The African Trade and Investment Council endorses Swazi Tshabalala as historic AfDB presidential candidate

By AMira Ahmed:

 African Trade and Investment Council (ATIC) has joined South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in its formal endorsement of Ms. Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala as a candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

ATIC, a Pan-African organisation committed to catalysing economic transformation through trade, finance, investment and advocacy, believes that Ms. Tshabalala is uniquely placed to guide AfDB through the complex challenges of the current era. Of all the candidates who are vying for the presidency, she is the only one who has guided an international, multilateral institution through an unprecedented crisis.

Ms. Mandisa Booi, the CEO of ATIC, said aside from Ms. Tshabalala’s decades-long track record in finance, governance, and infrastructure development, her appointment represents a historic opportunity for the Bank.

“Swazi Tshabalala is a seasoned executive with global and continental expertise and a staunch advocate for gender inclusion, climate finance, and regional integration. Her initiatives have mobilised billions for critical infrastructure, energy access, and smallholder farmers. She has also redefined institutional integrity at AfDB by driving transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency,” Ms. Booi said.

Ms. Booi noted that Ms. Tshabalala brings with her nearly 30 years of experience in treasury, capital markets, and financial leadership. Furthermore, she has served with distinction as Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the AfDB since 2018, and as Acting Senior Vice President during the COVID19 crisis, where her leadership helped to ensure the rollout of a $10 billion programme to support African countries through the health and economic crises that resulted from the pandemic. Her permanent appointment as Senior Vice President in 2021 placed her at the heart of the Bank’s financial strategy, where she oversaw the launch of major green and social bond programmes, expanded SME access to finance, and strengthened the Bank’s governance systems, Ms. Booi said.

ATIC expressed its support for Ms. Tshabalala’s bold, future-focused LIFT Africa agenda: a strategy anchored in Large-scale Infrastructure as the foundation for growth, Financial Innovation and private sector development, and the Transformation of the African Development Bank (AfDB) into a high-performance institution.

Ms. Tshabalala articulates a compelling response to the critical challenges that confront our continent. Her bold strategy to cut project approval and processing times by 50%, while accelerating disbursements, speaks directly to the need for urgency and delivery in our development financing systems. Her candidacy represents the promise of transformation with a call to action, rooted in integrity, excellence, and a deep understanding of the structural levers that must be activated to advance Africa’s development agenda. Her strategy is the impact our continent requires.

ATIC supports Ms. Tshabalala for her technical and strategic competence; she embodies the values of integrity, inclusion, and progress. Her candidacy is a statement that African leadership can be transformative, principled, and globally respected.

Ms. Tshabalala’s candidacy comes as the continent enters an era of unprecedented challenges. However, thanks to her leadership, ATIC believes we also face the promise of innovations such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which she helped to bring to fruition as a senior leader of AfDB.

It is also noteworthy that Ms. Tshabalala is the only woman to have been nominated for this distinguished position in the AfDB’s 61-year history. The AfDB Board of Governors has an opportunity to make a historic appointment that will accelerate gender equality and thereby broader development indicators within its operations in 41 African countries and beyond.

“We urge African stakeholders, governments, private-sector leaders, civil society, and International development partners, to rally behind Ms. Tshabalala’s candidacy. Her vision aligns seamlessly with the African Development Bank’s strategic priorities and offers a clear path forward to accelerate inclusive growth and regional integration,” Ms. Booi said.

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