• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Focus areas
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Focus areas
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesFocus areasTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • Finance

    New AfDB president inherits a bigger bank — and tougher challenges

    Sidi Ould Tah takes over the African Development Bank presidency with promises of reform, new partnerships, and a focus on jobs, even as the bank confronts tight budgets and a looming African Development Fund replenishment.

    By Ayenat Mersie // 02 September 2025

    Related Stories

    Devex Invested: A new dawn for the African Development Bank
    Devex Invested: A new dawn for the African Development Bank
    Devex Newswire: AfDB faces big changes — and even bigger challenges
    Devex Newswire: AfDB faces big changes — and even bigger challenges
    The bow tie bows out: Adesina’s 10 years at AfDB
    The bow tie bows out: Adesina’s 10 years at AfDB
    Devex Invested: African Development Bank gets ready for Sidi Ould Tah
    Devex Invested: African Development Bank gets ready for Sidi Ould Tah

    Sidi Ould Tah, a Mauritanian economist and former president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, was sworn in on Monday as the new president of the African Development Bank.

    He succeeds Akinwumi Adesina, who spent 10 years at the helm and oversaw a period of major growth for the institution.

    “The African Development Bank Group cannot aim to be everything to everyone. It has to focus on where it can move the needle most, always with the spirit of partnership,” Tah said at his inaugural address in Abidjan, the home of AfDB’s headquarters, which drew high-level guests including the presidents of Côte d’Ivoire and Mauritania, French Development Agency CEO Rémy Rioux, and African Finance Corporation CEO Samaila  Zubairu.

    This article is free to read - just register or sign in

    Access news, newsletters, events and more.

    Join usSign in

    Read more:

    ► The bowtie bows out: Adesina’s 10 years at AfDB

    ► Top AfDB official rules out nuclear in the mission to electrify Africa

    ► Inside AfDB's $10.8 billion project pipeline (Pro)

    • Banking & Finance
    • Economic Development
    • Private Sector
    • African Development Bank (AfDB)
    • African Development Fund (ADF)
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Ayenat Mersie

      Ayenat Mersie

      Ayenat Mersie is a Global Development Reporter for Devex. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as National Geographic and Foreign Policy and as an East Africa correspondent for Reuters.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    Devex InvestedRelated Stories - Devex Invested: A new dawn for the African Development Bank

    Devex Invested: A new dawn for the African Development Bank

    Devex NewswireRelated Stories - Devex Newswire: AfDB faces big changes — and even bigger challenges

    Devex Newswire: AfDB faces big changes — and even bigger challenges

    Development financeRelated Stories - The bow tie bows out: Adesina’s 10 years at AfDB

    The bow tie bows out: Adesina’s 10 years at AfDB

    Devex InvestedRelated Stories - Devex Invested: African Development Bank gets ready for Sidi Ould Tah

    Devex Invested: African Development Bank gets ready for Sidi Ould Tah

    Most Read

    • 1
      Building stronger primary care to tackle NCDs and mental health
    • 2
      Collaborating for greater impact — Rwanda’s fight against AMR
    • 3
      Investing in opportunity: How venture capital powers social impact
    • 4
      Meet the innovators closing persistent gaps in women's health
    • 5
      Opinion: Learning from global development can help rural America
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement