The African Portuguese-speaking countries will participate alongside Portugal and Brazil, who are part of the non-African member states group.
Akinwumi Adesina concludes his two-term period, spanning ten years, as the head of the African Development Bank (ADB), during which a new financing instrument for Portuguese-speaking countries, the Compacto Lusófono, was created. The bank also provided direct support for projects such as the technological park in Cape Verde, the energy sector in Mozambique, and the agricultural transformation and social inclusion in Angola.
Five candidates are vying for succession: Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Sidi Tah (Mauritania), Abbas Tolli (Chad), and Bajabulile Tshabalala (South Africa), who is Akinwumi Adesina’s vice-president and the only female candidate.
The resumes published by the ADB showcase diverse experiences in economics and finance, including ministerial roles, top positions in international financial institutions, and the private sector.
The election will take place on Thursday during the Assembly of Governors, which is part of the program for the annual meetings.
In a different event, Angola’s President, João Lourenço, will be awarded the “Africa Road Builders” prize on Wednesday, recognizing “African leaders who have invested in infrastructure development.”
The head of state of Angola follows in the footsteps of previous recipients like Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang and Congo’s Denis Sassou-Nguesso, co-winners in 2024.
The ADB’s annual meetings are the group’s most significant event, bringing together over 6,000 persons, including heads of state and government, finance ministers, central bank governors, and development partners, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society leaders.
“Maximizing Africa’s human capital to promote its development” will be the central theme of the discussions, along with cross-cutting issues such as digital transformation, institutional strengthening, and good governance.
The bank aims to “identify opportunities” and “implement specific policies to make Africa’s capital – human, natural, financial, and commercial – the primary driver of structural transformation and the transition to more inclusive, greener, and more resilient economies in the coming decades,” as stated at the event’s launch.
The expectation is that this approach will “leverage external capital flows from various partnerships to complement Africa’s development financing needs.”
The African Development Bank Group is the continent’s leading development finance institution, comprising 81 member states, including 53 African countries and 28 non-African countries.
