As the African Development Bank (AfDB) prepares to elect a new president during its annual meetings in Abidjan on May 29, outgoing president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has reflected on a decade of transformation and achievement at the helm of Africa\u2019s largest development finance institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel tremendously proud of what we have done,\u201d Adesina said in a recent interview with AllAfrica<\/em>, as he reviewed the accomplishments and challenges of his two five-year terms.<\/p>\n \n Under Adesina\u2019s leadership, the AfDB\u2019s capital base more than tripled. In 2021, it was recognized as the best multilateral financial institution in the world<\/strong>, and also ranked first on the Aid Transparency Index<\/strong> by Publish What You Fund<\/em>.<\/p>\n Adesina\u2019s impact has gone beyond the bank\u2019s balance sheets. He has become one of the continent\u2019s most prominent global advocates, frequently engaging world leaders to ensure Africa\u2019s priorities are heard and acted upon.<\/p>\n \u201cI have worked hard to elevate Africa’s voice in every single engagement globally,\u201d he said. \u201cTo make sure Africa is not forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n \n On May 29, the AfDB\u2019s Board of Governors<\/strong>\u2014comprising representatives from its 81 member states (54 African and 27 non-African)\u2014will vote on the bank\u2019s next president. The transition comes as the institution marks its 60th anniversary<\/strong> and takes on new challenges in a rapidly changing global landscape.<\/p>\n In a recent article, The Economist<\/em> described the upcoming leadership decision as a combination of \u201ca papal conclave and the national rivalries of the Eurovision Song Contest,\u201d highlighting the high stakes and geopolitical interest surrounding the role.<\/p>\n Adesina is expected to remain in office until a new president takes over in September.<\/p>\n \n As he prepares to hand over leadership, Adesina emphasized that Africa\u2019s progress depends on its ability to attract capital and project a strong global image.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to continue to market Africa, position Africa, attract global capital to Africa and help Africa navigate the complexity of the current environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about attracting capital to unlock the assets of Africa,\u201d he concluded. \u201cIt is the only way to develop with pride. And I think Africa should develop in pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the African Development Bank (AfDB) prepares to elect a new president during its annual…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,18,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-finance","category-top-stories"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1-300x184.jpg",300,184,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"wpucv-grid-three":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",360,220,false],"wpucv-grid-two":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",600,367,false],"wpucv-grid-one":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"wpucv-classic":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",278,170,false],"wpucv-classic-small":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",150,92,false],"wpucv-galary":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",400,245,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1.jpg",614,376,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00670436_98333a45a044751f9056cf78a849d64f_arc614x376_w614_us1-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor Author"]},"category_info":"Africa<\/a> Finance<\/a> Top Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Top Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions\/319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A Decade of Growth and Recognition<\/h3>\n
A Critical Transition Ahead<\/h3>\n
Marketing Africa with Pride<\/h3>\n