Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected as the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
The announcement was made on the Bank’s website following rounds of voting by its Board of Governors during the AfDB’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on May 29.
Tah is set to assume office on September 1, 2025, succeeding Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, whose 10-year tenure concludes on August 31, 2025.
The Board of Governors comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from the Bank’s 81 member countries.
Tah emerged victorious over four other strong contenders: Amadou Hott of Senegal, Samuel Maimbo of Zambia, Abbas Mahamat Tolli of Chad, and Swazi Tshabalala of South Africa.
Born in Mederdra, Mauritania in 1964, Tah holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, France.
In addition to his academic credentials, he has also completed executive training at Harvard University and the London Business School.
Previously, he served as Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and later as Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). During his tenure, BADEA’s balance sheet quadrupled, and the bank secured a AAA credit rating.
Tah’s campaign centred on mobilising private capital, integrating the informal sector into the formal economy, and enhancing Africa’s infrastructure to drive growth.
He also vowed to strengthen partnerships with the private sector and bolster the Bank’s response to climate change.
As a pivotal financier of infrastructure, energy, agriculture, and industrial projects across Africa, the African Development Bank plays a vital role in the continent’s development.
His election coincides with a critical period, as Africa navigates pressing challenges, including high debt levels, constrained fiscal space, and the far-reaching impacts of climate change.
Persecondnews reports that AfDB was established in 1964, by 23 African countries with the goal of promoting economic development and social progress across Africa.
It subsequently expanded its membership in the 1980s and 1990s to include non-African countries, thereby increasing its resources and global influence.
Past presidents of the Bank include Mamoun Beheiry (1964-1970), a Sudanese national who served as the Bank’s inaugural president; Abdelwahab Labidi (1970-1976), a Tunisian national instrumental in shaping the Bank’s formative years; Kwame Donkor Fordwor (1976-1979), a Ghanaian national focused on promoting economic development across Africa; Goodall Gondwe (1979-1980), a Malawian national who held the position of interim president; and Willa Mung’Omba (1980-1985), a Zambian national overseeing notable infrastructure projects.
Other notable leaders of the bank include Babacar N’Diaye (1985-1995), a Senegalese national who oversaw the expansion of the Bank’s membership to include non-African countries; Omar Kabbaj (1995-2005), a Moroccan national who bolstered the Bank’s global influence; Donald Kaberuka (2005-2015), a Rwandan national prioritising regional integration and private sector development; and Akinwumi A. Adesina (2015-2025), a Nigerian national championing economic and social development across Africa through initiatives such as the “High 5s” programme.
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