Back in 2024, I launched Delve In Media and I wrote a blog post. It was about how the logo, colour, palette and design came together, and it started something like this.
In September, on a walk along a stretch of the river Wandle in southwest London, I was stopped in my tracks by a flash of metallic blue and a shimmer of orange. It was a rare sighting of the Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis. Catching even a fleeting glimpse of this shy little bird, with its distinctive piping call, always feels uplifting. It was particularly so that morning.
The kingfisher has always held special resonance. I was five when the brown-hooded Kingfisher, Halcyon albiventris, which is found in the woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, flew into the window of my family home and hurt its wing. It’s a small bird with a brown head, a bright orange beak, and wings splashed with turquoise and black. I don’t remember the exact details, or for how long, but we kept the kingfisher in a shoebox until it was ready to be set free.
The Brown-Hooded Kingfisher from sub-Saharan Africa is territorial
Human connections count
Spotting the kingfisher on the river that morning, brought the brand into sharp focus but I still wasn’t clear about my offering or strategy. Generative AI was shaking up all things content related, and the shake out would be fast. Some of the work I had relied on for half a decade was axed without warning.
Early 2025 was a little nerve-wracking. Some projects never materialised. I didn’t really have a strategy and wasn’t ready to commit to a fully functioning website.
Then everything changed, just like that, in a flash of kingfisher blue.
The first shift was that I was invited to ghostwrite a business strategy book for two people at the top of their game. I would interview the authors, research and write, an old connection would edit and project manage. The proposal we developed for their book was accepted by Harvard Business Publishing. Months of hard graft followed which involved a team effort; it was a huge privilege to work with, and learn from some of best people in that particular field.
I was deep in the weeds of that process when I had another call from someone I’d supported with content on two previous EU-Africa Business Forums. This time it was a bigger job. In 2021, the European Union had launched Global Gateway, its new strategy for international development, and in 2024 established the EU-Africa Business Forum Facility with the mid-sized consultancy Landell Mills. They were looking for a comms consultant to support the 2025 continental forum (AEBF2025), and I would also be responsible for the monthly bulletin and quarterly newsletter.
That call would change everything.
Under intense pressure, I found myself working with a bunch of extraordinary people––professional, talented, competent, creative and very, very funny. I also met and interviewed senior executives from across Europe and Africa who echoed what I already knew.
It was, however, the Namibian trade economist Paulina Elago who perhaps summarised it best. “Africa has no shortage of resources or opportunity,” she said, though more needed to be done to communicate that the risks are overblown. This would help more projects towards implementation. I asked her: “What needs to happen?” And her response was not just “communication, communication, communication,” but also implementation and better sharing of information on the right platforms.
Communication and colour
I’m not a technical or risk expert, nor do I implement projects. Until the AEBF2025, I hadn’t fully grasped the breadth of what strategic communications involves. B2B journalism, thought leadership, market reports, familiarity across multiple sectors, and some knowledge of African business were the skills and expertise I’d been hired for. Gathering information, writing, editing, proofreading, and extracting insights from senior executives – tick, tick, tick. Liaising and troubleshooting with the events logistics team pre- and post-event, overseeing all aspects of design, ensuring messaging aligned with EU policy direction, understanding institutional versus corporate comms – not so much.
Thanks to a scarily competent core team and, yes, using generative AI as a support tool when appropriate, I survived. Was it perfect? No. Could I do things differently next time? Of course. A good communications strategy is a process of evolution and continuous improvement. It also demands that you listen, learn and stay curious. And that means understanding not just the competitive landscape but also the role of all relevant stakeholders – policy, business and finance.
In the multitasking madness before and during the event, there was one comment from one of those experienced colleagues that struck a chord.
“Ignore the noise, focus on what matters, and just do what you do well.” His advice stuck.
