New AfDB President Ould Tah Promises Selective, Impact-Driven Course
BaseLine Team
03 Sep, 2025
Sidi Ould Tah began his presidency of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) with a pledge to steer the institution along his four cardinal points: listening intently, launching a fast-track reform agenda, deepening partnerships, and accelerating real solutions.
Sworn in on Monday in Abidjan, the Mauritanian economist succeeds Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, whose 10-year tenure reshaped Africa’s premier development finance institution. Ould Tah, 60, was elected in May with 76% of shareholder votes — the widest margin ever for a first-term president.
“We will be the Bank that bridges divides between regions, ambition and execution, public and private, urgency and bureaucracy,” he said in his inaugural speech, promising a sharper focus on peace financing and stronger ties with sovereign funds, pension funds and other investors.
The AfDB enters this transition with $318 billion in capital, a decade of AAA credit ratings, and $102 billion in financing approved over the past ten years.
Ould Tah, who previously led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), brings more than four decades of experience in finance, policy and institutional transformation. At BADEA, he doubled assets and secured top credit ratings. He also served as Mauritania’s finance minister and represented the country on the boards of the AfDB, World Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Fluent in Arabic, English and French, with additional proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish, Ould Tah holds a PhD in economics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France.
Ould Tah pledged to make the Bank “attentive, responsive, and capable of setting priorities that matter,” vowing closer cooperation with governments, the private sector and global partners “to create a financial framework that serves Africa on its own terms.”
He also promised to hold a town hall with AfDB staff in the coming days, calling employees the institution’s “most valuable resource.”
Framing the Bank as a compass for Africa’s future, Ould Tah said it must help the continent confront demographic shifts, technological change and climate risks.
“Africa must look North, South, East and West, not to imitate, but to draw wisdom and strength from every direction while defining its own course,” he said.
Still, he warned against overreach. “The African Development Bank should not aim to be everything to everyone. It should focus on where it can move the needle most, always with the spirit of partnership.”
The emphasis on selectivity marks a departure from the expansive vision of his predecessor Akinwumi Adesina, whose decade-long presidency was defined by wide-ranging flagship programs spanning food security, energy, infrastructure and health. Ould Tah’s message signals a narrower, impact-driven approach, one that could trade breadth for depth in the Bank’s next chapter.
The ceremony was attended by Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, former AfDB presidents, board governors, and international partners. Three of the candidates who contested for the Presidency alongside Ould Tah—Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, Amadou Hott and Samuel Munzele Maimbo (PhD)—were also in attendance.
Mauritania’s President Ghazouani urged Ould Tah to ensure the Bank “remains a lever for Africa’s aspirations to peace, prosperity and development.”
