Five people dey contest to become di next President of di African Development Bank (AfDB) for election wey go happen on Thursday during di bank annual meeting for Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Di AfDB wey get $318 billion capital don become very important for Africa development as di world dey face wahala for development finance, like di reduction of concessional funding, cut for aid wey rich countries dey give, and di high cost of borrowing.

Who dem be and wetin dem wan do?

Swazi Tshabalala Bajabulile Dis South African woman, wey be di only female candidate, na banker wey get 30 years experience. She bin dey as AfDB senior vice president until October. She talk say she wan change di bank structure to make am dey work better for infrastructure development. She believe say if Africa fit develop infrastructure well, e go help di continent tap into resources like minerals, finance, and trade. She also wan create new financial instruments to support di bank work.

Amadou Hott Dis man from Senegal, wey don work as economy minister and get banking experience from Lagos to London, talk say him plan na to make Africa dey financially independent. Him wan mobilize resources and design projects wey go keep private money for di continent. Hott talk say Africa need to increase revenue collection, as di tax to GDP ratio for di continent na 16%, compared to di OECD average of 34%. Him believe say dis go help reduce borrowing costs and provide money for things like power and infrastructure.

Samuel Munzele Maimbo Dis Zambian man, wey dey work as World Bank vice president, get 30 years experience for development finance. Him plan na to fix di financial system and make trade between African countries dey easier. Him talk say Africa dey trade only 15% of di products among di countries, and dis dey affect di value of di products. Maimbo wan make di continent work together on things like debt sustainability, revenue collection, and infrastructure development.

Sidi Ould Tah Dis Mauritanian man, wey don work as finance minister and adviser, don dey lead di Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa for di past 10 years. Him talk say di AfDB need to position itself as di driver of Africa economic independence. Him focus na to mobilize more capital, reform financial systems, support di informal sector wey dey employ 83% of Africans, and build climate-resilient infrastructure. Him believe say partnership with private sector and other institutions fit multiply di bank funds.

Abbas Mahamat Tolli Dis man from Chad don hold big financial positions for Central Africa. Him focus na to make Africa self-sufficient for agriculture and finance. Him wan improve governance to stop wasteful spending and manage resources better. Tolli talk say him life experience, like how him take survive civil war as pikin, dey give am better understanding of how to help di continent grow. Him wan overhaul di AfDB model by pooling risk, strengthening public-private partnerships, and digitizing finance.

Challenges for di new boss Di process to choose di new AfDB president dey happen at a time wey di bank dey face big challenges. Di United States government dey cut funding, and di global economy dey change. Five candidates from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, Chad, and Mauritania dey contest to replace di outgoing President Akinwumi Adesina from Nigeria, wey go step down for September after serving two five-year terms.

Di winner go need 50.01% of di votes from di 54 African member states and another vote from all 81 members, including non-African ones. Di result go come out on Thursday.

US funding cuts Di U.S. federal government dey plan to cut $555 million funding to di AfDB and di African Development Fund (ADF), wey dey provide low-cost financing to poor African countries. Hannah Ryder, wey be founder of Development Reimagined, talk say di new president go need to convince di U.S. to bring back di funding or find other ways to raise money, like asking African states to contribute more or getting support from countries like China or Saudi Arabia.

Di AfDB, wey be Africa biggest development finance institution, dey owned by 54 African states and G7 countries like di U.S. and Japan. Nigeria na di biggest shareholder. Di next round of replenishment for di ADF window go happen for November dis year.