Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, says he “gave Africa his heart”, fighting for the continent’s best interest in the last 10 years of leading the institution.
Adesina spoke at the bank’s annual meetings opening ceremony on Tuesday in Cotê D’ivoire, which marks his last meeting as the AfDB president.
In his speech, the economist gave an account of his stewardship, and recognised the contributions of several stakeholders to his success.
“I earnestly gave Africa my heart, my mind and my all. I fought for what I believed were in Africa’s best interest, every single day and at every turn in my 10 years as President,” he said.
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“I will continue to serve Africa today and well into the future by God’s grace. I am thoroughly convinced that He did not make a mistake in creating me as an African.”
Speaking on his achievements, Adesina said the lender has disbursed about $59 billion in loans to the continent’s financial institutions in the last 10 years.
“The total disbursements of the bank’s group in the last 10 years alone at $59 billion represents almost half of all the disbursements in the history of the African Development Bank group,” he said.
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The economist said since the establishment of the AfDB in 1964 until 2014, the bank approved $118 billion loan to financial institutions on the continent.
“However, in the past 10 years alone, under my presidency, with our boards of directors and my staff, our total approvals were $102 billion,” he said.
“That represents 46 percent of all the approvals in the history of the African Development Bank group.”
The AfDB president said the group has also “ramped up our disbursements”.
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“These are not just numbers. Thanks to your collective support, these represent a new dynamism, a scale of the transformative impact of the AfDB Group that at any point in its history, we provided significant financial support to African financial institutions,” Adesina said.
He said the institutions ranged from commercial banks to regional development financing institutions and “multilateral development financing institutions, boosting their capital bases”.
‘AfDB GREW CAPITAL TO $318BN UNDER MY TENURE’
Speaking further, the AfDB boss said the bank has significantly strengthened the financial architecture in Africa, with its capital rising from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion in 2025.
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“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,” he said.
“We innovated and developed a new financial framework that will allow the ADF to mobilize $27 billion from global capital markets.
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“The shareholders of the Bank showed extraordinary support and confidence in our leadership and management of the Bank.
“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.”
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Adesina said the bank put the expanded capital into “remarkable use with unprecedented financial support to all of our African countries”.
The AfDB boss said the bank has worked closely with the African Union to support the organisation.
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“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,” he said.
“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.”
Adesina noted that the work of the AfDB “has impacted the lives of 565 million people” in the past decade.
