Sidi Ould Tah, one of five candidates vying to lead the African Development Bank, will aim to turbocharge the bank’s annual lending capacity tenfold to $100 billion if elected president, a move aimed at closing Africa’s vast infrastructure financing gap by tapping deep-pocketed Gulf investors.
At the heart of his plan is a potential game-changer– a capital bridge between Africa and the Gulf’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), some of the world’s largest and most liquid investment vehicles.
“The Gulf region has excess liquidity and operates multiple development finance institutions offering capital at low cost,” Tah said in an interview with BusinessDay. “We are not fully tapping into this potential, despite growing interest from GCC sovereign wealth funds to invest in Africa.”
If successful, this partnership could radically expand AfDB’s firepower at a time when African nations are grappling with a $100 billion annual infrastructure financing gap, and as AfDB’s traditional funding, including contributions from its second-largest shareholder, the United States, shows signs of strain.
The numbers are daunting. The AfDB estimates that Africa requires between $130 billion and $170 billion annually in infrastructure financing. The current shortfall hovers around $100 billion per year, a development bottleneck that continues to limit growth, job creation, and industrialisation.
Tah, who led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, also known as BADEA, for ten years until last month, believes the answer lies in a recalibrated capital strategy, one that aligns Africa’s massive financing needs with the Gulf’s surging investment appetite.
Read also: From BADEA to AfDB: Tah bids to replicate success on larger stage
The Gulf’s trillions
Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) –notably from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait– now manage over $4 trillion in assets.
Globally, SWFs accounted for $12 trillion in assets under management as of the end of 2024, and are expected to grow to $18 trillion by 2030, according to global consultancy, Deloitte. Gulf funds control nearly 40% of this pool.
In a capital-constrained development landscape, that’s a compelling pool of untapped liquidity.
“Given my background and my network in the Arab financial ecosystem, I am positioned to bring fresh strategic capital into Africa’s development agenda,” Tah said.
Tah’s pitch includes establishing co-investment structures between AfDB and Gulf SWFs, particularly in large-scale infrastructure, energy, and climate-resilient agriculture.
Tah also sees scope to draw in African pension funds, which hold more than $2 trillion, most of it invested outside the continent.
A track record to watch
Tah’s candidacy is not without precedent. Under his leadership, BADEA’s assets grew by 75 percent, an expansion that was quietly executed but widely respected in development finance circles.
He has also nurtured closer ties between African governments and Arab development institutions, a network he now wants to leverage on a continental scale.
Critically, he envisions the AfDB not just as a lender, but as a platform for mobilising diverse sources of patient capital, structured through risk-sharing instruments and guarantees. He proposes the consolidation of Africa’s fragmented credit guarantee agencies into a single pan-African institution to enhance risk mitigation and credit enhancement, tools essential to attract long-term investors.
Read also: Tah time: Mauritanian contender for AfDB’s top job to unveil vision
A thirst for Africa
Tah’s proposal also aligns with the strategic reorientation of Gulf SWFs.
Once concentrated in Western markets, these funds are now looking further afield.
According to Deloitte, the GCC’s sovereign funds deployed $82 billion in 2023 and another $55 billion in the first nine months of 2024, with increased attention on Asia and Africa.
“The Gulf region continues to be the epicenter of sovereign wealth fund activity,” said Julie Kassab, SWF Leader at Deloitte Middle East. “We are witnessing these funds not only expand their geographical footprint but also significantly enhance their internal capabilities.”
Gulf SWFs have been particularly active in China, investing nearly $9.5 billion over the past year, and have become significant shareholders in Chinese firms. Tah argues that Africa, with its demographic dividend, mineral wealth, and infrastructure needs, offers a comparable long-term bet, especially for Gulf funds seeking geopolitical influence and development impact.
A pitch worth watching
The AfDB, with its $400 billion subscribed capital base, remains a cornerstone of Africa’s financing architecture.
But scaling up will require recalibrating its business model, from a lender reliant on traditional shareholder contributions to one that orchestrates broader capital flows.
Tah’s vision is ambitious, perhaps even audacious. But it responds to a development moment that demands creativity and scale. As concessional funding tightens and global investors become more risk-averse, new capital partnerships will be critical.
“We need a hybrid model,” Tah said. “One that draws on both Western and Arab financiers to scale impact in sectors like infrastructure, healthcare, and climate.”
His proposal is not without challenges: negotiating governance rights with Gulf partners, aligning investment time horizons, and ensuring project pipelines meet the expectations of institutional investors.
But for a continent in urgent need of infrastructure, and a bank in search of greater muscle, the pitch is one worth watching.
