Who will drive AfDB's African transformation agenda post-Adesina?

Zawya

22-05-2025

Akinwumi Adesina, who steps down in September after a decade at the helm of the African Development Bank (AfDB), built his presidency on a vision to lift the continent's poorest, support job creation, and 'feed Africa' - a mantra that has become almost synonymous with his name.
His vision is hinged heavily on increasing the lender's capital and boosting its financing to the private sector.
Now, five candidates are vying to succeed him, each anchoring their campaign on priorities that deeply resonate with African governments and citizens - debt sustainability, funding entrepreneurship and private sector, and fiscal discipline key among them.
Finance, economy and treasury ministers from all 81 AfDB shareholder countries will gather in Abidjan next week to elect the next president of the continental lender, as Dr Adesina completes his second five-year term.
Over his tenure, Adesina built on Donald Kaberuka's foundation of strengthening the Bank's role across the continent, transforming it into a financier of tangible dreams and livelihoods, beyond treasuries and nations.
Notably, non-sovereign financing for agriculture and climate-related projects rose sharply, with a commitment to triple private sector lending to $7.5 billion annually – almost 70 percent of the AfDB's current loan book.
But, delivering this ambition, Adesina said while reflecting on the Bank's 60-year journey, would require 'serious consideration of the bank's business model, allowing it to take on more risks.'He championed a raft of reforms to boost private-sector lending - faster loan approvals, lower borrowing costs, and even the idea of creating an independent arm akin to the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.
Yet, as he exits, many of these reforms remain incomplete. The question now is: Who is best placed to steer the Bank through its next transformative phase? What skills and leadership qualities are needed? The five candidates offer varied answers - and visions - for what it will take to carry on Adesina's legacy at the AfDB.
Sidi Ould Tah, 60, MauritanianAmong the five contenders vying to succeed Akinwumi Adesina, Dr Sidi Ould Tah is the oldest and one of only two to have led another multilateral development bank. Until April this year, he served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (Badea), a role he held for a decade.
Dr Tah was Mauritania's Minister of Economy and Finance from 2008 to 2015, having earlier served as an adviser to the country's President and Prime Minister.
His career in development finance spans nearly four decades, with stints at institutions such as the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce, the country's Food Security Commission, the Municipality of Nouakchott, the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID), and the Islamic Development Bank.
Yet it is his decade at the helm of Badea that is most often cited as a mark of his leadership. During his tenure, the bank's credit rating improved and its assets nearly doubled - from $4 billion to $7 billion.
Dr Tah is an economist. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in France, a master's from Paris Diderot University, and a bachelor's from the University of Nouakchott.
He argues that, while all the candidates are qualified and capable, his edge lies in having already run a multilateral lender.'My 360-view of development in Africa – from both the demand and supply side - gives me the ability to start running the bank from day one, I don't need a learning process, because I've been running a bank similar to the AfDB for ten years,' he told The EastAfrican.
He said vision for the AfDB is anchored on four pillars: Mobilising over $400 billion annually for Africa; reducing risk and borrowing costs for governments; formalising the informal sector through SME financing and entrepreneurship programmes; and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure.
Read: Will Africa's financial stability fund rise to the debt challenge?In addition, he sees a role for the AfDB in frontier technologies. After launching a special venture capital fund at Badea, he promises to do the same at AfDB to support African start-ups.
He is one of the few traditional bankers openly endorsing the use of blockchain technology – on which cryptocurrencies are built – in mainstream finance.'I don't see any reason for these technologies to work in other continents and not in Africa. We need to embrace technology. We need to be ambitious and risk-taking because we need this continent to prosper,' he said, referring to blockchain technology.
On Africa's debt woes, Dr Tah favours more public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure, rather than additional borrowing. He also believes African countries are penalised unfairly in international bond markets due to skewed credit ratings - a challenge he says the AfDB can help address by reframing the global narrative on Africa.
Read: Unequal access to credit hurting AfricaWith growing criticism of the International Monetary Fund's role in Africa's economies, Dr Tah believes the AfDB should take a more assertive stance in advising governments and asserting Africa's macroeconomic interests globally.'I believe that the AfDB has the responsibility to be the voice of Africa in the international arena as far as macroeconomics and economic development are concerned. The Bank has the legitimacy, the convening power and the ability to do so,' he told The EastAfrican.
So far, only the Republic of Congo and Benin have publicly endorsed his candidacy. Together, they hold just 0.6 percent of AfDB's voting power. His own country, Mauritania, controls a mere 0.057 percent - among the lowest on the continent.
Despite his credentials, Dr Tah has drawn criticism for staying on at Badea even after expressing interest in the AfDB presidency, raising concerns of conflict of interest.'I couldn't just walk away and leave things pending, not solved for my successor,' he said in defence, noting he stayed to oversee a proper transition.
Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, 58, South AfricanSouth Africa has never held the presidency of the AfDB, but if any of its nationals have come close, it is Ms Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, who only resigned as the bank's senior vice-president and chief financial officer (CFO) last September after declaring her interest in the only position above hers.
