and contributed to the creation of more than 5,000 jobs. The new three-year framework adds a focus on AI expertise and knowledge exchange to this existing partnership, with planned training and research intended to strengthen Africa's capacity to shape its own digital future.