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Seoul Summit Success: Africa and Korea's Tech Dialogue

Created
2025/07/31 07:21
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On July 23, we held a super exciting AfricArena Seoul Summit! We teamed up with some amazing partners: the South African Chamber of Commerce – South Korea, AfriKo Corp, AWS Startups, Korea Africa Foundation, and KISED. The event took place at the stunning Saerom Building in Gangnam.
This wasn't just any stop on the AfricArena Tour; it was a truly special moment of global connection, meaningful conversations, and future-focused ideas flowing between two vibrant tech scenes: Africa and Korea!
7μ›” 23일에 μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ μ„œμšΈ μ„œλ°‹μ„ μ•„μ£Ό μ„±κ³΅μ μœΌλ‘œ κ°œμ΅œν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€! 남아프리카곡화ꡭ-ν•œκ΅­ μƒκ³΅νšŒμ˜μ†Œ, 아프리코 μ£Όμ‹νšŒμ‚¬, AWS μŠ€νƒ€νŠΈμ—…, ν•œ-아프리카 μž¬λ‹¨, 그리고 ν•œκ΅­μ²­λ…„κΈ°μ—…κ°€μ •μ‹ μž¬λ‹¨κ³Ό 같은 ν›Œλ₯­ν•œ νŒŒνŠΈλ„ˆλ“€κ³Ό ν˜‘λ ₯ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 이 ν–‰μ‚¬λŠ” κ°•λ‚¨μ˜ 멋진 μƒˆλ‘¬ λΉŒλ”©μ—μ„œ μ§„ν–‰λ˜μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.
이번 ν–‰μ‚¬λŠ” μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ νˆ¬μ–΄μ˜ λ‹¨μˆœν•œ ν•œ 지점이 μ•„λ‹ˆμ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 아프리카와 ν•œκ΅­μ΄λΌλŠ” 두 ν™œκΈ°μ°¬ 기술 ν˜„μž₯ μ‚¬μ΄μ—μ„œ κΈ€λ‘œλ²Œ μ—°κ²°, 의미 μžˆλŠ” λŒ€ν™”, 그리고 미래 지ν–₯적인 아이디어듀이 μ˜€κ°€λŠ” 정말 νŠΉλ³„ν•œ μˆœκ°„μ΄μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!
μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ μ„œμšΈ μ„œλ°‹ 2025 (AfricArena SeoulΒ SummitΒ 2025) - μ΄λ²€ν„°μŠ€
The AfricArena Seoul Summit on July 23, 2025, will bring together over 100 key players from Africa and Asia to ignite cross-continental collaboration, showcase disruptive startups, and unlock new investment opportunities focused on the African tech ecosystem.
https://event-us.kr/afrikocorp/event/107154

Opening Address & Keynote:Β Africa – The Next Global Tech Frontier

The AfricArena Seoul Summit kicked off with a bang! Jongkil Lee from the Korea-Africa Foundation delivered an energizing Opening Address. Following that, Christophe Viarnaud, AfricArena's CEO and Founder, captivated the room with a powerful keynote. He highlighted Africa's incredible journey to becoming the next global innovation frontier, sharing insights that truly inspired everyone!
Christophe emphasized a powerful truth: "Africa’s infrastructure demand is not a challenge, it’s an opportunity." He went on to explain how "From climate resilience to telecommunications and urban innovation, the collaboration with Korean startups is ripe with potential." What an exciting vision!
β€’
Mr. Jongkil Lee - Director of Planning & Coordination Bureau, The Korea-Africa Foundation
β€’
Christophe Viarnaud - Founder & CEO, AfricArena, AfricArise & Methys Groupa
μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ μ„œμšΈ μ„œλ°‹μ΄ μ„±κ³΅μ μœΌλ‘œ 막을 μ˜¬λ ΈμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€! ν•œκ΅­-아프리카 μž¬λ‹¨μ˜ 이쒅길 λ‹˜κ»˜μ„œ ν™œκΈ°μ°¬ κ°œνšŒμ‚¬λ₯Ό ν•΄μ£Όμ…¨μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ΄μ–΄μ„œ μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜μ˜ CEO이자 μ„€λ¦½μžμΈ Christophe ViarnaudλŠ” κ°•λ ₯ν•œ κΈ°μ‘°μ—°μ„€λ‘œ μ°Έμ„μžλ“€μ„ μ‚¬λ‘œμž‘μ•˜μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŠ” 아프리카가 λ‹€μŒ κΈ€λ‘œλ²Œ ν˜μ‹  변방이 되기 μœ„ν•œ λ†€λΌμš΄ 여정을 κ°•μ‘°ν•˜λ©° λͺ¨λ‘μ—κ²Œ μ§„μ •ν•œ μ˜κ°μ„ μ£ΌλŠ” 톡찰λ ₯을 κ³΅μœ ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!
ChristopheλŠ” "μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄μ˜ 인프라 μˆ˜μš”λŠ” 도전이 μ•„λ‹ˆλΌ κΈ°νšŒμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€"λΌλŠ” κ°•λ ₯ν•œ 진싀을 κ°•μ‘°ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŠ” μ΄μ–΄μ„œ "κΈ°ν›„ 볡원λ ₯λΆ€ν„° 톡신 및 λ„μ‹œ ν˜μ‹ μ— 이λ₯΄κΈ°κΉŒμ§€ ν•œκ΅­ μŠ€νƒ€νŠΈμ—…κ³Όμ˜ ν˜‘λ ₯은 잠재λ ₯으둜 κ°€λ“ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€"라고 μ„€λͺ…ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 정말 ν₯미둜운 비전이죠!

