Strive Masiyiwa
Strive Masiyiwa | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 29, 1961 Southern Rhodesia |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | Founder and executive chairman of Econet Global and Cassava Technologies |
| Notable work | Founder of Econet Wireless, leadership in African telecommunications and philanthropy |
Strive Masiyiwa (born 29 January 1961) is a Zimbabwean billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist residing in London. He is the founder and serves as executive chairman of the global technology enterprises Econet Global and Cassava Technologies.
Since 1996, Masiyiwa’s family foundation has awarded scholarships to more than 250,000 young Africans. His philanthropic efforts have extended to supporting over 40,000 orphans through educational initiatives and sponsoring university students across the United States, United Kingdom, and China. As of January 2025, Forbes estimates his net worth at approximately US$2.7 billion.
Early life and education
Born in Southern Rhodesia on 29 January 1961, Masiyiwa’s family relocated to Kitwe, Zambia when he was seven years old following Prime Minister Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence. He completed his primary schooling in Kitwe before attending secondary school in Scotland. Thanks to his mother’s entrepreneurial background, he was able to enroll in a private school in Edinburgh. After finishing school in 1978, he briefly considered joining anti-government forces but opted instead to pursue higher education in Britain. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wales in 1983. Following a short stint working in Cambridge’s computer sector, he returned to Zimbabwe in 1984 to contribute to the nation’s post-conflict reconstruction.
Global influence
Masiyiwa has occupied numerous international advisory and board positions throughout his career. His roles have included serving on the boards of Unilever (previously) and Netflix (currently), as well as trusteeships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Geographic Society. He was a member of Bank of America’s Global Advisory Council, participated as a commissioner on the UN Commission on Adaptation, and co-founded Generation Africa. Additionally, he co-chaired the Pathways for Prosperity Commission focused on Technology and Inclusive Development and held board memberships with The Rockefeller Foundation, the US Council on Foreign Relations, and the Asia Society. His advisory contributions extend to Stanford University, membership of the Africa Progress Panel, chairmanship of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and involvement with Grow Africa alongside the African Union’s Ebola Fund.
As the only African representative on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience, Masiyiwa has also contributed to two UN Advisory Panels. In 2022, he played a key role in organizing the Global Africa Business Initiative held in New York.
Leadership and international accolades
In 2011, The Times of London honored him as one of Africa’s 25 Leaders of Renaissance.
By 2014, Fortune Magazine included Masiyiwa among the world’s 50 most influential business figures, while New African magazine recognized him as one of the Top 100 most impactful Africans.
That year also saw him appointed by AU Chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to lead resource mobilization efforts for Africa’s Ebola response—marking the first occasion an African Union business leader was engaged for such a mission. Masiyiwa helped launch the Pan-African #AfricaAgainstEbola Solidarity Fund, which raised millions through SMS donations continent-wide. These resources enabled deployment of Africa’s largest healthcare workforce to fight the epidemic.
In 2015, Forbes Magazine named him among Africa’s 10 Most Powerful Men, while he received the International Rescue Committee’s Freedom Award for his outstanding advocacy for refugees and promotion of liberty and human dignity.
He was awarded the Norman E. Borlaug World Food Prize Medallion in 2019 and again listed among New African’’’s 100 Most Influential Africans. In 2020, Masiyiwa was inducted into the JA Worldwide Global Business Hall of Fame.
December 2020 featured him on Bloomberg’s list of the world’s 50 most influential individuals; he also appeared in that year’s top 100 Africans lists published by New African and Mail & Guardian. For a second time since 2017, Fortune Magazine recognized him among its World's 50 Greatest Leaders for his leadership role with the African Union during COVID-19 response efforts and vaccine procurement.
In 2022, UK-based Spear's Magazine named him Entrepreneur of the Year. In April 2023, Masiyiwa was elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his leadership excellence.
In October 2024, Harvard University honored him with the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal from its Hutchins School for African and African American Research. Later that year, December saw him receive an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch.
Business career and interests
After spending 17 years abroad, Masiyiwa came back to Zimbabwe in 1984. Initially employed as a telecoms engineer at the state-owned telephone company, he soon resigned to start his own electrical engineering firm with just $75 in initial capital. As mobile telecommunications began to develop, he expanded into this sector but encountered obstacles when the Zimbabwean government denied his company, Econet Wireless, a license to operate.
