Sidi Ould Tah elected president of the African Development Bank with large majority
The Mauritanian beat four other candidates after three rounds of voting. He becomes the 9th president of the pan-African institution for the next five years.
It took just three rounds of voting to narrow down the field of five candidates. In the end, Sidi Ould Tah (76.18%) beat out Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo (20.26%) and Senegal’s Amadou Hott (3.55%). He thus becomes the 9th president of the African Development Bank (AfDB). Chad’s Mahamat Abbas Tolli was the first to be eliminated, taking just 0.88% of the vote, followed by South Africa’s Swazi Tshabalala (5.9%).
By the second round, Tah had already built strong momentum, winning more than two-thirds of the votes from African shareholders. Back in 2015, it took six rounds for Akinwumi Adesina to secure the presidency, with 58.1% of the vote. “The election was swift and consensual. I look forward to continuing our shared commitment to the continent,” Sandra Kassab, the new Africa director at France’s development agency, told our sister publication Jeune Afrique shortly after the results were announced.
Having entered the race last, the Mauritanian leveraged his country’s diplomatic networks, bolstered by Mohamed Ould Ghazouani’s chairmanship of the African Union in 2024. He also benefited from the influence of Saudi Arabia, whose backing helped secure votes from Arab League member states.
His campaign messages — and his track record as someone who bridges Africa and the Arab world — appear to have hit home. Over the past decade, Tah led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), which is owned by 18 member countries of the Arab League. Under his leadership, the Bank broke into the top tier of development finance institutions.
“I multiplied annual approvals twelvefold and disbursements eightfold,” he told Jeune Afrique during the campaign. “Non-performing loans fell from over 10% to under 0.5%. Today, BADEA is one of the highest-rated development banks in existence.” By chance, on 16 May, S&P raised the Bank’s credit rating to AA+ — one notch below the top AAA.
A 360° view of development
Tah also stressed his earlier experience as Mauritania’s minister of economy and finance — a background he says gives him “a 360° view of development challenges” and ensures he will “be ready to deliver from day one”. Though he formally takes office at the AfDB on 1 September, his core team will begin the transition immediately, joining the Bank from 29 May.
After ten years at the helm, Adesina steps down. Though his record is mixed, the Nigerian leaves behind a financially sound institution. Last year, the AfDB posted a net profit of €310m ($351.7m).
In 2024, the Bank approved a record €10.6bn in new projects. Disbursements hit €6.4bn — up 15% on 2023. “But despite their similar size, the AfDB does far less than the Inter-American Development Bank,” says Serge Ekué, president of the West African Development Bank (BOAD). “The new president will need to make better use of the balance sheet and find a way to raise more paid-in capital so the Bank can do more.”
The AfDB holds a AAA rating, giving it prime access to capital markets. Under Adesina’s leadership, the Bank saw the biggest capital increase in its history — from $93bn in 2015 to $318bn today.
Recasting the ten-year strategy
Low-key and attentive, Tah brings a markedly different style to that of his highly demonstrative predecessor. He also inherits the 2024–2033 ten-year strategy approved at last year’s annual meetings in Nairobi.
At its core are Adesina’s ‘High 5’ priorities: Feed Africa, Light up and power Africa, Integrate Africa, Industrialise Africa, and Improve the quality of life for Africans.
Still, it’s likely that – just as Adesina did a decade ago – the new president will reshape the strategy to align with his own agenda. “The High 5s reflect Africa’s priorities,” the Mauritanian said during the campaign. “Initiatives like Mission 300 or Desert to Power, which aim to electrify the continent, are important. It’s crucial to build on the successes of those who came before. But the AfDB can — and must — do better.”
Working with a campaign team led by Frannie Léautier, former vice-president at both the AfDB and the World Bank, Tah set out his platform under the banner The Four Cardinal Points:
- reform Africa’s financial architecture;
- turn the continent’s demographic boom into economic strength;
- industrialise while harnessing natural resources; and
- unlock large-scale capital.
End of the Western-dominated era
It may have been that last point that clinched the election. “The era of Western aid-led development is over. Africa needs to go where the money is,” said Ekué.
“Dr Sidi Ould Tah is best placed to persuade members of the Arab Coordination Group to choose Africa. They’ve got hundreds of billions to invest — and he knows them inside out,” he said.
Whether the Mauritanian can do at the Bank what he achieved at BADEA remains to be seen.