She joined the Bank in 2018, initially as vice-president and CFO, before being promoted to senior vice-president in October 2021, making her the second most-powerful executive at the institution after Adesina.
One of her most notable achievements at the AfDB was overseeing the largest capital increase in the Bank's history - an accomplishment that, she argues, speaks to her leadership during a critical phase for the institution.
Before joining the AfDB, Ms Tshabalala built a career in investment banking and capital markets, mostly in the private sector.
She was managing director of Barbican Advisory Group, a London-based risk and compliance firm, and earlier served as CEO of International Development Group (IDG) South Africa.
She also spent a decade in the treasury department of the State-owned Transnet SOC, and has held board positions in major corporations, including MTN Group, Standard Bank, Liberty Group, Tiger Brands, and South African Airways.
Ms Tshabalala is an economist, with a bachelor's degree in economics from Lawrence University and an MBA in corporate finance from Wake Forest University, both in the United States.
She argues that her seven years in senior management at the Bank make her the readiest candidate to take over from Adesina, with no need for a learning curve.'Given where we are, I think it is very important that whoever comes in can hit the ground running, because they understand the capacities of the organisation and they also understand the very talented people in the organisation,' she said in an interview with The EastAfrican.
Her four-point strategy, dubbed 'Lift Africa', is built around largescale infrastructure - energy, digital and transport networks; integrated infrastructure - making projects serve multiple purposes; financial innovation and private sector growth; and a transformed AfDB, that can move quickly and delivers results fast.
She also promises to place women at the centre of the Bank's operations.'This is something which is not going to be at the back of my mind, it will be at the forefront of my mind because I happen to belong to that half of the continent,' she said.
On Africa's debt burden, she insists the root problem lies in low productivity.'I think it's important that even as we help countries address some of the short-term debt challenges and the fiscal constraints, we also need to think about what causes the problem,' she said.'We need to address, once and for all, the underlying causes of Africa's low productivity, which is why it doesn't have enough companies that are growing, it doesn't have enough young people that are employed, and it doesn't have the capacity to expand its tax base.'Read: Africa throws money at youth firms in efforts to rein in unemploymentShe also argues that African countries are often unfairly rated by international agencies and calls for more constructive engagement with them and greater transparency in public finance to improve investor confidence.
So far, Ms Tshabalala has only received official backing from South Africa, which holds 5 percent of AfDB's voting power - the fourth-largest among African shareholders behind Nigeria, Algeria, and Egypt, which have not publicly endorsed any candidate.
But her candidacy suffered a setback when the Southern African Development Community (SADC) endorsed Zambia's Samwel Munzele Maimbo, effectively splitting the region's support.
Amadou Hott, 52, SenegaleseAs Senegal's Economy minister during President Macky Sall's tenure as African Union chair, Amadou Hott became a central figure in Africa's economic diplomacy, leading high-stakes debt restructuring talks and investment negotiations with global powers including the G20 and G7. It was, he says, a role that reflected his core strength - mobilising resources for Africa's development.
Since November 2022, Mr Hott has served as the AfDB President's Special Envoy for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, a position that has kept him close to the Bank's operations. But he's no stranger at AfDB. He once served as vice-president for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth for over two years.
Read: AfDB kicks off creation of four green banks in AfricaAcross his public and private sector career, Hott has basically been a dealmaker. Whether as CEO of Senegal's Sovereign Wealth Fund, senior adviser to the President, or as chief executive at Afribridge Capital, Dangote Capital, and UBA Capital, he says he has helped mobilise billions in development finance for Africa.
It is this experience that is driving him toward the AfDB presidency. He argues that the next leader of the Bank must have a proven history of successfully raising resources to support the continent's development.'I want to bring all those experiences to really implement our vision for Africa that is more self-reliant and more resilient to climate change and that will also create opportunities for its people, its youth, its women,' Mr Hott said.
Mr Hott holds a degree in Applied Mathematics from Louis Pasteur University in France, a Master's in Financial Mathematics from New York University, and another Master's in Economy and Finance from Paris-Sorbonne University.
Despite his academic background and investment track record, Hott believes Africa needs leadership that goes beyond technical expertise.'Under the current circumstances, where Africa needs to be more self-reliant more than ever before, the bank needs to rise to the occasion. We need a leader at the bank that is not only technically capable, but that is also politically astute,' he said at a recent debate hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
If elected, Hott's priorities include modernising the bank through use of technology and streamlining process to boost efficiency, and expanding its financial capacity using new instruments.
He also plans to increase engagement with private sector by creating a dedicated vice presidency for that role and improve the bank's role as an adviser and champion of international economic reform in favour of Africa.
On Africa's growing debt burden, Hott proposes a threefold solution: helping countries increase capacity to generate resources locally, mobilising more local institutional capital, and exploring other funding options like hybrid capital and philanthropy, but also funding some projects through PPPs.
