Africa’s Future in Their Hands: The Race to Lead the African Development Bank

By Adonis Byemelwa & Ajong Mbapndah L*

In a moment that feels both historic and urgent, five formidable candidates have stepped forward to lead the African Development Bank (AfDB) into a new era—one defined by climate volatility, youth unemployment, digital transformation, and the stubborn persistence of poverty. But these aren’t just technocrats armed with spreadsheets and statistics.

 Each of them carries a vision grounded in personal experience, national context, and continental hope. Their words, shared during a stirring public conversation, weren’t just policy pitches—they were pleas, promises, and in some cases, confessions of the trials Africa must overcome.

What emerged from their dialogue at a conversation with the candidates event at the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC,  was  not just  a contest of personalities, but a clash of priorities—job creation or infrastructure first? Climate or industrialization? Policy consistency or innovation? But there was also unity in diversity: a shared resolve to reduce Africa’s dependency, empower its youth, and position the AfDB as a bold catalyst, not a cautious lender.

The Urgency of Now

The clock is ticking for Africa. With 70% of its population under the age of 25 and a projected 14 million people entering the job market each year, the need for radical action is not tomorrow’s problem—it’s today’s emergency. Amadou Hott, former Senegalese Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, captured this urgency with rare clarity:

“Managing the climate crisis is critical, but we cannot pit development against climate. We need grant financing for adaptation, and we must ensure Africans have the energy to grow. Clean cooking, green industrialization—this isn’t luxury, it’s survival.”

Hott’s voice rang with the pragmatism of someone who has walked the halls of government and negotiated at the tables of multilateral finance. His North Star? Massive private sector investment to create jobs. “If I had a magic wand,” he said, “I’d focus it on attracting investment that creates jobs, especially for youth. We need to scale solutions, not conversations.”

But scaling anything in Africa without infrastructure is like building castles in the sand. That’s why Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala, the Bank’s current Senior Vice President and former South African finance executive, made it plain: “We cannot develop without energy. Our industries are running on generators. If I could wave a wand, I’d close the infrastructure gap—mobilize $100 to $170 billion annually and deliver. Infrastructure is the bridge to inclusive growth, and we must walk it.”

Yet for Swazi, this isn’t a numbers game. Her voice softened as she spoke of Mozambique’s annual typhoons—storms that didn’t exist when she was a girl. “Climate change is no longer abstract. Adaptation is harder to sell than mitigation, but it’s about resilience. Investing in adaptation is investing in Africa’s sustainable development.”

In this race, infrastructure and climate are not opposite poles but two ends of the same rope Africa must pull together. That rope, according to Zambia’s Samuel Munzele Maimbo, must also bind the continent in policy consistency.

“We keep rebuilding from scratch—every government, every donor change. It’s failing our agriculture, failing our integration,” Maimbo said with gentle but firm conviction. His vision? A truck driving from Cape to Cairo without a border post. “It’s policy consistency that makes that possible, not just highways.”

The Zambian brings a calm thoughtfulness rooted in years of multilateral experience, including time spent rebuilding fragile states like Afghanistan. For him, true transformation lies not only in money but in mindset. “Fragile states need peace processes, not just funding. Every construction project must create jobs. Every investment must build competence. Our youth don’t just need jobs—they need purpose.”

Who Will Champion the Private Sector?

While the youth are at the heart of every candidate’s vision, the engine that must power their aspirations, they agree, is the private sector. And no one made that case more vividly than Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania.

“Africa has everything it needs: 17% of the world’s people, 23% of uncultivated arable land, and 65% of our population under 25. The challenge is converting our wealth into prosperity,” he said, voice rising with conviction. “My priority? Support micro and small enterprises—they’re 90% of our economy. If we don’t support them, we’re not serious about development.”

Tah’s experience running a regional development finance institution gives him rare authority. “I don’t speak in abstract. I’ve multiplied prosperity before—I can do it again. The AfDB must become the catalyst for all financial institutions on the continent.”

