Mauritania‘s former economy minister Sidi Ould Tah on Thursday clinched victory with 76.18 percent of votes in the third round of an election in Ivory Coast‘s economic capital Abidjan for the post of president of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

His closest challenger, Zambian economist Samuel Munzele Maimbo, was second on 20.26 percent.

Ould Tah succeeds Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina to become Africa‘s next “super banker”.

The latest contest took three rounds of voting to secure the requisite majority of votes from all member countries and a majority of votes from African nations.

In 2015 it took six rounds of voting to elect Adesina as president of the AfDB, which was founded in 1964 and now has 81 members, including 54 African nations.

The weight of each shareholder state is determined by the extent of its capital contribution to the bank.

As such, the five largest African contributors – Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa and Morocco – will be especially courted, with the United States and Japan the largest non-regional contributors.

As such, alliance-building is seen as key to secure the prestigious post.

Tackling tariffs, economic uncertainties

The AfDB is one of the world’s largest multilateral development banks and is funded by member subscriptions, loans raised on global markets as well as repayments and income from loans.

Ould Tah faces a disrupted international economic environment, notably due to US President Donald Trump‘s tariff announcements.

Beyond tariffs, the AfDB is also facing the threat of losing 500 million dollars in US funding for its projects to support low income countries on the continent.

In the lead-up to the election, all the candidates in the race promised to make the AfDB even more effective to transform Africa, continuing Adesina’s five priorities to light up, feed, industrialise, integrate and improve quality of life.

“I am proud of the legacy we are leaving behind for… my successor, for the bank and for Africa,” the outgoing president said in a speech on Tuesday.

“We have built a world-class financial institution that will continue to advance Africa’s position within a rapidly changing global development and geopolitical environment,” he added.

Adesina said 565 million people had benefited from AfDB projects during his decade in charge.

Major projects include support for the construction of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment plant in Egypt – the largest in Africa.

The bank also helped finance a bridge connecting Senegal and the Gambia, expanded the port of Lome in Togo and supported sanitation projects in Lesotho and access to electricity in Kenya, he said.

From 2015 to this year, the bank’s capital more than tripled from $93 billion to $318 billion, he added.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)