In July 2026, the demand for development consultants hit the highest number on record, with 2,403 consultancy assignments published in our tender database. This represents an 8% increase compared to last month and is the highest number of opportunities for development freelancers since we started this monthly analysis in November 2025.
This growth in demand was greatly driven by nonprofit organizations, which funded 33% more contracts for experts during this month. But the stronger procurement was distributed unevenly across continents and sectors.
In this article, we explore the regions with the most opportunities, the sectors in higher demand, and other relevant intelligence data that will help you adjust your “one-person” business strategy.
Table I – Five consultancies published during July 2026.
How is the demand for development consultants evolving?
Since 2025, we have published nine exclusive consultancy trend articles (including this one!), based on the expert contracts available at DevelopmentAid — the largest database in international development.
Insight #1: Asia hosts 48% of the individual consultancies
In July, most of the new consulting opportunities for development experts — 48% to be exact — were located in Asia. Africa and Latin America followed, hosting 25% and 13% of the assignments, respectively. However, while Asia-based consultancies increased during the past month, Africa and Latin America suffered a slight drop in availability.
Europe is also worth highlight. Despite only representing 9% of the opportunities, the procurement for development freelancers rose by 24% in the Old Continent— the highest geographical growth of the month.
Table II – Number of individual consultant opportunities published in July 2026, per continent.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in June 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be based on multiple continents.
Insight #2: The procurement for consulting and non-consulting services increases
Consulting services were targeted by 98% of the calls for freelancers published in the analyzed timeframe. This figure saw a 9% growth compared to June 2026. Non-consulting services (e.g., cleaning services) were also in higher demand, but continue to represent a small percentage of the roles available.
Table III – Number of individual consultant opportunities published in July 2026, per need category.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in June 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can span over more than one category.
Insight #3: Education & Training is the sector in highest demand
For the first time in eight months, since November 2025, Environment was dethroned as the sector in highest demand. That position is now occupied by Education & Training, which had 441 consultancies published during July 2026 — 18% of the total. The second and third places in our sector ranking are taken by Environment and IT & Engineering, with 414 and 375 calls for individual consultants, respectively.
Marketing & Communication also ranks high in our list due to the 262 freelance roles available, and since demand in this sector rose by 28% during July, we recommend you keep it on your watchlist. Similarly, the number of health-related opportunities increased by 32% in July, reaching 192 expert roles available. So, add Health to your “watchlist” as well.
Table IV – Number of individual consultant opportunities published in July 2026, per sector.
Only the 3 sectors with the most published consultancies are displayed. This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in June 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be classified into more than one sector.
Insight #4: Transportation falls back to the bottom 3 sectors
In July 2026, Transportation fell back to the bottom three sectors. However, this is a direct result of the extraordinary surge in demand for project management experts — which increased 105% over the past month and moved the sector up in the ranking — rather than a decline in transportation-related opportunities. In fact, July registered 68 new transportation consultancy calls — 10% more than in June 2026.
As usual, Nonprofit and Fundraising & Grants complete the podium of sectors with the least demand for individual consultants.
Table V – Number of individual consultant opportunities published in July 2026, per sector.
Only the 3 sectors with the least published consultancies are displayed. This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in June 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be classified into more than one sector.
Insight #5: Nonprofit organizations fund 33% more expert contracts
Nonprofit organizations reinforced their role as the leading funding source for development freelancers, financially supporting 33% more consultancies than in June 2026. The Asian Development Bank rose to second place by providing funds for 391 expert assignments — a number 14% higher than last month. In the opposite direction, the United Nations reduced the number of financed consultants, falling to third place in this ranking.
The World Bank and the International Labour Organization remain in the same positions, compared to our last analysis in June 2026.
Table VI – Top 5 funding agencies with the largest number of consultant opportunities published in July 2026.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in June 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database.
Intelligence can be your strategic advantage
In such a competitive market as international development, relying on your expertise alone to secure consultancy contracts is not enough. We have seen senior consultants with over a decade of experience struggling to secure assignments for months.
Staying well informed about procurement trends can make a difference.
- Which regions are receiving increased funding?
- How have sector priorities evolved over time?
The answers to these and other questions can help freelancers to better allocate their application efforts.