Mozambique President Extols Adesina's Transformative Decade at African Development Bank
Opening Africa50 General Shareholders Meeting in Maputo on Wednesday, President Chapo thanked Adesina for his impact at both the Bank and as Board Chair of Africa50, an investment platform created by African governments and the Bank to close the continent's infrastructure funding gap.
'Your legacy is not just institutional but impacting the lives of Africans, and we thank you and wish you the most success for what the future has in store for you,' President Chapo said.
Africa50 CEO, Alain Ebobissé, also paid tribute to Adesina, highlighting the success of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), which Adesina initiated with other partners to mobilize capital to catalyze up to $10 billion green infrastructure opportunities for private sector investment.
A fireside chat, moderated by Nozipho Mbanjwa-Tshabalala, CEO of the Conversation Strategists, explored Adesina's legacy of institutional transformation, record-breaking achievements, and renewed global confidence in Africa's development prospects.
In his comments, Adesina called for Africa's vision to be bold and collective, and translated into tangible results, particularly in providing critical infrastructure such as power generation as a foundation for growth.
'Economies that don't have power can never grow. It's a direct correlation with your GDP growth and access to electricity. You can't create jobs, you can't industrialize, and sadly, you are not going to industrialize and be competitive in the dark,' Adesina emphasised.
Challenging perceptions of high investment risk in Africa, he cited Moody's data showing cumulative losses on Africa infrastructure investments of just 1.9 percent over 15 years -- lower than in other regions. 'Africa is not as risky as it is perceived -- You can invest in Africa, get great returns in Africa, and have great institutions like us that will always be there beside you, making sure your capital not only comes, your capital stays, your capital grows, and you can take your capital back.'
On youth, Adesina stressed the need to turn Africa's 420 million young people into an economic asset. 'Everything we do needs to be focused on African youth -- If you don't create youth-based wealth, who is going to pay the taxes in the future?'
A Decade of Unprecedented Growth and Impact
Under Adesina's leadership, the African Development Bank broke records, including growing its capital from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion in 2024. This remarkable growth enabled the Bank's flagship "High 5s" initiatives to impact the lives of 565 million Africans across critical areas, including energy access, food security, industrialization, regional integration, and quality of life improvements.
The Bank was ranked the best multilateral financing institution in the world for two consecutive years and maintained AAA credit ratings throughout his tenure, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Africa50: From Vision to Global Infrastructure Leader
Adesina's achievements also extended Africa50, which grew from a concept to a major infrastructure facilitator with, among others, $1.4 billion in managed assets with total portfolio company value exceeding $8 billion, 33 active projects spanning energy, transport, digital infrastructure, healthcare, and education across 32 countries and $275 million raised for the Africa Infrastructure Acceleration Fund from over 20 African institutional investors
As Adesina prepares to handover the leadership of the African Development Bank on 01 September 2025, he said
'My legacy is not a personal one. My legacy is an Africa strong enough to deliver finance for its transformation at scale -- we have come of age, and we can handle issues by ourselves and deliver.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Media Contact:
Emeka Anuforo
Communication and External Relations Department
Email: media@afdb.org
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org
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The Bank's office of Integrity and Anti-corruption strictly enforces our zero-tolerance policy towards fraud, misuse of entrusted power, collusion and coercion in all Bank-supported projects. The Bank's two-tier sanctions system reflects a deep respect for due process and fairness. Allegations of misconduct are reviewed by the Sanctions Commissioner, with rights of appeal to an independent Sanctions Appeals Board. The Sanctions Commissioner and the Independent Sanctions Appeals Board have eminent jurists, some of them having served as former Justices of the Supreme Court. Sanctions range from debarment to prosecution referrals, ensuring accountability without compromise. We also promote rehabilitation through mandatory compliance programs that help entities reform and re-enter the marketplace as ethical actors. 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Because every financing instrument, every loan, and every grant is not just a number, it is a promise. And that promise must be made before the people, through the institutions they elect to represent them. Strengthening Justice infrastructure. With constitutionalism and the rule of law firmly established, it is critical that legal systems and the judiciary be strengthened across the continent. A nation's legal system serves as its institutional backbone, safeguarding public resources, protecting the rights of citizens, and creating the certainty and predictability upon which all economic activity depends. An independent judiciary, underpinned by constitutional safeguards and protected by the clear separation of powers, ensures that the management of public finances is not left to unchecked discretion, but is bound by clear legal frameworks and subjected to impartial oversight. Where judicial independence is compromised, courts become vulnerable to political influence, fiscal rules are bypassed, public borrowing escapes scrutiny, and public confidence collapses. This is why, across Africa, the African Development Bank has placed legal and judicial reform at the center of its governance and public finance support. And this is not just a policy on paper, it is impact in motion. Let me give a few examples that show how this commitment is transforming lives and restoring trust in institutions. In Liberia, after years of civil conflict, the African Development Bank helped to restore and equip court infrastructure, digitize court systems, and train judges in public finance and contract law, restoring the credibility of legal institutions and supporting fiscal oversight. In Gambia, Bank-supported reforms modernized judicial operations and public finance management, increasing development budget execution by over 15% between 2022 and 2024. In Mali, despite ongoing fragility, the African Development Bank helped to deploy mobile courts and trained legal officers to resolve over 12,000 disputes, many related to land and fiscal issues, preserving livelihoods and preventing the escalation of conflict. