- Mauritania’s Sidi will take over Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina on September 1, 2025 and set foot in a position full of immeasurable responsibility and expectations.
- The traditional donor fatigue setting, highly valued by US funding, cuts by around $555 million – TAH faces a more demanding aid environment.
- The TAH strategy seeks to deepen Africa’s relations with oil-rich Gulf countries in infrastructure financing, while leveraging the continent’s capital markets.
Siddi, an experienced Mauritania economist, has already edgy continents and already edgy with cuts in aid when he won a tough race for the African Development Bank (AFDB) presidency. Trump’s tariffs Under the new captain, we approached a new fundraising chapter.
He secured 76% of his votes after three rounds and took over from Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina on September 1, 2025, setting foot in a position full of immeasurable responsibility and expectations.
But beyond the moment of Abidjan’s celebration, Noakchot, the capital of his home country, Mauritania, is a real job. And Tar knows that. “Let’s go to work now. We’re ready!” he told the bank’s governor and the media after the election. He said this is a simple but powerful declaration of intention amidst the turbulent global fiscal winds.
Sidi is Tah: Leader of Change in the Times
As AFDB prepares to mark its operation for over 60 years, the agency is at a crossroads. Africa is challenging climate change, geopolitical restructuring, economic volatility, and burgeoning debt burdens, but requires more than capital.
Previously director of the Arab Bank of Africa (Badea), Tah is used to development finance, an important component of unlocking continental progress. His track record is quadrupled Badea’s balance sheet and driving partnership, which expanded the scope of the bank. Now, as AFDB president, he intends to replicate its success and scale it even.
mobilization resource
We monitored his vision for several weeks before his election. He is about to count every dollar. “Moving financial resources is my number one priority,” he said. While traditional donor fatigue settings have highlighted US funding cuts to reach $555 million, TAH faces a more severe aid environment. However, he does not retreat, but considers this a prompt to reinvent.
His strategy is to deepen cooperation with oil-rich Gulf countries, particularly in infrastructure financing, and leverage Africa’s fast-growing domestic capital markets. The idea is simple, but profound. It will improve African capital for Africa.
Reforms in financial architecture in Africa
The second pillar of Taha’s presidency, outlined in his vision, is to reconstruct the financial framework that underpins Africa’s development. He envisions a more harmonious network of African financial institutions, working in synergy rather than silos.
This includes better coordination between the AFDB, regional development banks, and national funds to reduce duplication, improve delivery and impact. Tah also advocates for stronger African institutions in global financial dialogue, from debt restructuring to climate financing negotiations.
For banks that include not only 54 African countries, but also heavyweights such as the US, Japan and the European Union, it is important to balance TAH between African ownership and global partnerships.
Young people as economic engines
They believe that Africa’s biggest asset is their people, especially young people. By 2050, the continent will have nearly 40% of the world’s youth. However, without work, education and opportunities, this demographic dividend could be liable.
He proposes target investments in vocational training, high-tech startups and agriculture-led industrialization. The former Minister of Finance and Economy Mauritania said, “Youth in Africa are not a problem to be solved. They are solutions that are waiting to be revitalized.”
Infrastructure: Development thorns
The vision for Africa’s development without addressing infrastructure is not perfect. Despite the promises of Africa’s Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), cross-border trade has slowed and is hampered by poor roads, fragmented rail networks, and limited electrification.
“The only viable option for moving containers from Mombasa to Dakar is at sea,” lamented Tah. He hopes it changes. Over the next few years, policymakers can expect a TAH-led AFDB eager to prioritize transcontinental roads and rail corridors, inland waterways and cross-border energy grids. Electrification is especially important. Without strength, Africa cannot be industrialized. Without the industry, you can’t compete.
Green growth
In a world racing towards Net Zero, Africa often relies on green transitions. For Tar, this opportunity is a paradox.
Under his leadership, the AFDB advocates an “energy mix” approach that utilizes renewable energies such as the solar and wind, along with transitional fuels such as natural gas. His goal is to promote comprehensive industrialization without sacrificing sustainability. He hopes that global partners will recognize Africa’s rights to develop using all the tools available, as did the wealthy countries in the past.
Perhaps most striking, Tar says he understands that development cannot thrive in the shadow of conflict. In dozens of countries currently working on uncertainty in Africa, vulnerable states need more than financial aid. They need long-term, stable investments. “Security and development cannot be separated,” he argued.
TAH will advocate for advocacy programs that integrate peacebuilding with economic revitalization, from community infrastructure projects to post-conflict zone youth employment schemes. Essentially, the AFDB under the TAH will become both a peace lender and partner.
The inheritance he inherits
Tah took over a bank that has grown significantly under Dr. Adesina’s leadership, reaching a capital base of $318 billion. Dr. Adesina’s tenure was characterized by the initiation of a “high 5S” strategy. It was marked by Africa, African feed, African industrialization, African integration, and improving the quality of life of African people.
These goals remain relevant as ever, but the path to achieving them has become more complicated. From concessional declines in funding to increased climate risk, TAH needs to trace back the bank’s operations to speed, scale and resilience.
The message is clear as the African Development Fund (ADF) was next replenished in November 2025, with the 2025 Annual Meeting focusing on “improving African capital jobs for Africa’s development.”
The continent of clocks
Africa has no shortage of plans and partners. Time is short. The African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious blueprints, but without implementation, they remain paper dreams.
Sidi knows this. And if his words and past performances pass by, he is not just ready to work. He’s ready to lead. As the sun rises in his presidency, the continents and the world are watching.
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