Search for new African Bank president gains momentum

The search for a new president of Africa's top financial institution, the African Development Bank (AfDB), is gathering momentum, reports News24. The current head, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who is serving his second five-year term, will step down from the position on 31 August 2025. Under his leadership, the AfDB has largely prioritised promoting economic and social development on the continent. It is a vision that Adesina told DW he has passionately pursued during his tenure and one he believes has helped stabilise many African economies over the past five years. ‘Despite the headwinds that Africa has faced globally in terms of global inflation, but also in terms of rising debt levels and depreciation of currencies and of course climate change, Africa continues to post very resilient growth,’ he said. Eleven out of the 20 fastest-growing economies in the world last year came from Africa, according to the AfDB, and Adesina said this showed the bank was doing something right. ‘We still need to provide a lot of concessional financing to African countries because there is still a tapering effect of the Covid-19 situation that many of the countries are still coping with,’ Adesina said. The five candidates seeking to take over from Adesina include Senegal's Amadou Hott, who served as Senegal's Minister of Economy, Planning & Co-operation (2019-2022), Dr Samuel Munzele Maimbo from Zambia, who is the vice-president for Budget, Performance Review, & Strategic Planning at the World Bank, and Mauritania's Sidi Ould Tah, a former President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. The other two contenders are Chad's Abbas Mahamat Tolli, an economist and a former Governor of the Bank of Central African States, as well as the only female candidate, South African Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala. She is the former senior vice-president of the African Development Bank.

Full News24 report