CGD Podcast: The Future of the African Development Bank with Three Presidential Candidates

In May, the African Development Bank (AfDB) will elect its next president, who will succeed Akinwumi Adesina later this year. The new president will be responsible for guiding the Bank, and the continent, through challenging times as countries grapple with debt distress, climate disasters, and declining donor support.

For this episode of the CGD Podcast, I teamed up with Daouda Sembene of AfriCatalyst, a global development advisory that he founded based in Senegal. Together we interviewed three of the five candidates for the presidency, focusing on their priorities for the Bank and their views on how to help steer countries through a volatile and uncertain time and achieve their development goals.

In this episode you will hear from Amadou Hott of Senegal, Samuel Munzele Maimbo of Zambia, and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala of South Africa. We asked each candidate the same five questions and grouped their responses by question for easy comparison. We look forward to the election next month and wish all the candidates best of luck.