Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah elected as new AfDB President

In a significant leadership shift for Africa’s premier development finance institution, Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected as the new President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

The announcement was made during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Tah will officially take over from Dr. Akinwumi Adesina of Nigeria, whose impactful 10-year tenure concludes at the end of August. Adesina, who served two consecutive terms, leaves behind a legacy of bold initiatives, including the Bank’s High 5 priorities that focused on transforming the continent’s infrastructure, agriculture, and energy sectors.

The election was supervised by the AfDB Board of Governors, which is made up of Finance Ministers, Economy Ministers, and Central Bank Governors from the institution’s 81 member countries, including both regional and non-regional members. The Board holds the highest decision-making 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.

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.