Africa, like all regions, saw significant development job cuts in 2025. According to Devex’s job board data, opportunities are down 33% in the region.
This includes full-time staff positions — down 30% — and long-term consulting assignments, which have dropped by 48%, as well as field assignments and short-term gigs.
Funding cuts are the biggest external factor impacting the development job market in Africa this year, according to Adebayo Olowo-Ake, director and principal research fellow at the African Resource Development Centre based in Lagos, Nigeria. These cuts started back in 2024, he wrote in an email to Devex, but were intensified with the decision by the United States to significantly decrease USAID operations.