Richard Putley Co-Founder and CEO, Executives in Africa
As we reach the midpoint of 2026, it is fair to say that the last 18 months have been shaped less by Africa-specific fundamentals and more by global geopolitical uncertainty.
Throughout 2025, markets across Africa were heavily influenced by developments originating outside the continent. The return of Donald Trump to the US political stage, the escalation of tariff tensions beginning in March 2025 and the resulting uncertainty across global markets all contributed to a slowdown in inward investment into Africa. Investors adopted a more cautious stance, delaying expansion plans and reassessing risk exposure.
At the same time, European governments came under increasing pressure to increase NATO defence spending commitments. This led to a noticeable reallocation of capital away from overseas development and impact funding towards domestic military expenditure and defence support. Combined with significant US dollar fluctuations and the rapid withdrawal of US overseas aid programmes across Africa, many organisations found themselves operating in an environment where long-term planning became increasingly difficult.
Across the executive search market, we saw clients delay hiring decisions, expansion projects pause and candidates become more cautious about making career moves during a period of significant uncertainty.
However, as we entered 2026, things shifted markedly. There was a growing sense that businesses had adapted to a “new normal.” Organisations that had postponed investment decisions during 2025 began reactivating projects, while candidates who had delayed career moves started returning to the market. The mood across many sectors was noticeably more optimistic, and the first weeks of 2026 delivered a strong increase in both hiring activity and candidate engagement. Importantly, much of this recruitment activity was not simply expansion-driven. Many organisations were also reassessing the structure of their teams to ensure they had the right leadership and operational capability for current market conditions, rather than those that existed prior to 2025.
Resilience despite global volatility!
The early part of 2026, therefore, felt extremely positive; however, geopolitical events intervened once again. By late February, the escalation of conflict between Israel and Iran reintroduced another wave of uncertainty into global markets. Once again, hiring processes slowed, investment decisions were delayed, and many businesses moved into a holding pattern while assessing the broader implications. We experienced this directly with one client that had recently relocated operations from a geopolitically unstable African market into the Middle East. Having begun a significant recruitment programme at the start of 2026, all hiring activity was subsequently paused as regional tensions escalated. This period of uncertainty, combined with Ramadan and the Easter holiday period, resulted in a notably quieter March and early April across much of the market.
Since then, however, confidence has returned quickly. The consistent messaging from global political leaders that wider escalation would be avoided, combined with a growing acceptance that volatility is now simply part of the operating environment, has encouraged businesses to resume decision-making. We are now seeing a significant increase in new assignments, renewed expansion plans and a much more active candidate market. For employers, candidate availability is currently stronger than at any point in the last 18 months. Many senior professionals who previously chose stability over movement are now willing to explore new opportunities. This makes it an excellent time for organisations to strengthen leadership teams, support expansion plans or right-size existing structures.
For candidates, the market is also improving materially. Opportunities are increasing across multiple sectors and geographies, and businesses are once again willing to engage with high-calibre talent. There is, of course, still a degree of caution beneath the surface. Some may describe the current rebound as a potential “dead cat bounce”: a temporary recovery driven by improving sentiment rather than long-term structural certainty. That said, assuming no major geopolitical disruption emerges during the second half of 2026, the outlook for recruitment activity across Africa appears considerably more positive than many anticipated at the beginning of the year.
In summary, the African executive search market has proven remarkably resilient through an extended period of global volatility.
June 2026
