Reflecting on 2025: insights and learning in the development sector

The year 2025 was a challenging year for the development sector due to mounting political instability and socio-economic and environmental shocks that led to massive changes in funding architecture globally. The year started with the US government issuing a ‘pause’ order to all development assistance, which triggered changes in the funding ecosystem, prompting several other countries to follow suit. It added so much hue and cry to an already fragile development funding. However, on the bright side, a few philanthropists went out of their way to support the most affected persons, and more resilient and adaptive funding is arising. Here are a few noteworthy insights and takeaways for me: