ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire – President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, who is stepping down from the position after a decade of leadership, yesterday pointed out how he he drove the multilateral institution’s capital from $93 billion in 2015 to $325 billion, an unprecedented leap by all standards.
Adesina, the first Nigerian to lead the Bank, also highlighted that the AfDB’s flagship development framework, the High 5s, has directly impacted 565 million lives across the continent, with major gains in healthcare, food security, transport, electricity, and water access.
He also charged whoever would succeed him to build on the institution’s legacy, stand firm for Africa’s interests on the global stage, and steer clear of superficial, ineffective initiatives. Election for the next AfDB President holds this Thursday.
Speaking at the President’s Media Welcome Breakfast in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at the ongoing AfDB Annual Meetings, Adesina reflected on his tenure with a blend of pride, candour, and vision.
He said: “The two things I am proud of are that we were able to mobilise resources for this like never before in its entire history. The capital of the bank grew from $93 billion to $318 billion.
“In fact, yesterday I was talking with my vice president of finance, and she told me that because of the variation in currencies and our value, it is not even $318 billion, it is $325 billion. So, I’m very proud of the fact that we mobilised that amount of resource.
“The second thing I’m very proud of is that the AfDB has helped to shape, define, and defend the interests of Africa everywhere in the world.”
Speaking further he added: “When I was elected in 2015, I did not have any grey hair then. Now my hair has turned several shades of grey. Grey from 10 years of unrelenting drive to push Africa forward; grey from our tireless efforts to turn the Bank into a globally respected financial institution, where it was ranked as the best multilateral financial institution in the world.
“Grey from leading the Bank to achieve the highest replenishment of the African Development Fund in the history of the Fund, as we successfully raised $8.9 billion for its 16th replenishment.”
Adesina’s presidency with the High 5s strategy revolved around ‘Light Up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa’.
Adesina said: “In all, 128 million people now have access to improved health services. Also, 121 million people now have access to improved transport; 104 million people are now food secure; 63 million people now have access to potable water; 34 million people now have access to improved sanitation and 28 million people now have access to electricity.
“And from the ground-breaking and unprecedented Mission 300 Energy Summit jointly launched in Dar Es Salaam by the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group, and other partners, another 300 million Africans will have access to electricity by 2030. These are not just figures. They are futures. They are hopes realised.”
When the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted global food systems, Adesina said the Bank responded swiftly with a $1.5 billion Emergency Food Production Facility, enabling 13 million farmers across 29 countries to access seeds and fertilisers. The result, he said, were 44 million metric tons of food produced, with 116 per cent above target worth $17.3 billion.
On his advice to his successor, he said: “The responsibility of that leader is to build on the past, to look far into the future, and to find within themselves what the courage it takes to stand up for Africa’s interest.
“To make sure that Africa’s voice is never silent on the issues that matter globally and where it matters globally. We must never follow. We must lead. And to be leading, you have to understand.
“This president, I always say, Africa does not need Mickey Mouse projects from the Mickey Mouses. I hope I have given enough for my successor. But that successor will have my prayers. And of course, we have excellent staff at the African Development Bank. There are a lot of institutions that will be able to help.
“For the role of a leader, vision, leadership, guidance, direction, and boldness are required to defend the positions you believe are in the best interest of a continent. This is not a job that you want to be popular and make friends.
“It’s a position where you have to confront certain ideas and certain philosophies that are not necessarily going to advance Africa’s interests. So please, if you don’t have the backbone to do so, don’t take this position.”
Meanwhile, the AfDB is confronted with an imminent change of leadership, as the continent’s biggest multilateral lender, faces unprecedented challenges from funding cuts by the US government.
The Donald Trump administration wants to cut $555 million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund, which offers low-priced financing to the continent’s poor nations, a Reuters report said yesterday.
The winner, who must secure at least 50.01 per cent of the votes from the 54 African member states of the bank, and in a second vote from all 81 members, including non-African ones, will be announced on Thursday.
The annual gathering of heads of state and finance officials, taking place this year in Abidjan, is one of the biggest finance meetings on the continent. It comes as heavily indebted governments in the region are searching for new sources of financing to bankroll their development projects.
AfDB, which is Africa’s largest development finance institution with $318 billion capital, is owned by 54 African states and G7 nations such as the US and Japan. Its biggest shareholder is Nigeria.
The next round of replenishment for the ADF, which is held on a three-year cycle, is scheduled to take place in November. It is targeting to raise $25 billion, up from $8.9 billion in the last round.
The new president will have to try to persuade the US to reinstate the funding, seek additional funds from non-regional members of the bank like China, or Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in return for more say, or ask African states to contribute more, Ryder said.
Five candidates – from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, Chad and Mauritania – are vying to replace outgoing president, Adesina, who will step down in September after serving the maximum two five-year terms.
AfDB will focus on boosting electricity connections, increasing food production, fostering industries, integrating economies on the continent and lifting people’s living standards over the next decade, Adesina told a media reception at the meeting on Monday.
The bank is grappling with the challenges of a changing global economy after US President returned to the White House, including higher US import tariffs.
Also, a contender to replace Adesina, Senegal’s Amadou Hott, has said that Africa should tap domestic private capital to fund development and reduce reliance on costly international borrowing.
The AfDB currently lends around $10 billion annually against regional needs topping $100 billion, said Hott, who is one of five candidates vying to lead the bank as Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina prepares to step down.
Meanwhile, Africa’s wealthy individuals hold about $2.5 trillion in assets, with another $2 trillion managed by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurers.
“The real breakthrough will come when we unlock our own $4.5 trillion in domestic savings and investment capacity,” Hott, Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation between 2019 and 2022, said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The vote on the next AfDB president is on May 29 during the bank’s annual meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Whoever wins will take over at a moment of strain for Africa’s external finances as its needs — from infrastructure to health and climate adaptation — continue to grow.
Trump had slashed aid to the region, including potentially pulling $555 million from the AfDB’s African Development Fund which supports the poorest nations — and other Western donors have diverted development assistance to meet domestic needs, including on defence.
“What sustained the bank in the past will not be sufficient in the future,” said Hott, who stepped down last year as the bank’s vice president for power, energy, climate and green growth. “My priority is to build an AfDB that helps countries stand on their own feet by raising their revenues, boosting their ratings and investing their own capital.”
Hott is seen as one of the front-runners alongside Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah and Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo. South Africa and Chad have also fielded candidates. The president of the bank, which was founded in 1964 to promote development in Africa, is elected by its 81 member states to a five-year term, which can be renewed once.
Hott backs creating an African credit rating company to help sovereign borrowers in the region win keener lending terms. The new agency, which is set to launch later this year, will offer an “African narrative” grounded in local data and context – which Hott called a much-needed “second opinion.”
“African countries with the same credit ratings as peers outside the continent often face borrowing costs that are up to 400 basis points higher,” Hott said. “We should work on reducing borrowing costs for Africa,” Hott said.
A more balanced assessment could unlock cheaper, longer-term financing at a time when Africa’s reliance on Eurobonds, often denominated in foreign currency, has made governments vulnerable to exchange rate shocks, he said.
He added: “Strengthening local currency lending would dramatically reduce Africa’s debt vulnerability and improve access to finance.”
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