Re-elected on August 27, 2020, with 100% of the votes of the Bank's regional and non-regional shareholders, as President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi A. Adesina officially took office at an investiture ceremony.

He said that in the future, the Bank, in collaboration with its Board of Directors, will pay particular attention to supporting Africa with quality health care infrastructure and strive to leverage its comparative infrastructure advantage.

According to him, the Bank's infrastructure work will focus on quality economic, physical and health infrastructure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"This pandemic offers new opportunities and has brought back to the centres of discussions the urgent need to strengthen Africa's productive capacities, industrial development and indispensable industrial value chains, and we must sustain this momentum with supportive infrastructure and policies, " added the AfDB President.

Akinwumi Adesina announced that the Bank will pay particular attention to regional industrial value chains and strengthening financial markets to develop trade and competitiveness between regions and boost the African Continental Free Trade Area.

 
 
"Excellencies, there is no doubt that the challenges ahead are still numerous: including poverty, inequality, fragility, high youth unemployment, large deficits in infrastructure financing and sustainable debt management, " he said.

As the Bank looks to the future, he assured that it will play a greater role in policy dialogue with countries by supporting sustainable debt management, stimulating green growth and accelerating the promotion of youth employment on the continent.

"More than ever, we will expand partnerships in several areas: finance, knowledge, investment, and build stronger inclusive partnerships with civil society, universities and knowledge centres of excellence. We will attract and direct more global capital to Africa, bringing together investments around the world to meet the continent's needs. The Bank will use its reputation, knowledge and resources to help do more and better for Africa. We will strengthen the impact of the Africa Investment Forum and make it a key driver of the bold investment partnership that aims to move the continent forward," said Akinwumi Adesina.

Among her priorities for the coming years, the AfDB President has included African youth. He said he will ensure that the potential of Africa's youth is fully unleashed and the Bank will support the establishment of investment banks for young entrepreneurs that will help mobilize and deploy capital to boost the entrepreneurship of African youth, in a systemic, scalable and sustainable way.

"The looming shadow of youth unemployment and migration out of Africa must give way to a rainbow of successful youth-led businesses across Africa. African youth must stay in Africa. It must develop Africa and shape its future," explained the AfDB President. 

To succeed in this challenge, the President wants to build on the great successes achieved in the field of agriculture, by disseminating technologies that will help tens of millions of farmers, and by contributing to the construction of value chains.

 
 
He made a commitment to the Governors over the next five years to capitalize on collective achievements to build a much stronger and more resilient African Development Bank Group, with the leadership and capacity to have an even greater quality impact on the people of Africa. while remaining financially sound and viable.

"We will therefore focus on the following elements: 'institution', 'people management', 'results' and 'sustainability'. Each of them is summarized in the following five areas, which follow the contours of the programmatic "High 5" to transform the development landscape in Africa. We will build human capacity, enhance efficiency, Deepen quality and impact, Maintain financial sustainability, Strengthen institutional capacity, Improve human resources, Build a leading IT infrastructure to improve efficiency and productivity in the digital age, Strengthen accountability, oversight and compliance, Promote a greater performance culture, Employer of choice in Africa, Recruit and retain top talent, Improve staff experience and value propositions, Improve career development and mobility, Improve responsiveness to customers, decentralize decision-making, put in place more efficient systems and processes, improve cost-effectiveness and optimize resources, Strengthen policy dialogue, knowledge and debt management, Strengthen environmental and social safeguards, Accelerate development impact, Stabilize prudential ratios, promote a culture of cost efficiency, Balance development objectives and financial sustainability, Optimize the Bank's balance sheet, Mobilize private capital globally to complement the Bank's resources, ensure that the Bank achieves its own intrinsic rating of 'AAA' for long-term sustainability," said the AfDB President.

Finally, it remains convinced that with the unconditional support of African Heads of State and Government, Bank Governors, Ministers of Finance, the Board of Directors and Staff, the Bank's leaders will be ready from today, once again, roll up their sleeves and continue the collective work to achieve even greater results in the wake of the "High 5s" namely: Lighting up Africa and powering it; Feeding Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa and improve the quality of life of African populations.