South Korea to lend Tanzania $170 mn for AI training center

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The Export-Import Bank of Korea has signed a $170 million loan agreement with Tanzania to establish an artificial intelligence and digital technology training institute, marking…

The Export-Import Bank of Korea has signed a $170 million loan agreement with Tanzania to establish an artificial intelligence and digital technology training institute, marking South Korea’s first AI-focused project financed through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

The state-run lender said Thursday that its senior executive director, Lee Dong-hoon, signed the agreement Wednesday with Tanzanian Deputy Finance Minister Natu Mwamba in Dar es Salaam.

The project will establish a technical education institute on a 35,000-square-meter site, roughly the size of five soccer fields, to train specialists in physical AI and related technologies.

The institute will offer four programs covering artificial intelligence, robotics, data analytics and the Internet of Things. It will also house AI laboratories and high-performance AI training facilities.

South Korean AI technologies and educational models will be incorporated into the institute’s operations and instructor training programs.

The initiative is the first project under the government’s K-AI Package, a development cooperation program that combines infrastructure financing with the deployment of South Korean AI technologies in developing countries.

The program aims to support economic development in partner countries while creating opportunities for South Korean AI companies and technology providers to expand overseas.

“This project marks the first step toward establishing Korean AI technology in Africa,” Lee said. “We will actively support Korean companies’ participation in overseas infrastructure projects in priority EDCF areas, including AI, digital technology, culture and supply chains.”

The EDCF is a government fund that provides long-term, low-interest loans to developing countries to support economic growth and strengthen economic cooperation with South Korea.

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