Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah has been elected the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group.
His election was announced today during the Bank’s Annual Meetings taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The announcement was made by Niale Kaba, the Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development, who is also Chairman of the Bank Group’s Board of Governors.
Tah was chosen by the Bank’s Board of Governors, which includes Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the AfDB’s 81 member countries. To win, a candidate must secure at least 50.01% of votes from both regional (African) and non-regional (non-African) members.
Tah will take over as AfDB president on September 1, 2025. He succeeds Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, whose second five-year term ends this year.
Tah brings more than 35 years of experience in African and global finance. For the past 10 years, he served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), where he led major reforms.
“During his time at BADEA, Tah grew the bank’s balance sheet by four times and secured a top AAA rating, making it one of the most respected development banks focused on Africa,” the AfDB said in a statement.
He has also worked as Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, and has held high-level positions in international financial institutions. He led key financial reforms and helped create BADEA’s \$1 billion capital programme to support African development banks.
The AfDB confirmed that five candidates were in the race. The other contenders were Amadou Hott from Senegal, Samuel Maimbo from Zambia, Mahamat Abbas Tolli from Chad, and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala from South Africa.
The AfDB, established in 1964, helps African countries with development funding and support. It is made up of three parts: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund.
Tah’s election comes at an important time. The Bank says Africa must act fast to keep up with its development goals, especially in areas like climate change, economic growth, and job creation. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.”
Past AfDB presidents include Mamoun Beheiry from Sudan (1964 to 1970), Abdelwahab Labidi from Tunisia (1970 to 1976), Kwame Donkor Fordwor from Ghana (1976 to 1980), Willa Mung’Omba from Zambia (1980 to 1985), Babacar N’diaye from Senegal (1985 to 1995), Omar Kabbaj from Morocco (1995 to 2005), Donald Kaberuka from Rwanda (2005 to 2015), and Dr. Akinwumi Adesina from Nigeria (2015 to 2025).
With his victory, Tah becomes the first Mauritanian to lead the AfDB.
