ABIDJAN – Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been chosen as the next president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), following a closely watched election at the Bank’s Annual Meetings in Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital.
Tah was elected by the Board of Governors, a body made up of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the Bank’s 81 member countries, both African and non-African. His name was officially announced by Niale Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development, who chairs the Board.
The new president will officially take office on 1 September 2025, taking over from Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who has held the post since 2015. Tah’s election comes as the Bank prepares to enter a new chapter amid growing demands for accelerated progress on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and global sustainable development goals.
To win, a candidate must secure more than 50% of votes from both regional and non-regional members. Five candidates had been cleared to contest before the nomination window closed on 31 January 2025. These included Amadou Hott of Senegal, Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo, Mahamat Abbas Tolli from Chad, and South Africa’s Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala.
Tah, a seasoned economist and finance expert, previously led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for a decade, where he steered the institution into a AAA-rated lender with a quadrupled balance sheet. Before that, he served as Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance.
His track record includes introducing innovative finance models, including BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital program to support African development banks. His appointment places him at the helm of an institution increasingly seen as key to Africa’s recovery and growth, particularly in the face of climate threats and economic shocks.
The AfDB, established in 1964, now consists of three entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund. Member states include 54 African countries and 27 non-African states.
The 2025 Annual Meetings, where the election took place, are being held from 26 to 30 May in Abidjan under the theme “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.”
Tah becomes the ninth leader of the Bank since its founding. His predecessors include notable figures such as Sudan’s Mamoun Beheiry, Zambia’s Willa Mung’Omba, Morocco’s Omar Kabbaj, Rwanda’s Donald Kaberuka, and Dr. Adesina of Nigeria.
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