Ignore the noise, focus on what matters, and just do what you do well
In the months that followed AEBF2025, the clouds parted. I didn’t need to change my Delve In design or the brand. Teal is still my signature colour. Orange still makes me think of Africa, its sunsets, burnt sand, flamboyant trees and red-hot pokers, those tall, exotic flowering perennials that are native to the continent. The kingfisher is still my favourite bird.
A view from the Fortress of São Miguel, Luanda, Angola
Cosmoplitan but diverse
The kingfisher is a diverse crowd. Found across Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, there are three sub-families and more than a hundred species. Not all are splashed with the signature blue. Some migrate, others are territorial species and deeply rooted in place. They can remain loyal to a particular stretch of riverbank, lakeshore or woodland.
Take the brown-hooded kingfisher from the territory of my childhood: if there is enough food and water about, something we should all care about, it will stay put. If food is scarce, it might move neighbourhood, but it has no interest in long-distance migrations. Sub-Saharan Africa is a pretty good place to nest.
Other kingfishers, like the Common one I've chosen for my branding, might migrate to escape the harsh and bitter winters of Russia, Scandinavia or the Baltic States. Where it's milder, in London for example, they might stick around; much depends on climate and food availability.
The kingfisher offers an apt metaphor for my business. I chose the Common Kingfisher because it is cosmopolitan, found at different times of the year in many parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
Like the kingfisher, policymakers, businesses and investors must adapt to their changing and increasingly unpredictable environment. They must balance global reach with local resilience. They must think carefully about how to protect their bend in the river or neck of the woods in order to protect their livelihoods. They must question whether to stay local and build, or fly off elsewhere to ride out the economic winter, perhaps where the sun shines for much of the year.
The Belted Kingfisher is a grey migratory bird
Keeping it personal
Naming something is tricky, whether it’s your child, a character in a novel, a business or a bird – aside from its Latin name, the Common Kingfisher is also the Eurasian Kingfisher, the European Kingfisher or the River Kingfisher. Delve was my late mother’s middle name and though using that may seem sentimental, it also felt right. While the kingfisher dives for food, I like to delve into issues. Since my territory covers everything from renewable energy to insurance and healthcare, travel and tech, audiovisual and art, I could also go in any direction. It could be Delve In Anything.
The reality, however, is that in 2024, Delve In Media was, bar a few trusted contributors, Pamela Whitby. A few months after launching, I was asked to speak at one of the first Women Lift Women networking events of women in finance. The fouder of WLW, an the 'original' connection (an old school friend) was doing me a favour. At that event, and at many gatherings since, I have been asked: how many people do you employ; who are your clients; are you looking for private equity; do you want to grow it to sell it on? What does Delve In Media do?
The truth is, I didn't really know. I wasn't clear. Until now.
First off, I've decided to keep it all personal. I’m re-launching my personal website with Delve In as an editorial, research led framework. Delve In Media will be the place I share my commentary including from selected contributors. Creative pursuits will carry on in the background.
My my unique selling proposition offering will continue to evolve but as far as is possible, I will:
- Extract and distril executive, expert-led insight whether it a CEO, CFO or COO, a scientist or professor, founder or fund manager, project owner, project developer or project user.
- Establish the competition and competitive landscape.
- Conduct the research, using artificial intelligence wisely and responsibly.
- Verify sources and assess relevant data.
- Plug gaps in expertise when needed. Nurture people of all ages.
- Be flexible and adaptable.
The world is helter skelter. Supply chains are threatened. Artificial intelligence can be an axe or an arrow. The tech bros are the new oligarchs. Geopolitics is reshaping international relationships. Against this backdrop I want to delve into the projects and innovations, and hear from companies and people, that are aiming for impact – whether it's providing rural renewable electricity or fertilizer from banana skins, building a factory for local vaccine manunfacture or developing a long-term capital intensive transport corridor that promises skills upliftment and real jobs. The cost of living is everybody's crisis.
My focus will be on how development becomes investable, and delivers long-term sustainable returns but with this caveat: not just for business and investors but the ecosystems, the environment, the earth, and its inhabitants.