Twenty promising youth entrepreneurs from African technology ventures and enterprise support organisations have embarked on a two-week study tour of the Republic of Korea, seeking investment and insights from the country’s innovative tech ecosystem.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB)’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab selected these young entrepreneurs from 133 ventures that participated in last month’s Africa Tech Startup Forum.
Held under the auspices of the lab’s “Leveraging the Entrepreneurial and Innovation Success of Korea to Strengthen African Enterprise Support” project, the forum selected entrepreneurs who pitched the best business models during the week-long virtual market access and acceleration programme preparing, training, and connecting technology ventures with opportunities.
Representing eight African nations – Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda – the delegates span various sectors, and their itinerary includes visits to prestigious institutions such as Global Startup Centre, LG Science Park, the Korea Software Technology Association, and the Global Digital Innovation Network.
“I am excited to go to Korea because the country has made serious technological developments. The country is a technology-driven society, and this tour is an opportunity for me to see how we can bring such technology to Africa,” said Uche Ezadinachi, the founder of Kenya-based health technology venture Zuri Health.
“We will share experiences with our Korean counterparts; they will learn from us as much as we learn from them.”
