ABIDJAN/Ivory Coast: Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has emerged as the newly elected President of the African Development Bank Group at the institution’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Tah was chosen by the Bank’s Board of Governors, which comprises Finance and Economy Ministers or Central Bank Governors from the AfDB Group’s 81 member countries, both regional and non-regional. The Board remains the highest decision-making authority of the institution.
The results of the tightly watched election were formally announced by Nialé Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and Chairperson of the Bank’s Board of Governors.
Shortly after his election, Tah addressed the media and the Bank’s governors, declaring, “Let’s go to work now, I’m ready!”
According to the rules, the winning candidate must secure at least 50.01% of both regional and non-regional votes—a feat Tah successfully accomplished.
With a career spanning over 35 years in African and international finance, Tah
most recently served for a decade as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). During his tenure, he led a sweeping transformation that saw the Bank’s balance sheet quadruple, earned it a AAA credit rating, and positioned it among the continent’s top-rated development finance institutions.
Tah also previously held the role of Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance. His long-standing career includes leadership positions across multilateral institutions, spearheading crisis response strategies, fiscal reforms, and innovative resource mobilization initiatives across Africa.
The Bank’s Board of Governors Steering Committee had approved five final candidates before the 31 January 2025 deadline. The final list was released on 21 February 2025.
Competing alongside Tah for the presidency were Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad), and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa).
Tah is expected to officially assume office on 1 September 2025 for a five-year tenure, succeeding Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, whose second term ends this year.
Since its establishment in 1964, the AfDB has had a distinguished list of presidents including: Mamoun Beheiry (Sudan), Abdelwahab Labidi (Tunisia), Kwame Donkor Fordwor (Ghana), Willa Mung’Omba (Zambia), Babacar N’diaye (Senegal), Omar Kabbaj (Morocco), Donald Kaberuka (Rwanda), and Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (Nigeria).
Tah’s election comes at a critical juncture for the AfDB. Now in its sixth decade, the institution faces mounting pressures to accelerate Africa’s economic and social transformation amid climate challenges, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical shifts. Observers say the continent risks falling behind on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals if urgent action is not taken, despite Africa’s demonstrated resilience.
This year’s Annual Meetings, which run from May 26 to 30 in Abidjan, are focused on the theme: “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.”
The African Development Bank Group consists of three key institutions: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). Its shareholders include 54 African nations and 27 non-regional member countries.
