Strive Masiyiwa

Strive Masiyiwa (born 29 January 1961) is a Zimbabwean-British billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who founded the telecommunications company Econet Wireless and technology group Cassava Technologies. He is widely regarded as one of Africa's most successful entrepreneurs and a pioneer of the African telecommunications industry, having fought a landmark five-year legal battle against the government of Robert Mugabe to break the state telecommunications monopoly in Zimbabwe.

As of January 2025, Forbes estimates Masiyiwa's net worth at US$2.7 billion, making him one of Africa's wealthiest individuals. In October 2024, he became the first Black billionaire to appear on the Sunday Times Rich List in the United Kingdom.

Masiyiwa serves on the boards of several major international organizations, including Netflix, Unilever, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the National Geographic Society. In August 2025, Time magazine named him among the world's 100 Most Influential People in AI for his work establishing AI infrastructure across Africa through Cassava Technologies.

Early life and education

Strive Masiyiwa was born on 29 January 1961 in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He spent his early childhood in Zambia, where he attended primary school, before being sent to Scotland to complete his secondary education during the Rhodesian Bush War.

When Masiyiwa graduated from secondary school in 1978, he initially intended to return to Rhodesia to join the anti-government guerrilla forces fighting under Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo. However, a senior officer convinced him that the liberation struggle was nearing victory and that the country would need educated professionals to help rebuild. "One of the senior officers told me, 'Look, we're about to win anyway, and what we really need is people like you to help rebuild the country,'" Masiyiwa later recalled.

Taking this advice, Masiyiwa returned to Britain to pursue higher education. He enrolled at the University of Wales, where he earned a degree in electrical and electronic engineering with honors (cum laude) in 1983.

Early career

After completing his degree, Masiyiwa worked briefly in the computer industry in Cambridge, England, before returning to the newly independent Zimbabwe in 1984. He joined the Zimbabwe Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (ZPTC), the state-owned telephone company, as a senior engineer. His abilities were quickly recognized, and he was promoted to principal engineer within a short period.

However, Masiyiwa became frustrated with the government bureaucracy at ZPTC and left in 1988 to start his own electrical contracting firm, Retrofit Engineering. The company focused on installing telephone systems and electrical infrastructure, and it grew rapidly. In 1990, Masiyiwa was named Zimbabwe's Businessman of the Year - the youngest person ever to receive the award.

Econet Wireless

Constitutional Court battle

In 1993, recognizing the transformative potential of mobile telecommunications, Masiyiwa founded Econet Wireless and applied for a license to operate a mobile phone network in Zimbabwe. The government of President Robert Mugabe refused to grant the license, maintaining that telecommunications was a state monopoly.

Masiyiwa challenged the government's refusal in the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe, arguing that the state monopoly violated the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. The case became a landmark legal battle that lasted five years and brought Masiyiwa to the brink of bankruptcy. Throughout the proceedings, the Mugabe government attempted to obstruct Masiyiwa's efforts. In February 1996, Mugabe signed legislation banning private telephone operations, with offenders facing a two-year prison sentence.

During this period, the government awarded a competing mobile license to Telecel, a company backed by President Mugabe's nephew, Leo Mugabe. When Masiyiwa investigated, he discovered that Telecel's bid had met only a few of the tender's technical requirements.

In 1997, the Constitutional Court ruled in Masiyiwa's favor, declaring that the government's refusal violated freedom of expression and ordering that he be granted a license. The ruling is regarded as one of the most significant milestones in opening Africa's telecommunications sector to private capital, and it established a precedent that would be followed across the continent.

Growth and success

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe launched commercial operations in July 1998 and was listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange that same year. Despite the hostile business environment and ongoing government interference, the company grew rapidly. Today, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is the second-largest company in Zimbabwe by market capitalization and dominates the country's mobile telecommunications market. Masiyiwa retains over 50% ownership of the publicly traded company.

The company also developed EcoCash, a mobile phone-based money transfer service that has become one of the largest mobile money platforms in Africa. Masiyiwa owns approximately 33% of EcoCash.

Exile and global expansion

Persecution and departure

Despite winning the constitutional court case, Masiyiwa continued to face persecution from the Mugabe government. In 2000, he secretly helped fund Zimbabwe's independent newspapers, including the Daily News, which published reports critical of the regime. This further antagonized the government, which launched criminal proceedings against the newspaper's directors and threatened to revoke Econet's operating license.

The situation became untenable when government authorities arrested Econet directors and executives, including CEO Douglas Mboweni, and transported them to a maximum-security prison in leg irons. In March 2000, fearing for his family's safety, Masiyiwa left Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa. He would not return to Zimbabwe for nearly two decades.

