07/10/2025
The New Debate: Can Finance and Investment Serve Both Profit and Purpose?
In today’s economic landscape, a powerful tension is reshaping how we think about money, markets, and meaning.
Finance has long been designed to maximize returns to capital. Investment, on the other hand, is now being challenged to maximize value to society.
And that’s where the debate begins:
Can capital truly serve both shareholders and society, or does one always come at the expense of the other?
This is the defining question for Africa’s next decade of growth.
⚖️ The Old Paradigm vs. The Emerging Mindset
For generations, traditional finance taught us that profit must come first, that impact would eventually “trickle down.” But the world we live in now tells a different story. Inequality is rising, the climate clock is ticking, and critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and education remain undercapitalized.
The emerging school of thought, one that we at Value Galactica Limited deeply believe in, argues that impact is not an afterthought; it is also a growth strategy.
Why This Debate Matters for Kenya and Africa
Africa sits at a unique crossroads. The continent holds the world’s youngest population, immense natural resources, and a rapidly growing entrepreneurial base. Yet access to catalytic finance remains limited.
The problem is not just a lack of money, it’s a design failure in finance itself. Too often, capital is structured for short-term returns, not long-term transformation.
If Africa is to rise equitably, our financial models must evolve to reward patient, impact-driven capital, the kind that funds innovation, inclusion, and resilience.
đź’¬ What We Ought To Do
Redefine ROI. Move beyond Return on Investment to include Return on Impact, where financial yield and measurable outcomes coexist.
Innovate Financial Instruments. Encourage blended finance, green bonds, and impact funds that bridge private and public goals.
Educate Capital. Train financiers and investors in impact measurement, ESG integration, and development economics, not just corporate finance.
Localize Deal-Making. Empower African intermediaries, to structure deals that align global capital standards with local realities.
Institutionalize Accountability. Require investments to report not just what they earn, but what they enable.
The Future We Choose
The intersection between finance and investment is no longer about whether we can align profit and purpose, it’s about whether we choose to design systems that make doing good also make financial sense.