By Ayo Kehinde
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has elected Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania as its new president.
Tah was elected on Thursday, at the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, by the Bank’s Board of Governors, comprising Finance and Economy Ministers or Central Bank Governors of the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries. The board is the highest decision-making authority for the Bank Group.
The results were announced by Niale Kaba, the Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank Group.
The winning candidate is required to obtain at least 50.01% of both the regional and non-regional votes.
A Mauritanian national, Tah brings over 35 years of experience in African and international finance. 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 a AAA rating, and positioned it among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa.
A former Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Mauritania, Tah has held senior roles in multilateral institutions and has led crisis response, financial reform, and innovative resource mobilization for Africa, including the establishment of BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital program for African MDBs.
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 February 21, 2025.
The other candidates in the election 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 current President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina.