Fireside Chat:Β One Year In – From MoUs to Market Moves

This captivating session, moderated by Dan Mabbyalas, Director of Programs at AfricArena & AfricaRise, featured inspiring reflections from African founders! They were part of the KAF-supported immersion program in Korea last year, and now, a year later, they shared how their initial MoUs have transformed into real market traction, valuable learnings, and even exciting joint ventures or partnerships across both continents.
From successful tech pilots and smooth "soft landings" to smartly adapting their business models for the Korean market, this chat truly showcased what genuine cross-continental collaboration looks like when it's put into action!
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Dan Mabbyalas - Program Director, AfricArena
μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ & μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λΌμ΄μ¦ˆ ν”„λ‘œκ·Έλž¨ 디렉터인 Dan Mabbyalas의 μ§„ν–‰μœΌλ‘œ μ§„ν–‰λœ 이 맀λ ₯적인 μ„Έμ…˜μ—μ„œλŠ” 아프리카 μ°½μ—…κ°€λ“€μ˜ 영감 λ„˜μΉ˜λŠ” 생각듀이 μ†Œκ°œλ˜μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€! 이듀은 μž‘λ…„μ— KAF(ν•œ-아프리카 μž¬λ‹¨)κ°€ μ§€μ›ν•œ ν•œκ΅­ λͺ°μž… ν”„λ‘œκ·Έλž¨μ— μ°Έμ—¬ν–ˆμœΌλ©°, 1년이 μ§€λ‚œ μ§€κΈˆ, κ·Έλ“€μ˜ 초기 MOUκ°€ μ–΄λ–»κ²Œ μ‹€μ œ μ‹œμž₯ 견인λ ₯, κ·€μ€‘ν•œ ν•™μŠ΅, 그리고 μ–‘ λŒ€λ₯™μ— 걸친 ν₯미둜운 ν•©μž‘ 투자 λ˜λŠ” νŒŒνŠΈλ„ˆμ‹­μœΌλ‘œ μ „ν™˜λ˜μ—ˆλŠ”μ§€ κ³΅μœ ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.
성곡적인 기술 μ‹œλ²” 사업과 순쑰둜운 "μ†Œν”„νŠΈ λžœλ”©"λΆ€ν„° ν•œκ΅­ μ‹œμž₯에 맞게 λΉ„μ¦ˆλ‹ˆμŠ€ λͺ¨λΈμ„ μ˜λ¦¬ν•˜κ²Œ μ‘°μ •ν•œ κ²ƒκΉŒμ§€, 이 λŒ€ν™”λŠ” μ§„μ •ν•œ λŒ€λ₯™ κ°„ ν˜‘λ ₯이 μ‹€μ œλ‘œ μ–΄λ–»κ²Œ κ΅¬ν˜„λ˜λŠ”μ§€λ₯Ό μ—¬μ‹€νžˆ λ³΄μ—¬μ£Όμ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!

