AfDB: Sidi Tah outlines four cardinal points

as he assumes office as 9th President

By Jimoh Babatunde

The newly inaugurated President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, has unveiled four guiding priorities for his presidency as he officially assumed office as the ninth President of the Bank.

Speaking during his swearing-in ceremony at the Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire, Côte d’Ivoire, Dr. Ould Tah outlined his Four Cardinal Points: listening intently; launching a fast-track reform agenda; deepening partnerships; and accelerating real solutions.

He emphasized that under his leadership, the AfDB will be “attentive, responsive, and capable of setting priorities that matter,” while fostering closer collaboration with governments, the private sector, and international partners to “create a financial framework that serves Africa on its own terms.”

Acknowledging 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, the new President pledged to expand engagements to sovereign and pension funds. He also committed to revisiting investment models to include a dedicated pillar for peace.

Reaffirming staff as the “institution’s most valuable resource,” Dr. Ould Tah announced plans to host a Bank-wide Townhall in the coming days. He positioned the AfDB as a compass for Africa in navigating 21st-century challenges of demographics, technology, and climate change.

“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,” he said. “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.”

The high-profile ceremony was attended by Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, former AfDB Presidents Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina and Dr. Donald Kaberuka, ministers, development partners, and representatives of civil society and the private sector. Other presidential candidates—Ms. Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, Mr. Amadou Hott, and Dr. Samuel Munzele Maimbo—were also in attendance.

In his congratulatory remarks, President Ouattara described the transition as a “milestone which paves the way for a new era of hope for the Bank,” while President Ghazouani expressed confidence that Ould Tah would strengthen AfDB’s role in driving Africa’s peace, prosperity, and development.

Dr. Ould Tah, 60, was elected on 29 May 2025 with 76% of shareholder votes—the highest margin ever recorded for a first-term AfDB president. A Mauritanian national, he previously led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), where he drove an institutional transformation that expanded assets from $4 billion to nearly $7 billion and secured AA+/AAA credit ratings.

He also served as Mauritania’s Minister of Economy and Finance (2008–2015) and represented the country on the Boards of the AfDB, World Bank, and Islamic Development Bank. Multilingual and highly credentialed, he holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France.

Dr. Ould Tah inherits an AfDB with solid fundamentals: $318 billion in capital, a decade-long record of AAA credit ratings, and over $102 billion in development financing approvals in the last decade.

“As we move forward,” he concluded in his inaugural address, “we will be the Bank that bridges divides—between regions, between ambition and execution, between public and private, between urgency and bureaucracy. Let us move forward together—with urgency, unity, and unwavering accountability.”