Hyundai Motor Group is teaming up with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to build a foundation for sustainable growth in Africa, including a shift to clean energy.
The group said on the 9th that it signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the AfDB on industrialization, transport infrastructure and clean energy transition in Africa. The agreement was signed on the 8th at Hyundai Motor's (005380) Yangjae headquarters in Seocho District, Seoul. The AfDB is Africa's largest multilateral development finance institution, supporting sustainable economic growth and industrialization across the continent.
Under the agreement, the two sides will identify promising projects and growth opportunities in Africa by combining Hyundai Motor Group's technology and business capabilities in mobility, energy, infrastructure and industrialization with the AfDB's strengths in development finance, investment attraction and project development. They also plan to define the scope of cooperation and implementation plans in each area going forward.
Cooperation will span six areas: a clean energy transition based on renewables including green hydrogen; sustainable mobility solutions across Africa; development of transport and logistics infrastructure such as roads, railways and ports; an electric vehicle value chain drawing on critical mineral resources; stronger industrialization and manufacturing capabilities; and talent development for Africa's future mobility and energy industries.
After the signing ceremony, the AfDB delegation discussed Africa's development finance environment and key industrial challenges with Hyundai Motor Group and reviewed medium- to long-term cooperation plans. The delegation also toured the lobby of the group's Yangjae building, where it viewed future mobility technologies including irrigation robots, security robots, delivery robots and a demonstration of MobED.
"This cooperation is the starting point of a long-term partnership to advance Africa's energy transition and strengthen its industrial competitiveness," Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jaehoon Chang said. "Building an integrated financing package that links policy finance with private capital and secures investment stability is essential to steadily advancing and successfully commercializing key projects in Africa, so we will continue to expand our cooperation with the AfDB."
Kevin Chika Urama, AfDB vice president, said Hyundai Motor Group's accumulated experience, technologies and vision for the future align closely with the bank's own vision of turning Africa's potential into shared prosperity. "In that respect, Hyundai Motor Group is an important strategic partner," Urama said.
Attending the signing ceremony alongside Chang were Hyundai Engineering President Ju Woo-jung, Hyundai Capital President Chung Hyung-jin, Hyundai Motor and Kia Global Strategy Office Executive Vice President Kim Heung-soo, Chief Communications Officer Kim Il-beom, and HMG Management Research Institute Executive Vice President Shin Yong-seok, along with other officials from group units involved in Africa.
The AfDB was represented by Urama and Mac Magor Ndiaye, senior director for co-financing, syndication and client solutions. The delegation traveled to Korea for the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation ministerial conference (KOAFEC), held in Seoul from the 8th to the 11th.
