Mauritanian Sidi Ould Tah has been elected president of the African Development Bank Group to replace Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who has been at the held for 10 years.

The election was held at the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.

Tah was elected by the bank’s board of governors, comprising finance and economy ministers or central bank governors of the bank’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries. The board is the highest decision-making authority for AfDB.

The results were announced by Nialé Kaba, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire and chairman of the board of governors of the bank. The winning candidate is required to obtain at least 50.01 per cent of both the regional and non-regional votes.

Tah brings over 35 years of experience in African and international finance o the bank. He served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for 10 years from 2015, where he led a full transformation that quadrupled the bank’s balance sheet, secured an AAA rating and positioned it among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa.

Addressing the bank’s board of governors and the media shortly after the announcement, Tah said, “Let’s go to work now; I’m ready!”

Tah, a former minister of economic affairs and finance of Mauritania, has held senior positions in multilateral institutions.  He has been at the helm of crisis response, financial reform and innovative resource mobilisation for Africa.

The board of governors steering committee received and approved a total of five candidates by the closing date of January 31, 2025. The list of candidates was officially announced on 21 February 2025.

The other candidates were Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad) and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa)

Tah will assume office on September 1, 2025, for a five-year term, following the end of the second mandate of outing President Akinwumi Adesina.

The African Development Bank’s past heads since its inception in 1964 are: Mamoun Beheiry (Sudan), 1964-1970 Abdelwahab Labidi (Tunisia) 1970-1976, Kwame Donkor Fordwor (Ghana) 1976-1980; Willa Mung’omba (Zambia), 1980-1985, Babacar N’diaye (Senegal), 1985-1995; Omar Kabbaj (Morocco) 1995-2005, Donald Kaberuka (Rwanda) 2005-201 and Dr Akinwumi Adesina (Nigeria) 2015-2025.

The election of a new president comes at a crucial time in the bank group’s six decades of existence. Africa has remained resilient despite climate shocks, economic disruption and a shifting geopolitical landscape but needs to move faster or risk falling behind on delivering on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals, summed up in the Bank Group’s High 5s.

The 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group are taking place from May 26-30 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, under the theme: Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.

The African Development Bank Group comprises three entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund. Its shareholder countries include 54 African countries or regional member countries and 27 non-African countries or non-regional member countries.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Wangari Ndirangu

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania was elected President of the African Development Bank Group at the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoir.

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania, elected President of the African Development Bank, is being announced by Nialé Kaba, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank Group