Investor & Ecosystem Insights

Next up, we plunged into incredible real-world stories from Korean founders making waves in Africa during our dynamic panel: "Korean Ventures in Africa: Stories of Growth, Grit & Global Vision."
This was followed by crucial Investor Insight led by Park Wan-seong, who brilliantly unpacked why Korean capital should increasingly look south towards Africa’s exciting, untapped markets!
The big takeaway? Africa’s VC market, while currently less than 1% of global investment, is projected for an astonishing 77x growth in the next decade! Get ready!
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Park Wan-seong - Chief EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Ventureport Inc.
λ‹€μŒμœΌλ‘œ, 역동적인 νŒ¨λ„ μ„Έμ…˜μΈ "아프리카 λ‚΄ ν•œκ΅­ 벀처: μ„±μž₯, 용기, 그리고 κΈ€λ‘œλ²Œ λΉ„μ „ 이야기"λ₯Ό 톡해 μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄μ—μ„œ 큰 반ν–₯을 μΌμœΌν‚€κ³  μžˆλŠ” ν•œκ΅­ μ°½μ—…κ°€λ“€μ˜ λ†€λΌμš΄ μ‹€μ œ 이야기λ₯Ό 깊이 있게 λ‹€λ£¨μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.
μ΄μ–΄μ„œ λ°•μ™„μ„± λ‹˜μ΄ μ£Όλ„ν•˜λŠ” μ€‘μš”ν•œ u투자자 톡찰 μ„Έμ…˜μ΄ μ§„ν–‰λ˜μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. λ°•μ™„μ„± λ‹˜μ€ ν•œκ΅­ 자본이 μ™œ μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄μ˜ ν₯λ―Έλ‘­κ³  λ―Έκ°œμ²™λœ μ‹œμž₯으둜 점점 더 λˆˆμ„ λŒλ €μ•Ό ν•˜λŠ”μ§€ ν›Œλ₯­ν•˜κ²Œ μ„€λͺ…ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!
κ°€μž₯ 큰 핡심은 λ¬΄μ—‡μΌκΉŒμš”? 아프리카 벀처 μΊν”Όνƒˆ(VC) μ‹œμž₯은 ν˜„μž¬ μ „ 세계 νˆ¬μžμ•‘μ˜ 1% λ―Έλ§Œμ„ μ°¨μ§€ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ, ν–₯ν›„ 10λ…„ 내에 무렀 77배의 μ„±μž₯이 μ˜ˆμƒλ©λ‹ˆλ‹€! μ€€λΉ„ν•˜μ„Έμš”!

Fireside Chat: From MoUs to Market Moves - K-Startups Journeys Into Africa One Year In

Keeping the conversation flowing, a dynamic panel dove deep into how both continents can co-create sustainable, scalable tech solutions! They focused especially on exciting areas like climate tech, fintech, digital infrastructure, and health tech.
The panelists all agreed that urbanization, infrastructure demand, and climate change are shared global challenges, making them perfect grounds for joint innovation!
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Yuha Jin - Founder/CEO, AfriKo Corp
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Marouane Baslam - Founder/CEO, GrowSmart.bio
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Jihyun Jeong - Founder/CEO, Mush&
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HyungGi Kim - Infrastructure Engineer, DSRV
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Serena Lee - Founder/CEO, ESOMI
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Dan Mabbyalas - Program Director, AfricArena
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Byoungsu Kim - co-founder / CEO, Beyond Captur
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Johnson Penn - co-founder / CEO, Ecolinks
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Jiwoo Ahn - Data Scientist & Product Manager, Thanks Carbon
λŒ€ν™”λ₯Ό 이어가며, 역동적인 νŒ¨λ„λ“€μ€ μ–‘ λŒ€λ₯™μ΄ μ–΄λ–»κ²Œ 지속 κ°€λŠ₯ν•˜κ³  ν™•μž₯ κ°€λŠ₯ν•œ 기술 μ†”λ£¨μ…˜μ„ κ³΅λ™μœΌλ‘œ λ§Œλ“€ 수 μžˆλŠ”μ§€ μ‹¬μΈ΅μ μœΌλ‘œ λ…Όμ˜ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€! 그듀은 특히 **κΈ°ν›„ 기술(climate tech), ν•€ν…Œν¬(fintech), 디지털 인프라(digital infrastructure), 건강 기술(health tech)**κ³Ό 같은 ν₯미둜운 뢄야에 μ§‘μ€‘ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.
νŒ¨λ„λ“€μ€ λ„μ‹œν™”, 인프라 μˆ˜μš”, κΈ°ν›„ λ³€ν™”κ°€ μ „ 세계적인 곡톡 과제이며, μ΄λŠ” 곡동 ν˜μ‹ μ„ μœ„ν•œ μ™„λ²½ν•œ 기반이 λœλ‹€λŠ” 데 λͺ¨λ‘ λ™μ˜ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!