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the Bank provided technical support for the enactment of a new arbitration law aligned with international best practices, unlocking renewed investor interest in fisheries and tourism and enhancing dispute resolution frameworks. In South Sudan, foundational commercial and judicial laws were drafted and adopted with African Development Bank's support, while over 150 judges have been trained, laying the groundwork for investor trust and legal certainty in one of Africa's newest nations. In Togo, with African Development Bank's support, contract enforcement time has dropped by 25% due to reforms in court digitization, while boosting the confidence of local businesses and foreign investors. Improving Access to Justice. One cannot speak meaningfully about constitutionalism, the rule of law, and investment in Africa without addressing the foundational issue of access to justice and fair compensation. These are the very conditions that foster public trust and build the confidence investors need to commit capital. When justice is accessible, and compensation is fair, development becomes inclusive, governance earns legitimacy, and economic growth becomes truly sustainable. At the African Development Bank, we hold a simple but profound conviction: development must be anchored in fairness, justice, and the protection of human dignity. Infrastructure and investment alone are not enough. We must ensure that every person impacted by our projects is treated with equity, dignity and respect. This is why the African Development Bank enforces a compensation policy that goes beyond formal landownership. Across much of Africa, countless communities live and work on land under customary tenure, land not reflected in formal registries, but land upon which entire livelihoods depend. African Development Bank's position is clear and unequivocal: whether or not a community holds a title deed, they are entitled to just and fair compensation. This is not theoretical. In Kenya, during the construction of vital road and energy infrastructure, the African Development Bank ensured that rural and pastoralist communities displaced from ancestral lands received full compensation and livelihood restoration, even without formal documentation. In Uganda, through the support of the African Development Bank, informal urban settlers affected by development projects received resettlement support, legal protection, and means to rebuild their lives. In Côte d'Ivoire, displaced farmers were compensated not just for land, but for future income losses, and supported with access to services and alternative livelihoods. These are tangible demonstrations of the rule of law in action, where fairness is not just promised but delivered. But compensation alone is not enough. Access to justice itself is a fundamental right. That is why the African Development Bank invests in modernizing court registries, digitizing legal frameworks, and expanding legal literacy through online platforms and outreach, ensuring that even the most marginalized communities understand and can claim their rights. In parallel, we advocate for the provision of legal aid and the institutionalization of pro bono services within national bar associations. Justice must never be a privilege for the few, it must be a guarantee for all. Through grievance redress mechanisms embedded in our projects, including in Tanzania and Ethiopia, we have ensured that affected individuals can challenge decisions, file complaints, and seek timely, independent mediation. These systems allow justice to be delivered not in theory but in real-time, at the community level, with procedural integrity and respect for human dignity. This integrated approach, fair compensation, accessible legal systems, digitized law, legal aid, and robust grievance mechanisms, brings the principles of constitutionalism and rule of law into the everyday lives of African citizens. It transforms development from a top-down transaction into a participatory and accountable process. One area that is critical for social justice and participation is improving land ownership laws, to give farmers title deeds to their lands that can act as collateral for access to finance. And more importantly, laws should be changed to ensure that women have secure property rights. No nation can develop without its women. No bird flies with one wing. It is not just about right, it is about equity, fairness, and justice. Because we know this truth: justice is not a byproduct of development. It is the foundation of development. Conclusion: A call to action for Kenya and Africa. Distinguished Learned Friends and Partners in Development. In this hall today sits the guardians of Kenya's promise, and the stewards of Africa's destiny: Courts and contracts. Public finance and governance. Digital trust. Environmental and social governance. Justice and economic development. These are living systems that depend on you, your judgment, voice, integrity, and daily commitment to uphold the law and defend the public good. We must collectively strengthen constitutionalism, insist on accountability in the use of public funds, and strengthen the legal system and the judiciary. We must champion environment, sustainability and governance principles, ensure that courts have suitable quality infrastructure, digitize our courts, build digital trust, and reform and uphold the ethics of the legal profession. As we strive to do this, while strengthening a just, fair, independent and incorruptible judiciary, the benefits for societies will be immense across the continent: Africa will attract the capital it needs. Businesses will flourish in trust. Justice will cease to be a privilege, and become a right, delivered to all. And development will no longer be a distant promise, but a daily reality in the lives of people. And this will be true, not only for Kenya, but for all of Africa. When Africa stands for the rule of law, the world will stand with Africa. Let us make a choice that history will record, and generations will remember. Kenya is watching. Africa is waiting. The future is calling. And it is you, the lawyers, the judges, the arbitrators, who must answer that call. Let us rise together, to build a stronger, freer, fairer, and more prosperous Africa. Now, as lawyers, justices and guardians of the law, I urge you to uphold the rule of law. I urge you to execute justice with fairness and righteousness. For we are created equal before God, the lowly and the rich, the weak and the powerful. And at the end of time, when we all stand in judgment before God the creator of all, we should do so, with clean conscience that we dispensed justice rightly, justly, with equity, protecting the weak and defending what is right for our nations. May we have the courage, always, to do the right thing. And may history judge us right! Thank you very much. Asanteni sana. Mungu awabariki. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
