Africa Prosperity Network celebrates three visionary African leaders; Adesina, Oramah, Ould Tah

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN), organiser of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), has paid glowing tribute to three eminent African business leaders who have made immense contributions to the development of the African continent.

In “Honouring the Big Three: A Tribute to Visionary Leaders of Africa’s Development” – delivered at the 2025 Africa Prosperity Champions Awards (APCA) at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra on Saturday 1 February – APN celebrated “three extraordinary leaders in financial services whose visionary leadership have transformed institutions, inspired nations and redefined Africa’s development trajectory”.

“Dr Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Professor Benedict Oramah of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Dr Sidi Ould Tah of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) are not just leaders: they are architects of Africa’s renaissance,” the tribute citation said.

Unprecedented heights

“Over the past decade, they have steered their institutions to unprecedented heights and oriented them to become touchstone partners for Africa’s development, delivering tangible results that have touched millions of lives across the continent,” the tribute said.

“By coincidence, the tenure of each of these three business leaders will come to an end this year. As we reflect on their remarkable legacies we wonder: will their departure leave a gap? Perhaps. But, more importantly, they have built institutions that are stronger, more resilient and better positioned to continue the work of building Africa that they began a decade ago.

“Their successors can only build upon the firm foundation they have laid, ensuring that Africa’s journey towards prosperity remains unstoppable.

“Let us take a moment to honour these giants, whose passion, innovation and bold commitment have illuminated the path for Africa’s future,” the eulogy said.

Pool of investment

In the tribute, APN noted that “with their work to widen the pool of investment open to all African countries, these three giants – Dr Akinwumi Adesina at AfDB, Professor Benedict Oramah at Afreximbank and Dr Sidi Ould Tah at BADEA – have instilled hope in millions of Africans.

“They show us that, with visionary leadership, a clear purpose and a belief in Africa’s potential, anything is possible.”

According to APN, their tenure “may be ending, but their legacy will endure. The institutions they have built over the past decade are stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to carry forward the work they began.

“Our future as a united African continent is brighter because of their work and achievements.”

Dr Akinwumi Adesina (AfDB)

Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina was elected the eighth president of the African Development Bank Group in May 2015. Immediately prior to his appointment to AfDB, he had built a track record as a boldly reformist minister of agriculture in Nigeria from 2011 onwards.

A globally renowned development economist and agricultural development expert, he has deepened AfDB’s capacity to support agricultural sustainability and infrastructural development across Africa.

Under his leadership, AfDB launched the Africa Investment Forum in 2018 to attract global capital to support Africa’s accelerated development. The investment forum has become the premier investment marketplace for Africa, attracting US$38.1 billion of investment interests into Africa in 2018 and US$40 billion in 2019.

Dr Adesina has also strengthened AfDB’s investment muscle, leading the Bank to achieve its highest capital increase since it was established in 1964, from US$93 billion in 2019 to US$208 billion in 2019 – an increase of $115 billion. To date, the Bank’s capital base is $388 billion: three times what it was in 2015.

Critically, the AfDB’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has provided a continental framework for advancing transboundary infrastructure projects in transport, energy, ICT, and transboundary water resources. In Dr Adesina’s own words, AfDB has “amplified Africa’s voice in global finance”.

Professor Benedict Oramah (Afreximbank)

A proud product of Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, Professor Benedict Okechukwu Oramah was appointed the president and chairman of the board of the African Export-Import Bank in September 2015.

Last year, Afreximbank announced plans to double its financing of intra-African trade from US$20 billion in 2021 to US$40 billion by 2026.

It has broadened its scope to investing in Global Africa, signing agreements to create a new Afro-Caribbean Marketplace encompassing 90 outlets dedicated to the sale of authentically African and Caribbean products, as well as a transshipment hub in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

In April 2020, the bank launched its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility, disbursing more than US$6.5 billion that year to help member countries manage the financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has rolled out other Africa-specific crisis response products, such as the Countercyclical Trade Liquidity Facility in 2016.

The Africa Prosperity Network conferred its Financial Leadership Award on Professor Oramah at APD 2024 in Accra last year. He has moved Afreximbank from being a middle-ranking development bank to one of the world’s leading institutional investment partners for Global Africa.

Dr Sidi Ould Tah (BADEA)

Dr Ould Tah was previously advisor to the president of Mauritania, then Minister of the Economy and Finance, and then Minister of Economic Affairs and Development. In July 2015, he was appointed director general of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

Since its creation in 1974, BADEA has invested US$15 billion in roughly 2,000 operations in sub-Saharan Africa, spanning transport, rural electrification, agriculture, health, and business development. It has funded the construction of over 40 airports and more than 15 dams, generating clean hydropower and expanding the use of sustainable energy.

Under Dr. Ould Tah’s leadership, it has focused on linking landlocked countries to the sea with what it calls “isolation liberation roads.” Among its latest projects is a $50 million investment in the road linking Kalabo in the Western Province of Zambia to the ports of Angola.

On 21 July 2024, Dr Ould Tah launched the Arab-Africa Financial Consortium (AAFC) at a ceremony in Accra on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) mid-year summit. The consortium’s objective is to promote Africa’s rapid development over the next 50 years.

The consortium aims to establish an alliance of Arab and African Development Financial Institutions with a common vision for strengthening economic, financial, and technical cooperation between Arab and African countries. The establishment and operationalization of the AAFC will also focus on key areas such as institutional frameworks, funding mechanisms, investment priorities, capacity building, and regional integration.

Dr Ould Tah played a pivotal role in the November 2023 decision of the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) to commit US$ 50 billion to help build resilient societies in Africa at the Saudi-Arab-African economic conference, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

BADEA has also invested in social impact projects across West, Central, and East Africa, bringing clean water to rural Mauritius and giving young girls access to quality education in Niger.

Dr Ould Tah has led BADEA’s credit rating transformation: it is now the second-highest-rated bank in Africa (after AfDB) and the highest-rated financial institution in the Arab world. He holds many honours, notably the Knight Medal of the Order of Mauritania and Senegal’s prestigious National Order of the Lion.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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