Access to financial services plays a vital role in the development of every economy. However, there are an estimated 2.7 billion people worldwide with no access to formal financial services. Poverty is caused by many factors to include limited access to credit. Microfinance is banking for the poor. It signifies the provision of financial services to the poor to enable them to operate their own productive activities with dignity. Interventions through the delivery of microfinance services is considered as one of the policy instruments to eradicate poverty. As many people in East Africa are living below the poverty line, the health of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) is very important to the health of the local economy. A conceptual framework has emerged that characterizes the field of microfinance. It is defined by the concept of the "critical triangle of microfinance" - the need for any MFI to manage simultaneously financial sustainability, impact, and outreach. Research refers to this as the need to manage the "triple bottom line." Different stakeholders place different priorities on these objectives. Agency challenges arise when the objectives of management are not the same as those of other stakeholders. This study examined whether there is a trade-off between operational self-sufficiency (OSS), impact, and outreach, in East African Microfinance Institutions. Data were extracted from the MIX Market database, an online microfinance information platform used extensively in the literature on MFIs. All East African MFIs, who reported complete financial data to MIX, in 2012, were selected. A multiple linear regression model was created to analyze the relationship between OSS, impact, and outreach. Also, associations hypothesized in the study were tested. This study found impact and outreach to not be a statistically significant predictor of OSS, in East African MFIs. The results have implications for East African MFI leadership, regulators of East African MFIs, and impact investors.