Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina is the President of the African Development Bank Group.

He was elected in 2015, and soon launched a bold strategy to called the High 5s.  : to Light Up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Integrate Africa; Industrialize Africa; and Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa. The High 5s have already impacted the lives of more than 400 million Africans. 

In 2018 he launched the Africa Investment Forum (AIF).  It has attracted to $180 billion worth of investments as Africa’s premier investment marketplace.

 In 2019, he led the African Development Bank to achieve its highest capital increase since the Bank’s establishment in 1964, raising it from $93 billion à $208 billion.

 In 2020, Dr. Adesina was re-elected for a second term as President and led the Bank through the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023 he convened the Feed Africa Summit with the Senegalese President which mobilized $72 billion for tackling food insecurity in Africa.

 Dr Adesina holds a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), in Nigeria. He

holds a Master’s degree and a PhD from Purdue University, USA.

 He has also been awarded several Honorary degrees from international universities  and received the highest national honors of nine African countries, including his country Nigeria who made him a Commander of the Order of the Niger.

Dr. Adesina has received many distinctions and global awards. He’s a former Forbes African Person of the Year and in 2017 Purdue University, decorated him with  the Order of the Griffin, an honor given only to 50 persons since 1893, while the World Food Prize Foundation awarded him the World Food Prize,  known as the “Nobel Prize for Agriculture”.

Dr. Adesina was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture from 2011-2015. Prior to that

he was the Vice President (Policy and Partnerships) of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Previously he served as an Associate and Regional Director for the Rockefeller Foundation.

 In 2023 he was awarded the Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Prize for outstanding leadership.