Dr. Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania 
has been elected as the ninth President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a five-year term, succeeding Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, whose second term ends in August 2025.
Tah secured a decisive victory after just three rounds of voting by the Bank’s Board of Governors, which comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from the AfDB’s 81 member countries.
In the final round, Tah won 76.18% of the vote, comfortably beating Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo (20.26%) and Senegal’s Amadou Hott (3.55%). Chad’s Mahamat Abbas Tolli and South Africa’s Bajabulile Tshabalala were eliminated in earlier rounds with 0.88% and 5.9%, respectively.
Tah’s swift rise in the election reflected strong momentum from the second round, when he had already secured over two-thirds of the votes from African shareholders.
This contrasts with the 2015 election of Dr. Adesina, which required six rounds of voting to reach 58.1%.
Strategic Diplomatic Support and Arab League Backing Propel Tah’s Campaign
Entering the race last, Tah leveraged Mauritania’s diplomatic networks, boosted by President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani’s 2024 African Union chairmanship, and benefited from Saudi Arabia’s backing, which helped secure votes from Arab League member states.
Dr. 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) from 2015 to 2025, where he led a major transformation that quadrupled the bank’s balance sheet, improved disbursements twelvefold, reduced non-performing loans from over 10% to under 0.5%, and earned a prestigious AA+ credit rating from S&P, placing BADEA among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa.
Extensive Experience: Former BADEA President and Mauritanian Finance Minister
A former Mauritanian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Tah has a “360° view of development challenges,” combining public sector leadership with multilateral finance expertise.
He also spearheaded BADEA’s $1 billion callable capital program to support African multilateral development banks.
Tah will formally assume office on 1 September 2025, with his core transition team starting immediately.
He inherits the AfDB’s 2024–2033 ten-year strategy, centred on the “High 5” priorities set by his predecessor: Feed Africa, Light up and Power Africa, Integrate Africa, Industrialise Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for Africans.
However, Tah is expected to reshape the strategy to reflect his agenda, outlined under “The Four Cardinal Points”: reform Africa’s financial architecture; harness the continent’s demographic dividend; industrialise while sustainably managing natural resources; and unlock large-scale capital investment.
New Leadership Expected to Diversify AfDB’s Financial Architecture and Capital Sources
Observers note that Tah’s unique position bridging Africa and the Arab world, combined with his strong diplomatic ties, could help the AfDB attract new sources of capital beyond traditional Western donors, marking a shift toward a more diversified financial architecture for African development.
After a decade under Adesina, who leaves behind a financially sound institution with a AAA credit rating and record capital increases, Tah faces the challenge of expanding the bank’s impact.
In 2024, the AfDB approved a record €10.6 billion in new projects and increased disbursements by 15%, but experts call for more efficient use of the Bank’s balance sheet and additional paid-in capital to meet Africa’s growing development needs.
Dr. Sidi Ould Tah’s election signals a new chapter for the AfDB, with hopes that his proven leadership and vision will accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.
