Across Africa, finance leaders are discovering that sustainability extends far beyond climate metrics or compliance frameworks. Today, it is increasingly defined by people: how they are led, developed and retained amid the challenges of rapid technological change, demographic shifts and intensifying global competition for skills.
This reality was brought into sharp focus at a panel discussion at the recent ACCA Africa Members Convention in Mombasa, Kenya, on championing a sustainable workforce. Speakers at the event challenged organisations to look beyond sustainability reporting and focus instead on how their staff experience work.
‘Sustainability is more than policy or technology – it lives in culture’
People first
Japheth Katto FCCA, board member at the Bank of Uganda, framed workforce sustainability as a fundamentally human issue rather than a technical one. Without engaged, supported and continuously developed employees, he argued, no strategy, financial or otherwise, can succeed. He cited a well-known observation attributed to Richard Branson: ‘Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.’
If sustainability begins with people, it inevitably reshapes how business success itself is defined and poses a major test for financial leadership. Emmanuel Wakili FCCA, executive director and regional CFO/COO for Southern Africa at Ecobank, said: ‘Investors no longer just ask how much profit you made. They want to know how you made it, your governance, your compliance, your sustainability story.’
These expectations are being reinforced by regulators, boards and wider society. Finance leaders now operate in an environment shaped by constant trade-offs: growth vs risk, sustainability vs profitability, and technological advance vs its human impact. ‘We are no longer managing simple strategies,’ Wakili said. ‘We are managing a paradox.’
Culture
It is an environment in which finance professionals are becoming stewards not only of financial capital, but of human, social and environmental value too. They are now responsible for ensuring that performance is achieved ethically, inclusively and sustainably.
‘Sustainability is more than policy or technology; it lives in culture,’ Wakili added. ‘Culture is how decisions are made when no one is watching.’
‘The problem isn’t hybrid work, it’s ambiguity’
In large, multinational organisations like Ecobank, culture cannot be left to chance. Wakili described how the bank embeds its values of respect, accountability, customer-centricity, efficiency, integrity and time-bound delivery through a clearly defined framework reinforced by performance evaluations and reward systems.
Values only matter, he argued, if they translate into how people work together every day. Clear communication, well-defined roles and trust within teams turn culture into execution. When people understand where decisions sit and how they are expected to contribute, and feel safe to speak up, collaboration improves and performance follows.
Workplace
Nowhere is culture in practice tested more visibly than in how work itself is organised. Hybrid work, once unthinkable in many professional services firms, is now firmly established in many.
For Kantu Hachongo-Chirwa FCCA, sustainability leader at EY Zambia, the real issue is not flexibility, but clarity. ‘The problem isn’t hybrid work,’ she explained. ‘It’s ambiguity. People need to know what productivity actually means.’
She advised organisations to move away from time-based metrics in favour of outcome-based performance. Hours logged are less important than quality delivered, impact achieved and clients served, she said.
She also stressed the growing importance of mental wellbeing, particularly for younger professionals. ‘If you ignore mental health, people will leave. And replacing talent is far more expensive than retaining it.’ She added that hybrid work, side hustles and flexible schedules are not necessarily threats but signals that employees are seeking trust, purpose and autonomy.
‘People leave because of development and opportunity gaps, not just salaries’
Battle for talent
While Africa’s youthful population is often cited as a competitive advantage – by 2050, the continent is forecast to supply up to 60% of the global workforce – panellists cautioned against complacency. A growing workforce does not automatically translate into greater productivity or resilience, and many organisations are struggling to retain talent.
‘We are competing in a global labour market,’ said Rukaiya El-Rufai FCCA, special adviser to Nigeria’s President on the National Economic Council and Climate Change. ‘People leave because of development gaps and opportunity gaps, not just salaries.’
Rather than resist mobility, businesses should invest aggressively in human capital, she advised, building diaspora networks and treating talent movement as circulation rather than loss. ‘People come back. What matters is staying connected, building skills at scale and making Africa competitive in the long term.’
‘Inclusive leadership is how we close the trust gap’
Trust
Culture, productivity and talent investment cannot be sustained without trust, particularly in diverse, multigenerational organisations. For Fredrick Riaga, CEO of the African Association of Accountants General (AAAG), diversity is not a compliance exercise; it is Africa’s greatest strategic asset. ‘Africa is the most diverse organisation in the world,’ he said. ‘And 70% of its population is under the age of 30.’
He emphasised the importance of multigenerational leadership that combines youthful innovation with institutional memory. ‘There is a trust deficit, between generations, between institutions and citizens,’ he said. ‘Inclusive leadership is how we close that gap.’
While employers may still draw from large talent pools, they must now earn loyalty. That requires clear career paths, strong mentorship, inclusive cultures and leadership that leads by example. ‘Businesses that will win,’ Wakili said, ‘are not just those with the strongest strategies but those with the strongest cultures.’
For finance professionals, the message is clear. Sustainability is a leadership challenge, rooted in how organisations value people, build trust and align purpose with performance. In Africa’s increasingly competitive talent market, the organisations that endure will not simply be those with the best strategies or technologies, but those that create workplaces where people can thrive.
More information
Read the first article in our 2025 Africa Members Convention coverage, ‘Scrutiny-proof sustainability’
