Mauritanian Sidi Ould Tah has been elected the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group.

Tah was elected by the Board of Governors at the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Thursday.

The AfDB Board of Governors, which includes finance and economy ministers or central bank governors of the bank group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries, is the highest decision-making authority for the group.

Tah gathered at least 50.01 per cent of both the regional and non-regional votes to beat other candidates in the election: Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad) and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa).

According to the AfDB group, the president-elect, expected to assume his new office on September 1st, 2025, brings over 35 years of experience in African and international finance. He served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa for 10 years from 2015, where he led a full transformation that quadrupled the bank’s balance sheet, secured a AAA rating, and positioned it among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa.

A former Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Mauritania, Tah has held senior roles in multilateral institutions and has led crisis response, financial reform, and innovative resource mobilisation for Africa, including establishing BADEA’s $1bn callable capital programme for African MDBs.

The process to elect a new AfDB president began on July 1, 2024, when the request for expressions of interest to regional member countries to nominate candidates went out. The nomination process ended on January 31, 2025. It was followed by the vetting of the Steering Committee on the election of the president to decide on the candidates who will proceed to the election.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, speaking on the sidelines of the General Meetings on Wednesday, noted that the country was taking a keen interest in who emerges as the next president of the AfDB, an office currently occupied by a Nigerian, Akinwumi Adesina.

Edun said, “Nigeria is the largest shareholder; it’s a key factor in this election and indeed in the African Development Bank and its operations, its future, and its prospects, and so we take very seriously the fact that the weight of our vote can determine things.”

One of the candidates who lost to Tah, Maimbo, took to his LinkedIn page to congratulate the president-elect, saying, “I wish to congratulate Dr Sidi Ould Tah on his successful election as the president-elect of the African Development Bank Group. I entered this race driven by love and deep concern for our continent and offered a vision for Africa’s future.

“Today, the governors have chosen the leader they believe will best deliver the vision of the Africa we want at this pivotal moment. My profound gratitude goes to all the governments, private sector partners, and young people who supported this campaign. The work for Africa’s development and prosperity continues, and I remain committed to our shared goal of building a thriving continent.”