On April 8, 2025, the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced the cancellation of a $84,059 grant intended to support a business incubator for spa and wellness entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This funding was initially approved by the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), an agency dedicated to investing in grassroots African enterprises and social entrepreneurs. The USADF operates in 21 African countries and has made investments across 40 nations, aiming to promote economic growth and empowerment.
In a statement released on Monday, DOGE confirmed the termination of the grant, which was part of their broader mission to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. Over the past five years, the USADF has invested $117 million into more than 1,000 African SMEs, entrepreneurs, and organizations, impacting over 7 million lives.
In addition to the funding changes, DOGE also highlighted reforms in the U.S. Foreign Service, particularly under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio ended the previous administration’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria in Foreign Service evaluations, which had previously assessed diplomats on whether they avoided “gendered adjectives” and pushed for racial and gender justice in their work. The new policy restores a focus on merit-based evaluations for Foreign Service Officers, with Rubio calling these reforms “important and historic,” emphasizing that diplomats will now be evaluated based on their abilities rather than on immutable characteristics.
