Welcome to our first ‘new look’ newsletter, a focus on the workforce and leadership across African organisations – because it’s what we are focused on every day. We hope you find the articles and videos useful and do let us know if there is anything you would particularly like to see us cover in the future. In the meantime, here are some of the trends we are seeing right now:

• The availability of relevant experience still remains a challenge, and continuing global uncertainty is causing candidates within well-performing businesses to be even more resistant when considering other opportunities.
• FX challenges, whilst not as acute, have continued to drive the need to identify local talent and pay in local currency. Clients offering remuneration in USD or pegging to the USD to attract the best is still popular and this demand is also being driven by candidates seeking roles.
• Investment remains challenging for organisations with the ever-important requirement to demonstrate impact (eg diversity, financial inclusion, education, food poverty).  Whilst there remains a number of NGOs and Private Foundations providing funding, the recent policy directive around USAID will be of interest in terms of consequences.
• Drive for gender balance within senior roles continues to be important, and we are delivering short lists reflecting this demand – our current placement rate 30:70 female: male.
• People not necessarily having to be physically present in a client’s location is a constant factor, and the incidents of clients using Employer Of Record in the workers’ location is rising.
• The demand for independent Non-Executive Directors continues to increase; Executives in Africa is being engaged to complete comprehensive, but more importantly independent selection processes.
• Financial services continues to be a buoyant sector both within the large pan-African Banks together with the financial service technology sector.
• At a recent African technology investment conference, we observed an overwhelming presence of payment technology companies (60% of delegates). This reflects a global shift, particularly pronounced in emerging markets, where traditional payment methods are being replaced with innovative fintech solutions and cryptocurrency platforms. New regulations in countries like Nigeria and South Africa are facilitating this transformation, making digital payments more accessible.

February 2025

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