FIVE candidates are in the running to become the next president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), with voting set to take place Thursday during the lender’s annual meetings in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
As reported by Reuters, the election comes at a critical moment for Africa’s premier development finance institution. Global aid flows are shrinking, borrowing costs are rising, and concessional financing is under pressure. Against this backdrop, the AfDB’s $318bn in capital has become a lifeline for African economies seeking to stabilise, invest, and grow.
Each contender brings a unique vision and track record—from overhauling internal systems to boosting trade, financial self-sufficiency, and climate resilience.
Swazi Tshabalala Bajabulile – South Africa
The former AfDB senior vice president and only female candidate, Tshabalala has over 30 years of banking experience. She wants to restructure the Bank’s internal framework to deliver better on core goals such as infrastructure.
‘The internal structure of the institution doesn’t facilitate the right sort of sustained focus,’ she told Reuters. She plans to build on AfDB’s hybrid capital instruments and unlock Africa’s resource potential through improved infrastructure financing.
Amadou Hott – Senegal
Senegal’s former economy minister and ex-AfDB executive, Hott focuses on African financial independence. His top priority: raising domestic revenues and designing high-quality investment projects to keep capital within the continent.
‘Revenue mobilisation is number one,’ he said, noting Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio sits at just 16 percent, compared to the OECD’s 34 percent. Boosting domestic resources, he argues, would lower borrowing costs and unlock much-needed capital.
Samuel Munzele Maimbo – Zambia
A current World Bank vice president on leave, Maimbo wants to fix what he calls the ‘financial plumbing’ stifling intra-African trade and investment. Backed by SADC and COMESA, he supports regional harmonisation on tax, trade, and regulation.
‘If we’re only trading 15 percent of our products amongst each other, our products are either rotting or being undervalued,’ he told Reuters. His approach emphasises data aggregation, regulatory streamlining, and improved financial connectivity.
Sidi Ould Tah – Mauritania
Tah, who has led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa for 10 years, wants the AfDB to ‘break free from legacy constraints’ and become a driver of African economic sovereignty.
His agenda includes widening capital mobilisation, formalising Africa’s vast informal economy, reforming financial systems, and building climate-resilient infrastructure. He believes partnerships can help multiply every dollar raised into $10 of productive capital.
Abbas Mahamat Tolli – Chad
Tolli brings decades of experience from central banking and finance ministries across Central Africa. His pitch centres on improving governance, digitising financial flows, and tackling inefficient public spending.
‘We need to better manage,’ he told Reuters, citing fiscal evasion and waste as key issues. He proposes pooling risk and boosting public-private partnerships, drawing on lessons from his own journey—fleeing civil war at age six and later tending goats—as a metaphor for Africa’s transformation.
Choosing a leader for uncertain times
As African economies wrestle with debt, climate pressures, and geopolitical realignment, the next AfDB president will face immense responsibility. The institution’s leadership will be key to driving economic resilience, unlocking climate and infrastructure finance, and making the AfDB more responsive to member states’ urgent development needs.
The outcome of this week’s vote could define not just the future of the bank—but the trajectory of Africa’s development for years to come.
