African Development Bank (AfDB) is set to elect a new president this week on 29 May 2025 in Ivory Coast.
Gatekeepers News reports that the candidates, Mr. HOTT Amadou , Senegal, Dr. MAIMBO Samuel Munzele , Zambia, Mr. TAH Sidi Ould , Mauritania, Mr. TOLLI Abbas Mahamat , Chad, and Ms. TSHABALALA Bajabulile Swazi , South Africa are vying for the top spot.
Outgoing President Akinwumi Adesina will step down in September after serving two five-year terms.
To win, a candidate must secure 50.01% of votes from the bank’s 54 African member states and a majority vote from all 81 members, including non-African ones. The winner will be announced on Thursday.
The new president will face a significant challenge: persuading the US to reinstate $555 million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund (ADF), which was slated for cuts by the US federal government.
According to Hannah Ryder, founder of Development Reimagined, this will be a major task for the new president, who will need to navigate complex global politics to secure funding from non-regional members or increase contributions from African states.
