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Why Adesina Won the AfDB Presidency and What He Should Do First
00:17:40
The African Development Bank has just elected its new President, Akenwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Nigeria. My guest this week Bobby Pittman watched the multi-stage election process unfold in Abidjan. Pittman was a...
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- [00:07]
A
Hello and welcome to another edition of the CGD podcast with me, Rajesh Merchandani. Now, you may have seen the news recently about a key international election that took place in the glare of publicity. Not FIFA, but the African Development bank, whose 80 members just elected a new president. Well, my guest today is here to talk about that election. He was there witnessing it. He's Bobby Pittman, who runs Kupanda Capital, which focuses on Africa. And he was also a key advisor to President Bush on Africa. He's also a CGT board member. Bobby, if anyone is equipped to talk about this election, you are welcome.
- [00:41]
B
Thank you. Thank you. It's great to be here.
- [00:43]
A
Let's talk about the process first of all, because you were in Abidjan witnessing it and it was unusual in that every round of voting amongst the eight final candidates was, was open and publicized. That's quite unusual, isn't it?
- [00:57]
B
Yeah, I think it's very unusual for the MDB process. I was at treasury about 10 years ago going through the elections at the World bank and the Inter American Development Bank, Asian Development bank and African Development Bank. And I thought these elections were quite unique in the sense that the African Development Bank Twitter staff was tweeting out the results of each election before even some of the rumors hit the exterior room. So I found that to be quite impressive, although it made some of us less relevant in the Twittersphere as we wanted to try to scoop the news. So it was very exciting.
- [01:35]
A
So does that strike you as an organization that's quite forward looking?
- [01:40]
B
You know, I think, you know, it's always hard to say something organization wide, but I do think the African Development bank, the staff, the governors of the bank, really embraced the transparency of the process and I think really singled out not just the bank, but as the bank is representing, you know, all the governors are representing finance ministries from across Africa. Really separating Africa from other regions to run such a transparent process, to really embrace the transparency of. And I also think the candidates that came from across Africa really embraced the process. So I think it's more than noteworthy. It's quite exceptional and I imagine that it's going to put a lot of pressure on other institutions to do the same thing in the future.
- [02:29]
A
What do you think he brings that other candidates could not? What made him the winner?
- [02:35]
B
Well, I think one of the things you saw across the final candidates was the ability to speak in both French and English and actually do business in French and English. And I think that's really important across Africa and especially important for the leadership of the African Development Bank. It's a key piece of the culture and the identity of the bank. And I think the ability to easily and effectively work across both languages was very important for whomever was going to take the helm of the bank. I think the other thing that Minister Adesina brought was a track record of implementation and execution across various markets in Africa. And I think that was something very valued by the governors. You've obviously the bank has undergone a lot of transition, almost all of which has been positive. And I think when people worry about the future, they worry about the ability to execute across all these really exciting mandates that the bank is engaged in. And I think Minister Adesina was someone that brought a track record of implementation and execution across some very difficult mandates.
- [03:39]
A
These are points that he made himself when he was here at the Centre for global development in D.C. in April at a live event that we hosted where we had seven of the eight candidates for the presidency of the African Development Bank. And we gave them all 90 seconds to lay out a vision statement. So you picked up on some of the things that he mentioned. We'll pick up on some more of them in a second. But let's just revisit that vision statement back then in April from Dr. Adesina, who was then the candidate. Now, of course, the president present elect of the African Development Bank.
- [04:08]
C
First is it's very critical to have smart infrastructure, to have increased productivity and competitiveness for Africa. And second is the private sector is the engine of growth. Private sector for wealth creation, big thing for us in Africa, but in an inclusive manner. But also jobs for Africa's youth, jobs for Africa's women. Fourth is the issue of reviving Africa's rural areas for inclusive growth and finally to have regional integration for shared prosperity.
- [04:37]
A
That was Adenwumi Adesina, Nigeria's Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development and the incoming President of the African Development Bank. Speaking at a candidates panel here in Washington, D.C. in April, Bobby Pittman, he talked about priorities there and he listed them smarter infrastructure, private sector as the engine for growth, jobs for Africa's youth and women, and regional integration for shared prosperity. Give me your thoughts on those priorities.
