By Barth Ikiebe
In an emotional speech, Dr Akinwumi Adeshina, the President of AfDB, has recounted his experiences as he bows out after two terms in office.
Here is the full speech:
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group.
This will be my last and final Annual Meetings as President of the African Development Bank Group…
I am proud that over the past 10 years, the African Development Bank has been an accelerator of Africa’s development.
The High 5s of the Bank, to light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa and improve the quality of life of the people of Africa have been transformational for Africa…
These include:
28 million people with access to electricity;
104 million people with food security;
121 million people with access to improved transport;
128 million people with access to improved health services;
67 million with improved access to information and communication technology;
63 million people with access to drinking water;
34 million people with access to sanitation…
Your Excellency, President Ouattara, I am delighted to let you know that, under my Presidency, the African Development Bank’s financial support to Cote d’Ivoire grew by 500% over the last ten years.
To put this in perspective, the total lending by the African Development Bank to Cote d’Ivoire from 1964 to 2014 (50 years) was EUR 2.3 billion. From 2015, when I was elected to the present, the Bank’s financing for Cote d’Ivoire stands at EUR 3.6 billion, 1.6 times more than what had been approved for Cote d’Ivoire in the previous 50 years.
This includes the now famous Henri Konan Bedie bridge in Abidjan. Also, the Bank, through the Projet de Transport Urbain de la ville d’Abidjan (PTUA) financed the iconic 1,400-meter-long 4th bridge linking Yopougon to Adjame; including 88 kilometers of city highways and 89 intersections.
It includes all the beautiful highways leading to the new Alassane Ouattara Stadium, where Cote d’Ivoire won the 2023 African Cup of Nations!
Let me touch on a few other projects pertaining to the countries of the heads of state present here today..
In Tanzania, we are supporting the $3.2 billion standard gauge railway connecting Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
We supported the transport corridor that links Addis Ababa to Nairobi and Mombasa which has reduced the time to travel from 3 days to 1 day and expanded trade between both nations by 400%.
The Bank’s Last Mile Connectivity Project in Kenya has helped to increase the number of Kenyans connected to national electricity grid from 2.42 million households in 2014 to 9.7 million households in 2024. This helped the country increase electricity access from 36% to 76% over the same period.
Also, the Lake Turkana wind project in Kenya is the largest operational wind power mill in Africa…
Today, the Kazungula bridge connecting Zambia to Malawi and Namibia is expanding regional trade in southern Africa.
Since 1974, the collective dream of the people of Senegal and the Gambia was to have a bridge connecting both countries. That dream was realized by the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund. The impressive Senegambia bridge and the 24-kilometer road leading up to it has cut travel time from two days to less than 10 minutes.
The Port Autonome de Lomé in Togo has been expanded and turned it into a major transit port.
In Comoros, we supported the construction of roads linking the islands.
In Egypt, the Bank supported the Gabal El Asfar, a wastewater treatment plant. It serves 12 million residents. It is now the largest water treatment plant in Africa and is set to serve a total of 17.5 million people by 2040.
The Bank supported the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex in Morocco, which was the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant at the time of its completion.
We launched the Lagos to Abidjan highway corridor for which the African Development Bank is supporting the feasibility studies, and we have mobilized $15 billion in investment interests.
In Nigeria, we are implementing the development of special agro-industrial processing zones in 8 States and the FCT and have mobilized $2.9 billion to support the establishment of these zones in 28 more States of Nigeria.
We have stood by countries that were under sanctions to clear their debt arrears to the Bank, including Somalia and Sudan. Today, thanks to support from the African Development Fund, Somalia is showing recovery and greater resilience…
We are also standing with Zimbabwe to clear its arrears to the Bank and other creditors. As champion of the debt arrears process, working with former president Chissano, we have supported Zimbabwe to make significant progress. I am pleased that the IMF Staff Monitored Program will be concluded this month…
As developed countries got second and third Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, Africa was scrambling for just one shot for its population.
The African Development Bank swung into bold action and launched a $3 billion social bond, the largest ever in world history at the time, to support Africa. We set up a Crisis Response Facility for up to $10 billion for counter cyclical support for countries…
Today, the African Development Bank Group is implementing a $3 billion program for quality health infrastructure, and a $3 billion program for the development of local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Africa…
The landmark Feed Africa Summit, which was held in Dakar, brought together over 30 Heads of State and Government, who signed the Food and Agriculture Delivery Compacts to accelerate food production and food sovereignty in their countries, which was approved unanimously by the African Union. We mobilized $72 billion globally for Africa’s food security.
To fast-track access to electricity, the African Development Bank and the World Bank jointly launched the Mission 300 in Dar Es Salaam, to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030…
In all, we mobilized $55 billion in support of these national energy compacts.
