Haven't blogged in quite some time, so it was both surprising and reassuring to re-read my post on the UK-Africa Investment Summit, in which I advocated for a whole-of-government approach to development and new era of UK-Africa partnerships.

It seems like the world got a whole lot more complex since then and aid has been all but forgotten - UK's ODA commitment slashed to a fraction of what it was, USAID unceremoniously dispatched. Africa has slipped off the priority list, overtaken by global events elsewhere. Aid as we know it is dead. So what now? Well, we're in a new era where different tools are needed and more creative approaches to international development are needed. In a recent meeting with an African Minister of Finance, he summed it up best "the old charity model is dead, we need to find our own ways of growing".

There are well designed and impactful infrastructure projects, there are growth strategies and plans to transform economies. But more often than not, these do not get financed - typically because fiscal space is so constrained that Governments cannot finance them alone. And on the other side, there are trillions of dollars in global capital, looking for investments in growth markets.

I quit my consulting role at the end of last year - it was a great job, comfortable and interesting, but I couldn't help but feel that there was something more and that there was a better way to spend my energy beyond simply managing large FCDO programmes. So I took a deep breath and cut the cord to follow a hunch. That hunch is that we have many of the tools and instruments in place to attract private finance that unlocks growth and transformation in African economies - we just need to figure out how to get the right projects out of strategy documents and nurture them into real investment pipelines.

So here's my new punt, based on this hunch - a bespoke effort, bringing together a unique set of skills and the right people to do the hard graft of piecing together structure from chaos. Using the suite of ingredients available and adding something extra to make them work together and taste better. Complemented by targeted analysis to solve key bankability issues. I don't know what this looks like in practice, by necessity it will vary from country to country and project to project, I don't know what business model underpins this endeavour - but I know that there is something there of value that if we can figure out together, will unlock the future.

I'll leave you with one final thought. Alongside the well established tastes of bitter, sweet, salty and sour - a fifth flavour was only recently recognised, the secret sauce that makes the other ingredients taste better - Umami. I'll be at AFSIC in London next week and the Sierra Leone Investment Forum that precedes it, revealing a bit more. If you're there and this little amuse-bouche has got you interested, then come find me - let's get cooking.

Find out more https://umami.works