This week, Africa’s economic future takes the spotlight as the African Development Bank (AfDB) convenes more than 6,000 global delegates in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for its 2025 Annual Meetings — a high-stakes event that will decide who takes the helm of the continent’s leading development finance institution for the years ahead.
At a time when global development finance faces tightening aid budgets, shrinking concessional funding, and volatile borrowing costs, the AfDB’s $318 billion capital base has become critical for financing Africa’s growth.
Here’s a look at the five contenders in the running to lead the African Development Bank (AfDB) and their key priorities, with elections set for Thursday, May 29, 2025.
Amadou Hott (Senegal)
Senegal’s former economy minister brings a strong track record in banking and investment, with experience from Lagos to London. His top priority is boosting African financial self-reliance by mobilizing domestic resources and designing projects that retain private capital on the continent. Hott emphasizes improving tax collection — Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio is just 16%, compared to 34% in OECD countries — to strengthen credit ratings, lower borrowing costs, and drive investment into sectors like power and infrastructure.
Samuel Munzele Maimbo (Zambia)
Currently a World Bank vice president on leave, Maimbo has 30 years in development finance. He proposes strengthening the continent’s financial infrastructure by improving data systems, harmonizing regulations, and facilitating intra-African trade and financing.
With only 15% of African goods traded within the continent, Maimbo argues there’s huge untapped potential. He is backed by both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Swazi Tshabalala Bajabulile (South Africa)
A banker with three decades of experience, Tshabalala was the AfDB’s senior vice president until October. She is the only female candidate. Tshabalala says the bank’s internal structure needs an overhaul to deliver more effectively on infrastructure and large-scale projects. She wants to expand innovative financial instruments, building on AfDB’s use of hybrid capital, to unlock Africa’s resource and trade potential.
Abbas Mahamat Tolli (Chad)
Tolli has held key financial positions across Central Africa, including Chad’s finance minister, central bank governor, and president of the Development Bank of Central African States. He prioritizes strengthening governance, reducing inefficiencies, and increasing self-sufficiency across sectors from agriculture to finance. Tolli calls for a major overhaul of AfDB’s operational model, focusing on risk pooling, public-private partnerships, and digitized financing mechanisms. Drawing on personal experience — fleeing civil war at age six — Tolli says his journey gives him a deep understanding of Africa’s development challenges and opportunities.
Sidi Ould Tah (Mauritania)
A former Mauritanian finance minister, Sidi Ould Tah has spent the past decade leading the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. He wants the AfDB to shake off legacy constraints and focus on boosting Africa’s economic sovereignty. His agenda includes mobilizing broader capital sources, reforming financial systems, formalizing the informal sector (which employs over 80% of Africans), and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. Sidi Ould Tah says strategic partnerships can multiply every dollar raised into $10 of productive capital.
This election is also critical because with Africa facing rising debt burdens, climate risks, and a need for massive infrastructure upgrades, the AfDB’s leadership will play a critical role in shaping the continent’s financial and development trajectory over the next decade.