[INTERVIEW] Korea urged to employ young Africans to tackle demographic challenges

African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina poses during an interview with The Korea Times on the occasion of the 2023 Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference at Ananti Hilton Busan hotel, Wednesday. Courtesy of Moustafa Cheaiteli for AfDB

AfDB president finds reciprocal interests with Korea in labor, technology

By Yi Whan-woo

BUSAN ― Recording the world's lowest fertility rate each year since 2013, Korea is struggling with a looming demographic crisis. In 2022, the country's fertility rate dropped to a new low of 0.78.

Accordingly, the number of economically-active people aged 15 to 64, out of its entire 51 million population, is feared to plunge 35 percent to 24.19 million from 2020 to 2050.

Made up of 54 countries, Africa, on the other hand, is noteworthy for having the world's youngest population, with 477 million out of 1.4 billion people on the continent aged 15 to 35, according to African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina.

African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina, left, shakes hands with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho before their meeting during the 2023 Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference at Ananti Hilton Busan hotel, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance

"So, I think Korea can have a more open, liberal immigration policy that allows highly talented Africans to be able to come, join companies, develop careers and so on," Adesina said during an interview with The Korea Times at Ananti Hilton Busan hotel, Wednesday.

Headquartered in Cote d'Ivoire, the AfDB, along with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), is a co-host of the 2023 Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference running in Busan from Tuesday to Friday. The conference was suspended for five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AfDB president assessed that "quite a lot of young Africans are skilled" but cannot land jobs due to a lack of employment opportunities and other unfavorable labor market conditions.

He added, "Flexible labor market regulations can allow Korea to tap into the young, dynamic workforce that Africa brings to the world."

Adesina also urged more Korean businesses, especially smaller ones, to come to Africa to capitalize on its abundant labor force.

"We have Samsung and the all other big guys from Korea, but I want to see a lot more," he said.

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At the same time, they can explore opportunities in fintech, ICT, and other digital technology-related industries, considering more young people are growing up in a digital world in the pandemic era, Adesina explained.

For instance, the mobile payment market in Africa is scaled at $701 billion, which accounts for 70 percent of the entire global market.

African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina, second from left, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, second from right, are at a meeting with their respective officials during the 2023 Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference at Ananti Hilton Busan hotel, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance

Nigeria's former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the AfDB president saw agribusiness as another area where Korean businesses can work with the young African population.

The African agribusiness market is anticipated to grow to $1 trillion by 2030, under the condition that governments, in cooperation with international partners, can expand their access to more capital, electricity, better technology and irrigable land to grow high-value nutritious crops.

That market is comparable to the size of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The intra-Africa economic bloc took effect in 2021, with a cumulative market value of $3.5 trillion.

AfDB is prioritizing agriculture under the "High 5s" project with the slogans of "Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa."

Also, agriculture, along with energy, are at the center of discussions at the 2023 KOAFEC Ministerial Conference, under the theme of "Embracing a Sustainable Future: Just Energy Transition and Agricultural Transformation in Africa."

In addition to Africa's young population, the AfDB president said Korea has reasons to explore energy business opportunities in an era of electric vehicles (EVs) and heightened global competition to acquire strategic, raw materials.

He pointed out that Africa accounts for 80 percent of global platinum deposits, which are an ingredient of lithium-ion batteries for EVs. The continent also holds 50 percent of global copper reserves and 40 percent of manganese reserves.

"Korea can work with the AfDB to launch initiatives to explore and optimize a range of industries, whether it is agriculture, digital technology, green energies or pharmaceuticals," he said.

Concerning the significance of the 2023 KOAFEC Ministerial Conference, Adesina found it noteworthy for the African delegation to interact with the Korean side face-to-face on the supply of electricity and rice.

Of the High 5s' slogans, "Light up and Power Africa" is strategically chosen as Africa still has 600 million people who do not have access to electricity.

The second slogan, "Feed Africa," is related to lack of self-sufficiency in rice, with rice imports into the continent amounting to $6 billion or more every year.

Concerning Busan's bid for World Expo 2030, the AfDB president said, "It deserves to host [the event] so that it can tell Korea's story of rapid development that will inspire the rest of the world."

"Busan is a beautiful and smart city and has a lot of opportunities to showcase many things to the world," he said.

He added, "The most important sales point for Busan is, Korea's own story of development out of nothing to what it is today, and if I have a vote, I will vote for it."