- [05:04]
B
Well, I think what he's clearly doing in terms of his vision statement is a lot of what you're hearing from across the continent and the governors of the bank, which is, you know, President Kabirruka, when he took the helm of the bank in 2005, really focused the bank on the private sector, on infrastructure, on. On regional integration. And I think what Minister Adesina is now laying out is the 2.0 vision for those spaces. I mean, the bank's built a very strong platform in those areas and I think it raises a lot of questions about what's the next phase. And obviously the inclusiveness, the smartness of the infrastructure that's being built, the inclusiveness of the private sector, work that's being done, and also the engagement of youth as these pieces are happening and moving forward are all front and center on many Africans mind and many African governors. And I think Minister Adesina came into this election really wanting to lay out his view of how some of those things could be addressed because those priorities.
- [06:11]
A
Haven'T really changed much from the bank that he inherits. And so do you think there was no appetite for change or no need for change that the bank was on the right path under the previous president, Kabiruka?
- [06:24]
B
Yeah, I think in this case, in some ways maintaining the path is actually one of the more difficult strategies. It's so often the case that change is difficult. I think one of the unique things about the African Development bank versus the other regional banks and the World bank is its focus and focusing and allowing other players, like the Global Fund, for example, to go after HIV aids, which is something that's so important in Africa, but allowing others to lead in other spaces and African Development bank to focus. It's something that many other regional banks have failed to do. And by not focusing, you in a sense don't implement anything fully. And so I think that focus is one of the most difficult things to maintain. And I think Mr. Adicena made it clear that he did not desire to change that focus and he was going to do the difficult things to kind of take those elements to the the next phase of growth.
- [07:19]
A
What do you think are the difficult things that he has to accomplish?
- [07:22]
B
Well, I think for example, in private sector, I think when the private sector operations team was built, there was a lot of low hanging fruit in terms of facilitating and catalyzing in the space. I think as you look forward, it becomes more difficult because the to be catalytic, to be impactful. I think there's less low hanging fruit than there was 10 years ago. In the space you have more private sector activity than you did 10 years ago. And so I think for a development institution there's a lot of thought that needs to go into how to be the most catalytic and the most impactful with the limited capital you have in a space that's gotten quite big and is very successful. I mean, I think by most Most accounts.
- [08:11]
A
So does that suggest that we should expect lower growth rates then in terms of African economies? Because if the low hanging fruit in terms of private sector engine being the engine of growth has taken.
- [08:23]
B
Well, I think, I guess what I was saying is more that the private sector has taken over a lot of these elements which I think needed a development bank to stimulate. Ten years ago there was more activities for a development bank to come in and stimulate activity. Now that activity is quite robust. So as a development bank, I think you have to think a little more about how to use your capital which is supposed to be generating impact. But certainly it's because the private sector is growing quite actively across the continent. And I think it makes. It requires a little more precision and thinking in terms of how to use development dollars in the most impactful way. And I think, you know, just going back to the earlier points, I think Minister Adesina has faced this challenge in the ag sector in Nigeria, a sector that has undergone a lot of change and one where the government, I think wanted to implement some new creative things. And he brings a track record of being able to do that. And I think that's what many governors now hope he can bring to the next level at the African Development bank and across Africa.
- [09:31]
A
You mentioned his previous experience as a minister for agriculture. How relevant is that to this position? Because the African Development bank hasn't traditionally done much agriculture.
- [09:41]
B
Well, yeah, I mean, interestingly enough, the African Development bank was probably the largest player in agriculture in the 90s. And with the focus that came in in the last decade, one of the difficult things, I think for a lot of staff at the bank and a lot of governors was the African Development bank moving out of that space, which again is more infrastructure, more into infrastructure. And I think, I think the decision there was for the bank to focus on the infrastructure related to agriculture and let really strong institutions like EFAD do some of the other kind of more delicate operations on the agriculture space with I think a better focus and expertise and really collaborate with some of those other players, which I think the bank has done well. So I think in some, at first blush, I think some people were worried that you have somebody that's done a lot in agriculture coming to a bank that is. That is in some ways pivoted on some of the work in agriculture. But I think what I heard in the hallways was that people were very focused on not necessarily the minister's expertise in the sector, but really what the minister brought to that sector in Nigeria, which was a renewed thinking, creative thinking in terms of how to grow the agriculture sector, a use of innovative technology, which he's done a number of interesting things in the sector in terms of using interesting technology and how to incorporate people at the bottom of the pyramid. And I think those kinds of ideas are the things that people are really excited about and hopeful that the minister can take that to the broader sectors and more importantly, the sectors that the bank has as point of emphasis.
- [11:17]
A
Do you think that's why he won, those things you've outlined?