Africa x Korea: Forging Innovation Pathways!

A dynamic panel brought together key innovators from Africa and South Korea to discuss new pathways for collaboration. The discussion highlighted strategies to strengthen both regions’ innovation ecosystemsβ€”fueling technology co-development, scaling startups, and driving inclusive economic growth.
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Yuha Jin - Founder/CEO, AfriKo Corp
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Kyu Hwang (Kevin) Yeon - Senior Startup Ecosystem Advisor, Korea productivity Center (KPC)
β€’
Mergel Takam - Customer Success Director, DOT Inc.
동적 νŒ¨λ„ ν† λ‘ νšŒμ—μ„œ 아프리카와 ν•œκ΅­μ—μ„œ ν™œλ™ν•˜λŠ” μ£Όμš” ν˜μ‹ μžλ“€μ΄ λͺ¨μ—¬ ν˜‘λ ₯의 μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ λ°©ν–₯을 λ…Όμ˜ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 이 ν† λ‘ νšŒλŠ” μ–‘ μ§€μ—­μ˜ ν˜μ‹  μƒνƒœκ³„λ₯Ό κ°•ν™”ν•˜κΈ° μœ„ν•œ μ „λž΅μ„ κ°•μ‘°ν–ˆμœΌλ©°, 기술 곡동 개발 촉진, μŠ€νƒ€νŠΈμ—… ν™•μž₯, 포용적 경제 μ„±μž₯ 촉진 등을 ν¬ν•¨ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.

Networking & Cultural Exchange

As the panels wrapped up, the energy continued to flow into our lively networking sessions! It was a relaxed and open atmosphere, with delicious snacks, refreshing drinks, and plenty of meaningful conversations.
Founders, investors, and key ecosystem players weren't just sharing business ideas; they were exchanging powerful visions for impact and collaboration. This truly made Seoul a pivotal meeting ground on this year's AfricArena tour!
νŒ¨λ„ μ„Έμ…˜μ΄ 마무리되자, ν™œκΈ° λ„˜μΉ˜λŠ” λ„€νŠΈμ›Œν‚Ή μ„Έμ…˜μœΌλ‘œ κ·Έ μ—΄κΈ°κ°€ μ΄μ–΄μ‘ŒμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€! λ§›μžˆλŠ” 닀과와 μ‹œμ›ν•œ μŒλ£Œκ°€ ν•¨κ»˜ν•˜λŠ” νŽΈμ•ˆν•˜κ³  개방적인 λΆ„μœ„κΈ° μ†μ—μ„œ 의미 μžˆλŠ” λŒ€ν™”λ“€μ΄ ν’μ„±ν•˜κ²Œ 였고 κ°”μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.
μ°½μ—…κ°€, 투자자, 그리고 μ£Όμš” μƒνƒœκ³„ κ΄€κ³„μžλ“€μ€ λ‹¨μˆœνžˆ 사업 아이디어λ₯Ό κ³΅μœ ν•˜λŠ” 것을 λ„˜μ–΄, 영ν–₯λ ₯κ³Ό ν˜‘λ ₯을 μœ„ν•œ κ°•λ ₯ν•œ 비전을 κ΅ν™˜ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ΄λŠ” μ„œμšΈμ„ μ˜¬ν•΄ μ•„ν”„λ¦¬μΉ΄λ ˆλ‚˜ νˆ¬μ–΄μ˜ μ€‘μš”ν•œ λ§Œλ‚¨μ˜ μž₯으둜 λ§Œλ“€μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€!