Having capital is no longer advantageous but its velocity is

Every finance director knows there’s a moment they recognise but seldom admit. A wire transfer clears before the organisation decides what to do next.

The money arrives, sits, and waits for permission while opportunity costs rise by the hour. We built entire systems based on the idea that capital moved slowly enough for committees to keep up.

That world ended quietly somewhere between mobile money and algorithmic trading. Most organisations still act like it hasn’t.  

A textile manufacturer in Nairobi gets payment from a European buyer on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday, competitors in Bangladesh have already reinvested similar funds into raw materials, secured better pricing and locked in the next production cycle.

The Nairobi firm waits for Friday’s finance meeting, then Monday’s procurement approval, and another round of bank processing.

By the time the money moves, the market has already moved on. This isn’t just about being efficient; it’s about survival at the speed of relevance.  

This week’s signal  

Capital is moving faster than governance, policy, and leadership decision cycles. Something fundamental is breaking, money moves in milliseconds, and decisions move on calendars. That gap is not closing; it is widening.  

Every delay leaks value; a government ministry may approve infrastructure funding in the second quarter and disburse it in the fourth, then wonder why contractors inflate prices or disappear. The money sat still long enough to lose purchasing power and credibility. Stagnant water breeds problems, and stagnant capital breeds worse ones.  

Inside organisations, the same pattern appears in receivables. Revenue booked but not collected looks healthy on paper while quietly starving the system. Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) exposes the truth.

In most industries, DSO should be under forty-five days and closely match agreed payment terms. When it drifts far beyond that, capital stops circulating. The business borrows to fund work it has already completed and pays interest on its own money. That isn’t discipline; it is asset mismanagement.  

When cash gets trapped, the consequences appear quickly. Employees wait months for reimbursements. Vendors extend payment terms to 90 days to account for your delay.

Innovation budgets quietly disappear. High performers start looking for other jobs, not because the salary is wrong, but because slow money signals slow thinking. They are not chasing pay; they are chasing momentum.  

The organisations that get ahead share one habit. They separate decision rights from decision timing.

A regional bank in East Africa moved loan approvals from weekly credit committees to real-time assessments supported by AI, with human review completed within hours.

Default rates fell, and faster decisions reached customers when the need was real, not when desperation set in. Capital kept moving, and risk fell because the flow improved.  

What it means for business  

Having capital is no longer an advantage; velocity is. A company with Sh200 million in reserves will lose to one with Sh50 million and weekly investment reviews instead of quarterly ones. Look at procurement.

Requiring multiple signatures for minor expenses is not prudent; it is a quiet talent drain.

The control you think you are preserving often costs more than the fraud you fear.  

Markets do not wait for approval chains. If your money needs weeks of permission to move, you are not you are creating risk.  

What it means for Policy  

Economies now compete on capital velocity, not just access. Investors choose markets where business registration takes days, not weeks, where tax refunds arrive on time, and where permits do not depend on personal connections.  

Regulatory friction no longer protects local industry; it protects inefficiency while mobile capital flows elsewhere. The question is not whether to regulate; it is whether regulation moves at the speed of the economy it governs.

When money crosses borders in seconds but permissions take months, the system backs up without producing value.  

What it means for people  

Retention now depends on how quickly employers turn intent into action.

Employees leave stable roles because watching decisions crawl through the hierarchy feels like drowning in slow motion. Teams notice how money moves toward stated priorities.

Training budgets that take six months to approve speak louder than any mission statement. Delayed salary reviews create exits, not engagement.  

Afterthought  

Water finds the path of least resistance, so does capital, and so do employees.  

Organisations and leaders that thrive now are not those with the most resources. They are the ones where resources flow toward value instead of gathering in approval queues.

You can have all the money in the world, but if it moves like a glacier while competitors move like rivers, the outcome is the same.  

So ask yourself this honestly: where in your organisation is money waiting for permission to move? “Decisions happen on the radar screen, but the future is yours.”

-The writer is a human-centred strategist and leadership columnist.