ABIDJAN – The Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) comprising Ministers of Finance or their alternates of the 81-member states has just elected Mr. Sidi Ould Tah, a former Finance Minister of Mauritania and current President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, as the new President for the AfDB for a 5-year term starting September 1, 2025. Mr. Tah replaces Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, a Nigerian, who served the bank as President for two terms beginning in September 2015.
Under Mr. Tah’s leadership of BADEA, the Arab bank has been supportive of Liberia’s development helping to finance the RIA runway refurbishment project in 2016 and the Gbarnga-Salayea leg of the Gbarnga-Mendikorma highway project.
The Mauritanian was one of the heads of the Arab Coordination Group, comprising the Kuwaiti Fund, the Saudi Fund, BADEA, and others, that committed to finance the Salayea-Voinjama leg of the Gbarnga-Mendikorma Highway during Finance Minister Augustine Kphe Ngafuan and delegation’s engagement in Washington DC on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting held in late April 2025.
“We extend tons of congratulations to Mr. Tah on his election as President of the AfDB and look forward to increased mutually beneficial partnerships between the AfDB and Liberia during his tenure as President of Africa’s premier multilateral development bank.
We also congratulate the other four candidates for the AfDB presidency for their demonstrated passion for the development of the continent,” Finance Minister Ngafuan said.
Following the announcement that he has won, Mr. Tah posted to his X (formerly twitter) wall in English, French and Arabic: “I am humbled and honored to be elected President of the @AfDB_Group. I extend my deepest gratitude to all who supported me – regional and non-regional members of the Bank and the leaders and countries that they represent. This marks the beginning of a challenging yet inspiring journey—together, we will drive Africa’s transformation with unity, ambition, and purpose.”
About the Voting Process
The competition to become Africa’s next leading banker concluded on Thursday, May 29, 2025, with five candidates, including one woman, competing to succeed Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina as the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB). At the end of the process, Mr. Sidi Ould Tah emerged victorious.
In 2015, it took six rounds of voting to elect Adesina as President of the AfDB, an institution established in 1964. It now includes 81 members, including the 54 African nations.
Headquartered in Abidjan, the economic capital of La Côte d’Ivoire, the AfDB is one of the world’s largest multilateral development banks. It is funded through member subscriptions, loans raised on global markets, as well as repayments and income from loans.
