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1. Introduction
There has been increased the optimism about economic growth in much of the African continent (Perry, 2012); yet, hopes have also been tempered by concerns (Manson, 2015; Mbele, 2016). Running in parallel to this narrative has been a growing momentum around the potential of impact investment to contribute to societal development and environmental sustainability (Bugg-Levine and Emerson, 2011; Global Impact Investing Network, 2017). Impact investment can play a unique role in Africa (Giamporcaro and Dhlamini, 2016) because of the broad range of societal needs and the potential for innovative solutions on the continent. The ecosystems for impact investment are not widespread and are the strongest in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria (GIIN and Open Capital Advisors, 2015, 2016). An understanding of the recent experience of impact investment in South Africa may assist in the broader implementation of this relatively new investment type.
The study is focussed on how impact investors manage the tensions between the need for financial return and the desire to have a positive social impact. This study contributes empirical evidence to help support effective impact investment. It is positioned within debates on hybrid organising and paradox theory. This is an important line of theory development. In the past five years, a number of proposed approaches to managing organisational tensions have been developed (Pache and Santos, 2013; Battilana and Lee, 2014). Some of these approaches have been based on the work on paradox theory as a lens to interpret such tensions (Jay, 2013; Luscher and Lewis, 2008; Smith and Lewis, 2011; Kannothra, Manning and Haigh, 2018). Smith and Lewis (2011) identify paradox as a tension of interrelated elements that persists over time and cannot be easily resolved. There are important gaps in the literature as to how tensions are managed in emerging market contexts and, specifically, how paradox theory is useful in different contexts. Studies in the African context are also, particularly, valuable as new forms of hybrid organising are expected at the business���society interface (Barnard, Cuervo-Cazurra and Manning, 2017).
The experience of impact investors is examined through the lived experience of 15 impact investment professionals in the South African context. There was disagreement among interviewees as to whether the relationship between financial returns and impact leads to inherent real...