The African Development Bank launched the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), supported by the G7, to mobilize $10 billion for climate resilient infrastructure in Africa.
We strongly supported the youth and women. The Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) approved $2.5 billion in support of over 24,000 women-owned businesses in Africa; expanding access of women businesses to finance through 185 financial institutions in 44 countries.
We significantly strengthened the financial architecture in Africa.
Thanks to our African Development Fund donors, we raised $8.9 billion for ADF16, the largest ever in the history of the Fund since 1973. We innovated and developed a new financial framework that will allow the ADF to mobilize $27 billion from global capital markets.
When I was first elected President of the Bank in 2015 the capital of the Bank stood at $93 billion. From 2015 to 2025, we have grown the Bank’s capital from $93 billion to $318 billion.
We put the expanded capital into remarkable use with unprecedented financial support to all the African countries.
For perspectives, let me explain.
Since the establishment of the African Development Bank in 1964 until 2014, it’s total approvals of were $118 billion. However, in the past ten years alone under my Presidency our total approvals were $102 billion, representing 46% of all approvals in the history of the African Development Bank Group.
We have also ramped up our disbursements. The total disbursements of the Bank Group in the past ten years alone, at $59 billion, represents almost half of all disbursements in the history of the African Bank Group…
Under my presidency, we set up and built Africa50 from scratch to what it is today, a first-rate private equity infrastructure investment platform with portfolio companies worth over $7 billion.
We worked very closely with and strongly supported the African Union. This includes the provision of $11.5 million in institutional support, over $17 million to the African Continental Free Trade Area, and over $27 million to the African Centre for Disease Control.
The African Investment Forum, launched by the Bank and its partners in 2018 has since mobilized $225 billion in investment interests in Africa, across several projects.
The African Development Bank has strongly supported several African countries in tackling the effects of climate change. The African Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAA-P), with financing commitments of $25 billion from the Bank, and in partnership with the Global Centre for Adaptation, is today the largest climate adaptation program in the world.
The African Development Bank also launched a $750 million hybrid capital on the global capital market in 2024, becoming the first multilateral financial institution in the world to do so, and opened up a new asset class for investors globally…
As my mandate as President of the Bank draws to a close, I am extremely proud of the work we have done and the incredible impact the Bank has had on the daily lives of millions of Africans.
We maintained the stellar AAA-credit ratings of the Bank for 10 years in a row with all three global credit ratings agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s) even during turbulent of Covid-19 and multiple challenges confronting several shareholder countries.
The independent review of the governance systems of the African Development Bank by our Governors in 2020 was completed two months ago. The review showed that the African Development Bank is very well governed, respects the independence of its oversight organs and is at par with all its peers globally.
In view of all that transpired in 2020, I feel vindicated and enormously happy. I am exceptionally proud of the African Development Bank Group that I lead.
The African Development Bank is today globally recognized and respected.
The African Development Bank was ranked as the Best Multilateral Financial Institution in the world by Global Finance.
And in 2024, the Bank achieved its highest income ever in its 60-year history.
As I complete my two five-year terms as President of the African Development Bank, I am proud of the legacy we are leaving behind for … for my successor, for the Bank, and for Africa.
I did not work or achieve alone. I worked with an exemplary group of people, at different points during the past ten years.
I am thankful for the exemplary support of the boards of directors over the last ten years, for your strong oversight, and for our work and operations.
I am very thankful to our board of governors who have given incredible and exceptional shareholder bank support…
To close, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my staff, for your dedication, hard work, diligence, commitment and dependability..
We came a long way, and we did it all for Africa.
Here is a High5 to you all! Keep the faith.
And to my darling wife, Grace,
Thank you very much My Love!…
To my beloved country Nigeria and the Presidents who nominated and supported me for election twice as President, I owe my deepest appreciation and gratitude.
To President Goodluck Jonathan who nominated me for my first term; and to President Muhammadu Buhari who carried it forward and backed my election and stood stoically behind me during challenging times and supported my re-election for second term, thank you most sincerely.
My immense appreciation and gratitude also go to Nigeria’s former Presidents and heads of state, President Obasanjo, General Abdusalam Abubakar, General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida, and former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and former Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, all of whom played major roles in supporting me; and of course, my dear sister, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who as the then Minister of Finance of Nigeria was my indefatigable campaigner-in-chief in 2015.
To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and to Vice President Kashim Shettima, for your support over the past two years, I am profoundly grateful. Thank you for graciously approving the replenishment of the Nigeria Trust Fund for another 15 years for $500 million.
And may God bless the African Union and all the Regional Economic Communities, the private sector, civil societies.
Thank you all for believing in Africa.
