Africa Business Partnership Held... 17 Countries, 249 Companies Participated

On the Occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit
Jointly Hosted by 5 Ministries and Agencies

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 5th that it held the '2024 Korea-Africa Business Partnership' event on the 4th at the COEX Intercontinental Hotel, co-hosted with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Public Procurement Service, and jointly organized by the Small and Medium Business Corporation and KOTRA, to expand economic cooperation opportunities on the occasion of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit.

From 17 African countries, a total of 55 companies in three sectors?▲Trade (ICT/automobiles/consumer goods/medical equipment/supplies, etc.), ▲Energy & Plants (private/public contractors in transportation, construction, and energy sectors), and ▲Critical Minerals (companies and institutions in the mining sector)?visited Korea, conducting 508 consultations with 194 Korean companies. The total contract value pursued reached 108.7 million USD, raising expectations for achievements such as export diversification between Korea and Africa, expansion of project orders, and strengthening of supply chain cooperation.

On the 4th, the '2024 Korea-Africa Business Partnership' event is taking place at the InterContinental Hotel COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

Company A, which exports and distributes Korean food products, signed an export contract worth approximately 1 million USD on-site after consultations with Company M from South Africa. Company A expressed optimism, stating, “South Africa is a very stable country with well-developed infrastructure in the region, serving as a gateway market for exports to neighboring countries,” and added, “As the Korean Wave gains popularity across the African continent, we feel the demand for K-food such as ramen and snacks is also rising.”

Company W, which produces and sells raw materials for home appliances and home appliances, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture for manufacturing facility investment to enter the East African home appliance market for the first time with Company D from Kenya and Company B from Ethiopia, with whom it has been discussing cooperation at this partnership event. If this leads to actual investment, it will become the first domestic company to invest in and establish manufacturing facilities in Kenya and Ethiopia.

This event, jointly promoted by five ministries and agencies, was the first and largest Africa-only business consultation held domestically, reaffirming the commitment to mutually beneficial economic cooperation expansion with Africa, a key region for expanding global South cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Small and Medium Business Corporation, and five other ministries and agencies plan to continue follow-up support to ensure that the various discussions held at this event lead to actual business cooperation such as export contracts and project orders.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.