From Chad, Abbas Mahamat Tolli reinforced that message with a candid critique of the system’s inertia. “By 2050, one in four people will be African. Yet we still depend on others for data, for trade, for financing. We must support innovation and make merit-based decisions that reflect our realities.”

His call for transparency in how AfDB funds are used—especially in fragile states—was direct and refreshing. “Dialogue must be key. We must focus on the most vulnerable. And every project must be results-driven, not just process-heavy.”

Abbas’s vision includes digital public finance, clean energy access, and above all, women’s empowerment. “We must shorten the delivery time. Celebrate deals closed, not just deals opened. Youth and women must lead the way.”

Indeed, the call for gender inclusivity echoed across the board. “It’s absurd,” Hott noted, “that women and youth are still sidelined. We must build economic opportunity for them, not tomorrow, today.”

Swazi took it further, promising that in her administration, financial inclusion for women will be structurally embedded. “Our leadership, our financing applications, our decisions—gender inclusion won’t be an afterthought. It will be a pillar.”

A Vision Beyond Borders

What each candidate articulated is more than a policy platform. It’s a window into the leadership philosophy they would bring to the Bank. Some, like Hott, are engineers of efficiency, focused on speed, scale, and systems.

Others, like Maimbo, offer the wisdom of continuity, calling for trust and policy maturity. Tah speaks as a visionary economist with a deep belief in local entrepreneurship. Abbas sees governance and institutional performance as non-negotiables. But they’re united in something rare: optimism grounded in realism.

Their 100-day visions reveal that. A bold leap in domestic resource mobilization—from 15% to 20%. Early action on healthcare systems. A data revolution for African economies. A crackdown on bureaucracy that delays disbursements. A youth council to shape decisions. Strategic use of artificial intelligence in infrastructure planning. Financial products designed with women at the center, not the periphery.

What was perhaps most moving, however, was their humility in closing remarks. “My competitors are poverty and economic downturn—not the colleagues I share this stage with,” said Maimbo with quiet grace.

“We must invest in strategic projects and be responsible stewards of our people’s hopes,” added Abbas. “I will deliver from Day One,” Tah promised, his voice steady with conviction. “This is a generational point,” Swazi reminded. “We must focus on productivity and solutions that work.”

Hott, always the connector, brought it home: “I will unite all candidates to navigate the storm ahead. The winner is Africa—we’re just waiting for the white smoke.”

As the African Development Bank prepares to choose its next president, it must weigh not only experience and skill, but heart and vision. These six contenders offer no shortage of either. In their words, Africa doesn’t lack leadership. It lacks no brilliance, no urgency, and certainly no resolve. The question now is whether those holding the pen of history are ready to match the moment with courage equal to the stakes.

This isn’t just an election—it’s an inflection point. The next president won’t just inherit a mandate; they’ll inherit the faith of a continent and the pressure of a generation that refuses to be left behind.

The conversation was anything but passive. From the audience came bold, unfiltered questions—pressing the candidates on everything from corruption to slow project rollouts, the weight of debt, and the gap between polished strategies and lived African realities. One young voice captured the room’s urgency, asking, “How will you ensure Africa doesn’t just survive, but thrives?” A woman entrepreneur followed with a challenge: “Will you fund us as seriously as you fund roads?”

These weren’t questions for applause. They were calls for accountability. A reminder that the next AfDB president must answer not only to policy papers but to people—young, eager, burdened, and brimming with untapped promise.

The atmosphere wasn’t just charged with ideas—it pulsed with purpose. It became clear: the role awaiting the winner isn’t just about financing infrastructure or shaping strategy. It’s about becoming a bridge between past inertia and future possibility, between lip service and life-changing impact.

Because this election isn’t about who gets the title. It’s about who carries Africa forward—with vision, with urgency, and with the understanding that she cannot, and will not, wait.

*Culled From May Issue of PAV Magazine