1

 History was made on Monday when Dr. Sidi Ould Tah was sworn-in, as the ninth Presi­dent of the African Develop­ment Bank Group (AfDB).

At exactly11:04 Abidjan time, on a rainswept Monday morning, Dr. Sidi took his oath-of-office, at the helm of Africa’s premier development finance institution succeeding Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina who has completed his two terms.

Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara, and his Mauritanian counterpart President, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, graced the elabo­rate high-level ceremony held at the Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire.

Former African Develop­ment Bank Group Presidents Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, and Dr. Donald Kaberuka, as well as the Bank Group’s Board of Governors, includ­ing Executive Directors, staff and international dignitaries were in attendance to witness the change of leadership.

The Republic of the Congo’s economy minister Ludovic Ngatse in his capac­ity as Chair of the Board of Governors of the bank presid­ed over the swearing in-cere­mony.

Dr. Ould Tah, 60, who hails from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, was elected on May 29, 2025 with over 76% of shareholder votes—the highest margin for a first-term president in the bank’s history.

President Ouattara termed the change of leadership a “milestone which comes at a historic moment in the life of our pan-African institution” and “paves the way for a new era of hope for the bank.”

In his congratulatory re­marks delivered immediately after the swearing-in ceremo­ny, President Ghazouani not­ed that, “Dr. Sidi Ould Tah has this heavy responsibility to ensure that the bank enhanc­es its key role in promoting the economic and social devel­opment of the continent, for it to remain a full lever in terms of fulfilling the aspirations of African people to peace, pros­perity and development.”

President Ghazouani ex­pressed confidence in the bank’s new president to de­liver for the continent.

“We will be the bank that bridges divides-between re­gions, between ambitions and execution, between public and private, between urgen­cy and bureaucracy. Let us move forward together – with urgency, with unity, and with unwavering accountability,” Ould Tah said in his well-re­ceived inaugural speech.

Dr. Ould Tah outlined his four cardinal points which include, listening intently; launching a fast-track reform agenda; deepening partner­ships and accelerating real solutions as the core priori­ties which will guide his pres­idency in the first 100-days of office.

The new president reit­erated that the bank will be “attentive, responsive, and capable of setting priorities that matter.”

He went on to note that the bank will enhance part­nerships by working closely with governments, the pri­vate sector, and international partners, “so that together we create a financial framework that serves Africa on its own terms.”

Dr Ould Tah acknowl­edged the presence of bank partners including Finance in Common, the Alliance of Af­rican Financial Institutions, the International Develop­ment Finance Club, and the Arab Coordination Group, and pledged his readiness “to expand the bank’s part­nership to new players such as sovereign funds, pension funds and others”. Addition­ally, he made a commitment to “urgently revisit our invest­ment models to include a ded­icated pillar for investment in peace.”

President Ould Tah af­firmed his intention to organ­ise a Townhall “in the coming days” for bank staff, whom he described as the “institution’s most valuable resource.”

Envisioning a vital role for the bank as a guide for a continent confronting the 21st century challenges of demographics, technology and climate change, Ould Tah said: “Africa must look North, South, East and West—not to imitate, but to draw wisdom and strength from every di­rection while defining its own course. Like a navigator guided by the compass, the bank should help Africa nav­igate the megatrends toward increased self-reliance, am­bition, and agency,” he said. However, he stressed, this important leadership role in crafting universal solutions “shaped by African perspec­tives, African priorities, and African agency” must be ap­proached in a selective man­ner, saying, “The African Development Bank should not aim to be everything to everyone. It should focus on where it can move the needle most, always with the spirit of partnership.”

Dr. Ould Tah is the former President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), where he oversaw a landmark insti­tutional transformation. Un­der his leadership, BADEA’s assets grew from $4 billion to nearly $7 billion, annual ap­provals increased twelvefold and disbursements eightfold; and the institution achieved AA+/AAA credit ratings.

He brings to the presidency of the African Development Bank Group over four de­cades of distinguished experi­ence in development banking, economic policy, and institu­tional transformation. He also previously served as Minister of Economy and Finance of Mauritania between 2008 and 2015, and Mauritania’s Gov­ernor on the Boards of the African Development Bank, World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, among others.

Fluent in Arabic, English and French, with working proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish languages, Pres­ident Ould Tah holds a PhD in Economics from Universi­ty of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France, and advanced degrees from Paris VII-Jussieu and University of Nouakchott.

Dr. Ould Tah inherits a pan-African institution with robust fundamentals: $318 billion in capital, AAA credit ratings maintained for 10 con­secutive years, and the world’s highest transparency score for a sovereign portfolio, at 98.8%. Over the past decade, the Bank has approved $102 billion in de­velopment financing.

The audience at the swear­ing-in ceremony included rep­resentatives of international institutions and development partners, private sector, civil society, diplomats, members of the Bank’s Board of Direc­tors, and staff. Three of the candidates who contested for the presidency alongside Dr. Ould Tah—Ms. Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, Mr. Ama­dou Hott and Dr. Samuel Mun­zele Maimbo—were also in attendance.