African Development Bank Pitches Critical Minerals Projects to Korean Investors as Africa Seeks Strategic Capital

SEOUl, 11 September 2026 — The African Development Bank (AfDB) has presented five regional critical minerals projects to Korean investors and financial institutions, highlighting opportunities for strategic capital deployment, project financing, risk sharing and the development of value-added mineral supply chains across Africa.

The presentation, led by African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah, was held during the Korea-Africa High-Level Dialogue on Investment, Critical Minerals and Sustainable Value Chains in Seoul on 8 September, ahead of the official opening of the eighth Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference.

The dialogue brought together African and Korean business leaders, investors, financial institutions and policymakers to identify commercially viable opportunities in infrastructure, energy, renewable energy, digital technology, manufacturing, critical minerals and sustainable industrial value chains.

Launched in 2006, the KOAFEC Ministerial Conference marks two decades of economic cooperation between Korea and Africa through the African Development Bank. The latest engagement seeks to strengthen that relationship by moving beyond traditional development cooperation towards investment partnerships, private-sector participation and commercially sustainable projects.

Africa Seeks Investment Beyond Raw Mineral Exports President Ould Tah highlighted Africa's rapidly growing population, urbanisation, expanding regional markets and extensive natural-resource base as factors creating significant long-term investment opportunities.

Critical minerals were placed at the centre of the discussion because of their importance to renewable energy, electric mobility, advanced manufacturing and other technologies driving the global energy transition. For Africa, however, the strategic objective is increasingly to capture a larger share of the economic value generated from these resources.

Rather than relying predominantly on the export of unprocessed minerals, the continent is seeking investment in processing, refining, manufacturing and associated infrastructure. Such investments could create new industrial capacity, expand employment, strengthen export earnings and enable African economies to retain a greater proportion of mineral revenues within their domestic markets.

“The Korea-Africa partnership now has the necessary foundations to move from goodwill to investment, from ideas to projects, and from the exchange of resources to the creation of shared industrial value,” President Ould Tah said.

He urged investors to view Africa not simply as a source of raw materials, but as an emerging destination for integrated production and long-term industrial investment. “Africa’s ambition is to process more, refine more, produce more, create more jobs and retain a greater share of the value on the continent,” he said.

AfDB Positions Risk Mitigation as Key to Investment During the session, the African Development Bank presented five regional projects covering critical minerals development in different parts of the continent, with the objective of attracting potential Korean investors and strategic partners.

The Bank also outlined financial instruments designed to improve the bankability and investment attractiveness of African projects. These include guarantee mechanisms, co-financing arrangements and risk-mitigation instruments intended to address some of the financial and operational risks that can discourage international investors from entering emerging markets.

The approach is aimed at helping projects progress from the concept and development stage towards financial close by strengthening their risk profile and mobilising additional private capital. The Bank highlighted the Pan-African Guarantee Platform (PAGP), which it is leading under the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD). The platform is intended to provide a continental mechanism for risk sharing and capital mobilisation, potentially helping investors manage political, commercial and other risks associated with major infrastructure and industrial projects.

Korean Investors Seek Bankable Opportunities Korean companies participating in the dialogue outlined specific commercial interests and raised questions regarding the operating environment for investment in Africa.

An energy and renewable-energy operator presented its existing investment activities on the continent and requested additional information on developments and opportunities in Africa's electricity market.

A railway operator, meanwhile, sought clarification on how the African Development Bank could contribute to harmonising regulatory frameworks and supporting investment regulations that are more conducive to foreign capital. The questions reflected the importance investors place not only on the availability of natural resources, but also on regulatory certainty, infrastructure, market access, financing structures and risk-adjusted investment returns. In response, the African Development Bank reaffirmed its support to regional member countries in improving the business environment and developing policies that can facilitate private-sector investment. The Bank emphasised that successful investment partnerships require a combination of commercially viable projects, appropriate financing structures, predictable regulations and mechanisms capable of reducing investment risks.

From Resources to Shared Industrial Value The Korea-Africa Foundation, which organised the dialogue with the South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea and in partnership with the African Development Bank Group, said the engagement was designed to focus on concrete projects and identify areas where Korean technological, financial and industrial capabilities could complement Africa's resources and markets.

The South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea also encouraged Korean companies to examine the growing range of investment opportunities emerging across Africa. For Africa, the opportunity extends beyond securing financing for individual mining projects. The broader objective is to attract investment across the entire value chain, including mining services, logistics, power generation, mineral processing, manufacturing and technology.

Such an approach could enable African countries to move towards more integrated industrial economies while providing international investors with access to resources, expanding consumer markets and long-term infrastructure opportunities. The African Development Bank therefore used the Seoul engagement to encourage Korean investors to move from preliminary discussions towards project identification, due diligence, financing partnerships and investment execution.

The message from the Bank was clear: the next phase of Korea-Africa economic cooperation should convert Africa's resource potential into commercially viable investments, strengthen local value chains and create mutually beneficial opportunities for investors and African economies.

The engagement closed with a call to maintain momentum by moving from dialogue to transactions, from opportunities to investment, and from resource extraction to shared industrial prosperity.