Sidi Tah to take over from Adesina as AfDB President

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected as the new President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) during the institution’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Tah is set to take over from Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, whose second and final term concludes at the end of August. Adesina has held the role for 10 years, completing two terms at the helm of the continental lender.

The election, conducted on Thursday, was overseen by the Bank’s Board of Governors — a body comprising Ministers of Finance, Economy, or Central Bank Governors from the AfDB’s 81 regional and non-regional member states. The Board of Governors holds the highest authority within the Bank Group.

The election outcome was formally announced by Niale Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and Chair of the Board of Governors.

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The process required the winning candidate to secure a minimum of 50.01% of votes from both regional and non-regional member countries.

Tah, a seasoned finance professional from Mauritania, comes into the role with more than three decades of experience in African and global financial systems. From 2015 until recently, he served as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). Under his leadership, the bank underwent a major transformation — expanding its balance sheet fourfold, achieving a AAA credit rating, and emerging as a leading development institution with a focus on Africa.

His previous roles include serving as Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance. He has also held key positions in international development institutions, playing pivotal roles in crisis response, financial reforms, and innovative resource mobilization. Notably, he was instrumental in establishing BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital initiative for African Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).

The election followed a formal selection process in which five candidates were approved by the Board’s Steering Committee, following a nomination deadline of January 31, 2025. The final list was made public on February 21, 2025.

It was gathered that Tah emerged victorious over four other contenders: Ms. Swazi Tshabalala of South Africa, Mr. Hott Amadou of Senegal, Dr. Samuel Munzele Maimbo of Zambia, and Mr. Abbas Mahamat Tolli of Chad.