Sidi Ould Tah elected 9th President of AfDB, succeeds Akinwumi Adesina

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected as the new President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), following a decisive vote by the Bank’s Board of Governors during the institution’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan.

He will officially assume office on September 1, 2025, for a renewable five-year term, becoming the ninth individual to hold the prestigious position.

Tah succeeds Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who is set to complete his second and final term in August 2025, having served ten transformative years at the helm of Africa’s premier development finance institution.

The announcement of Tah’s election was made by Niale Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and Chair of the AfDB Board of Governors. The vote was the culmination of a rigorous electoral process involving finance ministers, economy ministers, and central bank governors representing the Bank’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries.

According to the Bank’s governance rules, a candidate must secure a minimum of 50.01% of the votes from both regional and non-regional members to be declared the winner.

Tah emerged victorious from a competitive field of five candidates shortlisted by the Board of Governors’ Steering Committee. The final contenders, announced on February 21, 2025, included Amadou Hott of Senegal, Samuel Maimbo of Zambia, Mahamat Abbas Tolli of Chad, Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala of South Africa, and Tah himself.

With over 30 years of experience in African and international finance, Tah brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to his new role. From 2015 until April 2025, he served as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

Under his stewardship, BADEA underwent a sweeping institutional transformation, marked by a fourfold expansion of its balance sheet, the attainment of a prestigious AAA credit rating, and its emergence as one of the most highly regarded development banks focused on Africa.

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Tah’s tenure at BADEA also saw him spearhead several landmark initiatives, including the launch of a $1 billion callable capital program for African Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), aimed at enhancing regional financial resilience and investment capacity.

Prior to his leadership at BADEA, Tah served as Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance.

He has also held key positions in multiple multilateral institutions, where he led programs on crisis response, financial reforms, and strategic resource mobilization.

His appointment is expected to usher in a new era for the AfDB as the institution continues to tackle Africa’s most pressing development challenges—from climate resilience and infrastructure to inclusive economic growth and financial innovation.