Investors are after making a profit

Editor, This is in reference to the story “Africa cautioned on ‘greedy’ investors” published May 22.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Editor,

This is in reference to the story "Africa cautioned on ‘greedy’ investors” published May 22.

I agree with (almost) every word in this article. Investors build businesses, create jobs, increase human capacity, and contribute to both tax revenues and creation of a middle class.

Generally speaking, investors invest their capital to make profit, not to achieve "development”. We can call it "greed” or whatever we like, but the ultimate result is, in fact, economic development.

Investors and entrepreneurs have great energy and creativity that should be attracted and harnessed (i.e., properly regulated) for the development of Rwanda.

Just as Rwanda is not interested in the "good intentions” of a little (but ineffective) NGO, neither is the motivation or "greed” of the investor the real question.

Instead, it is all about impact and achieving regulated economic development through building businesses, creating jobs, building up a middle class, and establishing a more solid tax base.

Tom Allen, Rwanda