Mauritania's Sidi Ould Tah ascends to position as Africa's powerful finance head
In a decisive election held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Sidi Ould Tah, the former economy minister of Mauritania, emerged victorious with a substantial 76.18% of the votes to become the next president of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB). The ballot took three rounds of voting to secure the necessary majority from all member countries and African nations.
Ould Tah's closest competitor, Samuel Munzele Maimbo, an economist from Zambia, trailed behind with 20.26% of the vote. The election marks Ould Tah's succession of Akinwumi Adesina, who previously held the position.
With this win, Ould Tah is poised to become Africa's new "super banker," navigating a disrupted international economic landscape, particularly affected by President Donald Trump's tariff announcements. The AfDB, one of the world's largest multilateral development banks, is funded by member subscriptions, loans, and repayments from loans.
As the AfDB heads into uncertain economic waters, Ould Tah has outlined a transformative agenda focusing on internal reform for agility, resource mobilization, innovation, and promoting Africa's internal capital. His key objective is to make the bank more responsive and effective, helping Africa tackle its development challenges in a rapidly changing global environment.
Adesina, the outgoing president, expressed pride in the institution's achievements during his tenure, citing benefits for over 565 million people through various AfDB projects. Major projects under his leadership include financing the construction of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment plant in Egypt, the bridge connecting Senegal and The Gambia, expanding the port of Lome in Togo, and supporting sanitation projects in Lesotho and access to electricity in Kenya.
Under Adesina, the AfDB's capital saw a significant increase, doubling from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion as of 2025. Ould Tah assumes office on September 1, 2025, and faces the challenge of maintaining the bank’s momentum while addressing the evolving development needs across the continent.
In his tenure, the incoming president Sidi Ould Tah plans to focus on internal reform for financial agility and resource mobilization within the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), while promoting Africa's internal capital to be more responsive and effective in tackling development challenges in a changing global environment. As one of the world's largest multilateral development banks, the AfDB's funding primarily comes from member subscriptions, loans, and repayments, making finance a crucial component of the bank's operations.
