The 16th Jeju Forum Africa Session

The Korea-Africa Foundation hosted the 16th Jeju Forum for peace and prosperity under the theme, “Africa’s Digital Innovation in Post-COVID-19 Era” which sought a post-COVID-19 breakthrough on the African continent through digital innovation and served as a platform to discuss ways for economic cooperation between Korea and Africa in the digital sector.

The President of the Korea-Africa Foundation, Lyeo Woon-ki, opened the session, stating, “the African continent is facing new reforms with digital technology, and expectations for digital innovation in Africa which accounts for 15% of the world’s mobile money are high.”

Furthermore, the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union (AU), H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid, introduced the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which began full-scale implementation this year and stated, “We expect intra-Africa trade to be facilitated through digital technology”. She also shared the digital transformation initiatives and strategies being pursued by the African Union (AU).

In the subsequent presentations, the CEO of the Global Policy House, Michelle Chivunga, emphasized that in order to achieve AfCFTA’s goal of creating a single market on the African continent, digital innovation must be preceded.

The Jeju Forum Africa Session, moderated by Professor Lee Jin-sang of the State University of New York in Korea, ended with both online and in-person participants agreeing that a clear roadmap is needed for Korea-Africa cooperation.

We hope that with the 16th Jeju Forum Africa session, exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Africa in the digital sector will be further enhanced.