Like Ms Tshabalala, Hott has so far only received the public backing of his own country, which controls just 0.936 percent of the voting rights at the AfDB.
His candidacy has also recently faced a setback following revelations by the International Monetary Fund that Senegal's fiscal deficit was 'significantly' under-reported between 2019 and 2023 – a period during which Mr Hott was Economy minister.
Samuel Munzele Maimbo, 52, ZambianSamuel Munzele Maimbo has had only three employers in his lifetime - PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Bank of Zambia, and World Bank Group. It is this last one, where he spent more than two decades, that he believes has best prepared him for the presidency of the African Development Bank.
Dr Maimbo joined the World Bank in 2002 as a financial sector specialist and rose steadily through the ranks, eventually becoming one of its vice presidents.
For two years, he also served as director of mobilisation at the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank's concessional lending arm, where he sharpened the resource mobilisation skills he believes are now urgently needed to help Africa navigate a growing list of economic headwinds.'I've spent my career transforming how development finance serves Africa…It's time to stop talking about plans and start delivering results at the pace and scale our continent deserves,' he says in his campaign literature.
Born in Zambia, Dr Maimbo earned a degree in accounting from the Copperbelt University. He later obtained an MBA in finance from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and a PhD in public administration from the University of Manchester.
His campaign rests on the conviction that Africa's solutions are not far-fetched or out of reach - they are 'hidden in plain sight.''I'm running for president of the African Development Bank because I know first-hand that many of the solutions we've talked about are hidden in plain sight,' he said at the Washington debate last month.
If elected, Dr Maimbo has outlined several priority areas: Unlocking greater financial resources for African countries, investing in women and youth, boosting energy access, growing intra-Africa trade, and scaling up investment in agriculture.
Read: Tanzania gets $130m AfDB loan for Samia project'Africans must trade with each other. We must improve our infrastructure, targeted infrastructure that connects entire regions. We must invest energy. We cannot simply grow in the dark. We must invest in digitalization because that's the only way we accelerate the pace of our growth,' he said.
Reimagining AfDB's role, he argues, must begin with investing in the bank itself - strengthening its governance, improving diversity in its leadership team, and equipping it to act as a more agile engine of economic transformation.
On Africa's escalating debt burden, Maimbo proposes leveraging more private capital to fund development, channelling more investment into productive sectors that can grow governments' revenue bases, and using data 'more aggressively' to differentiate between solvency and liquidity challenges.'There is not enough concessional financing to treat all debt as exactly the same,' he argued.
In terms of support, Maimbo enjoys backing from his home country Zambia, as well as from two key regional blocs.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which includes 16 member states and controls 15 percent of AfDB voting power – including 5 percent held by South Africa - has endorsed him.
The 21-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has also thrown its weight behind his bid.
The only challenge facing his candidacy, observers say, is that Zambia has previously produced an AfDB president. And while there is no formal rule requiring geographical rotation of the role, some may argue that the leadership baton should be passed to another country.
Abbas Mahamat Tolli, 53, ChadAbbas Tolli has been a career civil servant, with decades of experience in high-profile government offices in Chad and key multilateral institutions across Central Africa, making him one of the region's top economic thought leaders.
Until last year, Tolli served as Governor of the Yaoundé-based Bank of Central African States (BEAC) for seven years. Before that, he was president of the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) for a year.
He previously held senior roles in Chad's government, including Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment, Minister of Finance, and Secretary of State.
Tolli's tenure at BEAC was marked by wide-ranging reforms that modernised the institution and strengthened its role as a regional monetary authority. He is credited with improving the transmission of monetary policy and overseeing the merger of two stock exchanges to form the Central African Securities Exchange.
He also firmly opposed the adoption of cryptocurrencies, pushing back against the Central African Republic's move to make Bitcoin legal tender - a decision the country later reversed.
It is this history of leading institutional reform that Tolli says demonstrates his readiness to lead the AfDB into a new era. Africa is at an inflection point, he argues, and it needs a bold reformist to help the Bank chart a transformative course for the continent.'As head of the African Development Bank, I am committed to continuing and amplifying the efforts undertaken in recent years, guaranteeing the continuity that is essential for our growth. Let's make this transformation a reality,' he states in his campaign.
Tolli earned his undergraduate degree in Administration and Business Management from the University of Quebec in Canada and holds a postgraduate degree in Economics from the National School of Administration in France.
Like the other candidates, Tolli proposes sweeping reforms at the AfDB aimed at increasing its capital base and making the Bank more agile and responsive to today's development challenges.
His strategy prioritises social, environmental, and educational investments; building Africa's capacity to process raw materials; and strengthening economic integration and intra-African trade.
On tackling Africa's debt crisis, Tolli argues that the solution lies in stimulating economic growth to widen fiscal space, and in improving governance and accountability.'There is no alternative to good governance if we want to raise more resources and channel them to sectors that drive growth,' he said during the candidates' debate in Washington last month.
Tolli's candidacy has received the backing of the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), as well as the 11-member Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
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