Masiyiwa contested this refusal in Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court, asserting that it infringed upon "freedom of expression." Following a protracted five-year legal dispute that nearly led to his financial ruin, the court ruled in his favor, effectively ending the government's telecommunications monopoly and opening the door for private sector participation across Africa’s telecom industry. Econet Wireless activated its first mobile subscriber in 1998.
In July 1998, Masiyiwa took Econet Wireless Zimbabwe public on the local stock exchange as a gesture of appreciation to those who supported him during his legal challenges. Presently, the company stands as a major player in Zimbabwe’s economy and is ranked second by market capitalization in the country.
Facing political persecution in March 2000, Masiyiwa permanently left Zimbabwe and resettled in South Africa. There, he established The Econet Wireless Group—a distinct entity from the publicly listed Zimbabwean business. Through strategic partnerships, he expanded the group’s footprint by launching ventures such as Econet Wireless International, Mascom Wireless Botswana, Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), Lesotho Telecom, Rwanda Telecom, Solarway, and Transaction Processing Systems (TPS), among others. The group now operates across Africa, the UK, Europe, the United States, Latin America, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
After spending over ten years based in South Africa, Masiyiwa relocated to London but continues to maintain substantial business interests throughout the African continent.
Econet Global
Econet Global (commonly known as Econet) is a privately owned multinational technology conglomerate with operations and investments spanning Africa, Latin America, the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, the Middle East, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and New Zealand. Its Zimbabwean subsidiaries include the publicly traded companies Econet Wireless (established 1998) and Cassava Fintech (founded 2018).
Founder Strive Masiyiwa holds a majority stake—over 50%—in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe. Additionally, he has collaborated with American telecom entrepreneur John Stanton through Trilogy International Partners, which launched New Zealand’s third mobile network operator named "2 Degrees".
A flagship asset within Econet’s portfolio is Liquid Telecom Group (now rebranded as Liquid Intelligent Technologies), headquartered in London. It is Africa’s largest provider of satellite and fibre optic connectivity, boasting an extensive network exceeding 110,000 kilometres of cable stretching from Cape Town to Cairo and linking East and West Africa.
Econet’s diverse holdings also encompass digital enterprise networks, cybersecurity solutions, cloud computing services, data centers, artificial intelligence technologies, fintech innovations, digital platforms, and renewable energy ventures.
Philanthropy and humanitarian initiatives
Masiyiwa has dedicated significant portions of his personal fortune toward one of Africa’s most extensive orphan education programs through his family foundations, supporting education for over 40,000 children. He and his wife are signatories of the Giving Pledge, committing substantial wealth to philanthropic causes.
His philanthropic efforts include backing health initiatives focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, cervical cancer awareness campaigns, malnutrition relief efforts, as well as responses to EBOLA and COVID-19 outbreaks. As an advocate for environmental sustainability, Masiyiwa co-founded the Carbon War Room alongside Sir Richard Branson.
Following former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Masiyiwa assumed leadership as chairman of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), an organization dedicated to empowering African smallholder farmers; he currently holds the title of Chairman Emeritus. He also served as co-chair for Grow Africa—a platform that has successfully mobilized over US$15 billion in agricultural investments.
In reaction to Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic in 2019, Masiyiwa and his wife contributed US$10 million and pledged an additional US$60 million toward combating the outbreak.
Appointed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2020 as Special Envoy to the African Union for COVID-19 response efforts, Masiyiwa served until early 2022. Later that year he led an AU task force addressing food security challenges and represented these concerns at the US-Africa Summit held in Washington DC.
Together with his wife, he committed $100 million to establish a fund aimed at empowering rural entrepreneurs within Zimbabwe. They also founded the non-profit Higherlife Foundation, which provides scholarships and educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth across Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Burundi.
In January 2020 amid a doctors’ strike caused by low wages in Zimbabwe, Masiyiwa financed subsistence allowances and transportation costs enabling striking medical professionals to return to work.
Personal life
Masiyiwa practices the Christian faith. He is married to Tsitsi, and together they have six children. The family is based in London, England. Additionally, he owns two neighboring apartments located on the top floors of the 29-story Eldorado Tower at 300 Central Park in New York City, which he acquired for US$24.5 million in 2016.
In October 2024, Masiyiwa made history as the first black billionaire to be featured on the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated net worth of US$3.1 billion.