- [11:19]
B
I think those were certainly critical to why a lot of governors supported his candidacy.
- [11:26]
A
We were talking about the private sector earlier. Let's talk a bit more about this. Is there a focus on the private sector for the African Development bank and for the UN Financing for Development conference coming up in Addis? Is there a focus on the private sector? Because there's an acknowledgement that the political reality is that donors don't want to increase a. I think.
- [11:51]
B
I think of it more in a positive way. I mean, I think that what we've seen in the last decade, as we've seen significant increases to aid, the amounts of aid and I think the intelligence through which aid is actually rendered on the ground, I think we've also seen more democracy across Africa, more local voices being included in that debate. And then lastly, we've seen the private sector step up in a very meaningful way to deliver impact on the ground. And I think the combination of those factors really leads governments and policy leaders to say we really have to engage on this discussion on the private sector. We really have to make sure the limited aid dollars, even though they've grown, need to be used effectively to catalyze what is a larger impact that can come from the private sector, both in terms of amounts of dollars but also in terms of speed of delivery. I think one of the things that we've experienced in Africa, especially in the last decade, is watching the China model. And I think one of the things that a lot of us have learned from the China model is how important speed of execution is. And I think the Chinese and many Chinese firms in a lot of cases have. Have implemented things much faster than others of us. And I think many are looking for the models that can bring a speed of execution that's necessary to the desires of people on the ground who want to be impacted by better health care, better education, better infrastructure.
- [13:29]
A
You talked about aid dollars growing, but very few countries have reached the 0.7 commitment of the Millennium Challenge. America has not reached it. But I'm wondering if the reason that There is this focus on private sector is necessarily a good thing because many civil society organizations worry about the growing role of the private sector in development. What are your thoughts on that?
- [14:00]
B
Yeah, I think civil society organizations on the ground, as I've talked to them, just like people on the ground, I think they want to see impact and they want to see speed and impact, and I think they want to hold all players accountable, they want to hold their government accountable, they want to hold development partners accountable and they want to hold the private sector accountable. I think the good news in Africa is all of those players, I think have stepped up their game in the last decade. And with stepping up your game, you're going to be more the focus of the dialogue, to be held accountable for the actions and your behavior. And I think all of us fall under that spotlight. I think the good news is that there's real activity happening on the ground and a vibrant debate about what that activity should be and what should be important in terms of the priorities. But I don't see it as one over the other. I feel like all of them have really grown in terms of things that are happening and kind of excellence of execution, but all have a long way to go. And I think so that engagement with civil society groups has been quite important in terms of the evolution of all three prongs in terms of delivering for people on the ground.
- [15:18]
A
Let's get back to Dr. Adesina, President elect of the African Development Bank. Let's hope that he's watching this. What's your advice to him or what would you like to say to him? As you know, President Elect Adesina, these are your should be your priorities. What would you say to him?
- [15:36]
B
Well, I think he has a great opportunity now, between now and when he takes over in September, to spend time reflecting and talking to a lot of people out there. I mean, one thing I know I certainly have some very specific views and recommendations, but I know many others do well deals. You know, my recommendation is I think the focus of the bank has been part of the bank's real success. And I think building on that focus is really key to the success of what the institution has delivered.
- [16:10]
A
So the priorities that he's laid out infrastructure, private sector jobs.
- [16:14]
B
Absolutely, absolutely. But I think the other thing I would say is we clearly need to bring more people into the conversation. I mean, my advice to him would be it's important to bring in other voices into this conversation. And we still have a lot of people across Africa who don't feel like their voice is heard and don't feel like they're part of the conversation. And we need to bring them into the conversation. And so I think in the next few months, I hope he's going to spend time with other people who have different views than I do, listening to them and thinking about how their needs can be addressed within what is a great organization that is the African Development Bank.
- [16:51]
A
Okay. Bobby Pittman, it's been great to have you here. Thanks for jetting in from Abidjan back to D.C. i know you live here. Anyway, back to D.C. to give us your thoughts on the election of Dr. Adesina as the president of African Development Bank. Great to see you.
- [17:05]
B
Thank you. Thank you very much.
- [17:06]
A
Dr. Adesina, if you're watching, feel free to drop by and tell us your thoughts about what you plan to do. If you're watching or listening. Thank you very much for doing so. I'm Rajesh Merchandani. And don't forget to please check out our website, www.cgdev.org for more on all our work. And then join us again for another edition of the CGD PODC.
- [17:31]
B
SA.