If all things pan out right for Dr Samuel Munzele Maimbo, he will drop his current title of Vice President at the World Bank to President, African Development Bank before year 2025 runs out. Dr Maimbo is a front-runner for the job of leading Africa’s premier development institution which becomes vacant after the scheduled May 2025 presidential elections.
The Zambian national, who started out by securing the endorsements of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), as well as the East African Community (EAC) has no problem convincing AfDB stakeholders of regional and non-regional members why he is most suitable to lead the Bank in the increasingly complex world of global finance, given Africa’s obvious needs.
Speaking with AnnualMeetings Daily recently, Dr Maimbo says, if he secures the job, he will lean heavily on 30 years of result-driven engagements to set out “clear performance metrics” from day one. This is something currently lacking in the pan-African institution.
Nor is that the only novel idea in his mental tool kit. He wants to harness the energies and potential of African youths by actually funding investments in the creative industries, which he sees as “low hanging fruits”. He also wants to develop African capital markets to unlock new sources of finance.
These and more radical, progressive ideas from this soft-spoken but focused development economist are what have been captured in this interview.
In light of the current challenges facing Africa, you have been quoted as saying that your goal is to transform the AfDB into a development finance institution the continent urgently needs. How do you plan to achieve this?
The governments and people of Africa require bold, pragmatic, results-driven leadership at the AfDB. My plan for Africa depends on institutional excellence and financial innovation at the AfDB and strategic partnerships with regional and global institutions. I have developed practical, realistic methods for achieving this.
We will strengthen governance structures, improve operational efficiency, and decentralize decision-making to ensure the AfDB is responsive to Africa’s needs. The Bank must function as a top-tier financial institution with clear performance metrics, a more effective talent management system, and an expanded knowledge base to provide governments and businesses with actionable insights.
We will adopt innovative financial instruments to increase Africa’s access to capital. This includes restructuring debt management strategies, expanding domestic revenue sources, leveraging guarantees and hybrid capital, and mobilizing resources from both African and international institutions. We will also focus on developing Africa’s capital markets to unlock new sources of financing.
Partnerships will be at the heart of this transformation. The AfDB will act as the continent’s key facilitator of development finance by working closely with African financial institutions, other global MDBs, and the private sector. We will halve the time required for project execution, ensuring that investments reach the people and sectors that need them most.
Africa’s development must be led with urgency, impact, and a commitment to measurable results.
You said that the people who would develop Africa are Africans themselves. Could you explain this against the backdrop of the continent’s heavy dependence on external development assistance?
Africa’s development journey must be fundamentally African-led. Nobody comprehends our continent’s unique needs, challenges, and opportunities better than our people and their governments.
External support has contributed to progress, and we must continue to vigorously pursue international financing access, but we will direct substantial attention toward Africa’s underutilized funding sources. A prosperous future depends on cultivating self-sustaining, homegrown growth models.
My vision centres on prioritizing Africa’s own resources, talent, and institutions. Our continent possesses extraordinary untapped potential in domestic revenue generation, existing funding pools (such as pension funds and insurance companies), and capital market development. By strengthening intra-African partnerships, we reduce external dependencies and ensure economic decisions align with our long-term continental interests.
The AfDB will establish innovative incentive and guarantee structures specifically designed to attract homegrown capital, including private sector capital, into continental development projects.
What role would the AfDB under your leadership play in changing the negative perception of the continent as being responsible for the high cost of finance incurred by countries and organizations?
The “risk premium” for Africa in global markets significantly increases the cost of borrowing for African governments and businesses. This perception is not always based on economic realities and often fails to reflect Africa’s resilience, growth potential, and investment opportunities.
The AfDB will take deliberate action to change this narrative by becoming the continent’s go-to source for reliable data and analytics. We will invest in high-quality, real-time economic reporting, provide credit statistics that reflect Africa’s true investment potential, and develop risk assessment frameworks that give investors a more accurate picture of African markets. We will work to tell a better story about Africa—launching targeted campaigns showcasing Africa’s success stories.
By improving the continent’s perceptions through data, transparency, and strategic engagement, we can lower risk premiums and unlock new financial opportunities for Africa.
You have identified the creative industries as Africa’s lowest-hanging fruit for addressing youth unemployment. In the absence of requisite infrastructure to drive this sector, what role do you think institutions like the AfDB should play in this regard?
The creative industries offer a powerful avenue for youth employment, economic diversification, and Africa’s global influence. However, without proper infrastructure such as production studios, digital platforms, and intellectual property protection, the sector cannot reach its full potential.
The AfDB will take a leadership and partnership-driven role in financing creative industry infrastructure and will facilitate the development of creative hubs that connect talent with funding and technology, ensuring that African creators can scale their businesses and reach global markets.
Recently, African governments, in collaboration with the AfDB and the World Bank, launched The Mission 300, aimed at providing power for 300 million Africans. Critics say that in the last 20 years, the continent has had about five major power initiatives, yet the number of people lacking access to electricity remained unchanged. Why is this so, and what would the AfDB do differently under your leadership?
The persistent energy crisis in Africa is a result of inadequate financing, a lack of long-term sustainability, and fragmented approaches. While numerous projects have been launched, many have not reached their full impact due to inefficiencies and insufficient private sector engagement.
Under my leadership, the AfDB will do things differently by prioritizing large-scale, sustainable, and integrated energy solutions. First, we will accelerate regional power integration through interconnected grids and power pools, reducing costs and improving reliability. Second, we will focus on private sector participation, ensuring that energy projects are commercially viable and not solely reliant on government or MDB funding. Third, we will streamline project preparation and execution, cutting down on bureaucratic delays that have plagued past initiatives. And finally, by leveraging blended finance, risk mitigation mechanisms, and technological innovation such as mini-grids and off-grid renewable energy solutions, we will deliver tangible and lasting results.
Our goal is to deliver electricity access at scale, efficiently and sustainably.
How long do you think it would take for you to make a recognizable impact as President of the African Development Bank?
From day one, my leadership at the AfDB will focus on swift execution, institutional efficiency, and high-impact interventions.
Within the first year, we will see enhanced governance, faster project approvals/disbursements, and stronger financial partnerships. By year two, key initiatives such as expanded private sector engagement and improved trade financing mechanisms will be operational. By the end of my first term, Africa will have seen substantial improvements in energy access, trade integration, and youth employment.
I believe in accountability; I believe in clearly defining and measuring impact and results. This will be a through line across all of my work at the AfDB, as it has been across my entire career. However, lasting impact requires long-term commitment. This is not about one person, one institution, or one decade. I intend to work collaboratively to establish effective partnerships and models that will shape how we make development finance work for Africa for decades to come.
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