For the global development community, 2022 signaled a change in trajectory. Two decades of rising global solidarity and funding had long since changed what was once depicted as a much smaller, even provincial sector of peaceniks and sandal-wearing civil engineers. Global development had become a juggernaut, written about on the front page, discussed at convenings of world leaders, and a topic for corporate boardrooms.
This didn’t just drive global development to become a sector with annual spending well above $200 billion (around what the world spends on iPhones every year). It also created a heady culture — a sense that anything is possible when the right mix of forward-thinking philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and government officials come together.
That golden period may be behind us, and we may be on the cusp of a new era — or rather, a reversal to an era we thought we'd left behind.
About the author
Raj Kumarraj_devex
Raj Kumar is the President and Editor-in-Chief at Devex, the media platform for the global development community. He is a media leader and former humanitarian council chair for the World Economic Forum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries, where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community. He is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.