Building the Econet Group

From South Africa, Masiyiwa established the Econet Wireless Group as a separate organization from the Zimbabwean entity. He expanded operations across Africa and beyond, founding or investing in mobile networks in multiple countries. Some of his most prominent ventures include:

• Mascom Wireless - Botswana's largest mobile operator
• Econet Wireless Nigeria - later sold to become Airtel Nigeria
• 2degrees Mobile - one of New Zealand's leading mobile operators (originally Econet Wireless New Zealand)
• Liquid Intelligent Technologies (formerly Liquid Telecom) - Africa's largest fiber optic and satellite business

In 2010, Masiyiwa and his family relocated from South Africa to London, where he has remained based while running his global portfolio spanning more than 40 countries across four continents.

Cassava Technologies and AI expansion

Formation

In 2021, Masiyiwa consolidated his technology ventures into Cassava Technologies, a new holding company focusing on fiber optics, cloud services, data centers, and artificial intelligence. Cassava operates more than 100,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable across Africa, providing internet connectivity through the continent.

The company also controls Africa Data Centres, which operates data center facilities across the continent, and Sasai Fintech, a digital payments platform.

AI factories

In September 2025, Masiyiwa announced plans to establish "AI factories" in five African countries - South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco - through Cassava Technologies. These facilities will provide computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence applications.

In November 2025, Cassava and Google announced a partnership to deploy Gemini, Google's AI model, across Africa using Cassava's infrastructure. The same month, Cassava launched the Cassava AI Multi-Model Exchange (CAIMEx), a platform providing access to AI systems from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

This work was recognized in August 2025 when Time magazine named Masiyiwa among the 100 Most Influential People in AI.

Board positions and advisory roles

Masiyiwa serves on boards and advisory councils of numerous major international organizations:

Corporate boards

• Netflix - Board member (appointed December 2020)
• Unilever - Board member
• National Geographic Society - Board member

Foundation boards

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Board member
• Rockefeller Foundation - Former board member (15 years)
• Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa - Chair Emeritus

Advisory councils

• Bank of America - Global Advisory Board
• Council on Foreign Relations - Member
• Stanford University - Global Advisory Board
• Bloomberg New Economy Forum - Advisory Board
• Prince's Trust International - Advisory Board

COVID-19 Special Envoy

In May 2020, the African Union appointed Masiyiwa as Special Envoy to coordinate Africa's private sector efforts to procure medical supplies and combat the COVID-19 pandemic. As Special Envoy, he also led the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, which was instrumental in securing vaccine doses for African countries.

Masiyiwa had previously led a similar private sector initiative to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2015.

Criticisms and controversies

Business disputes

Masiyiwa's career has not been without controversy. In 2003, the board of directors of Econet Wireless Nigeria ousted him from the company when he failed to acquire necessary financing for network expansion. A critic told South Africa's Financial Mail at the time that Masiyiwa "'talks up a storm' but often falls short on his promises to raise capital."

His vast wealth and long absence from Zimbabwe, combined with his extensive connections in international finance, have sometimes generated distrust in his home country. Critics have questioned whether his business dealings benefit ordinary Zimbabweans.

Return to Zimbabwe

Following the fall of Robert Mugabe in 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government invited Masiyiwa to return to Zimbabwe. In 2017, Masiyiwa disclosed that he had attempted to launch his Kwese TV satellite television project in Zimbabwe but was denied government approval despite expending "more resources... To getting approvals in Zimbabwe than in all other countries put together."

Philanthropy

Higherlife Foundation

In 1996, Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi co-founded the Higherlife Foundation, which focuses on education, health, and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. The foundation has provided scholarships to more than 250,000 young Africans and supported over 40,000 orphans with educational initiatives, making it one of the largest scholarship programs in Africa.

Capernaum Trust

In 1999, the Masiyiwas established the Capernaum Trust, a charity supporting orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. The trust provides school fees, uniforms, and scholarships to children in need.

Emergency relief

During the 2019 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa donated US$10 million to fight the disease. The couple has also contributed to various disaster relief efforts across Africa.

Giving Pledge

Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa are signatories of the Giving Pledge, the commitment by the world's wealthiest individuals to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

Awards and recognition

Masiyiwa has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career:

• Zimbabwe Businessman of the Year (1990) - youngest recipient
• Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Award (2011)
• TIME100 Philanthropy recognition (2023)
• Stellenbosch University Honorary Doctorate (2024)
• W. E. B. Du Bois Medal - Harvard University Hutchins Center (2024)
• David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award - with Tsitsi Masiyiwa (May 2025)
• TIME100 AI - Most Influential People in AI (August 2025)

In October 2024, Masiyiwa became the first Black billionaire to appear on the Sunday Times Rich List in the United Kingdom with a net worth of US$3.1 billion.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Masiyiwa married Tsitsi Maramba (now Tsitsi Masiyiwa) in the 1980s. Tsitsi was born on 4 January 1965 in Harare and studied at the University of Zimbabwe, earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Studies in 1988 and later an MBA. She is a philanthropist focused on human capital development in Africa.

The couple has six children - five daughters and one son - and they reside in London.

Their children include:

• Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa - the eldest daughter, approximately 34 years old, holds a Master's degree in Social Entrepreneurship and joined the Econet Wireless board in April 2023, replacing her father
• Vimbai Masiyiwa - entrepreneur who founded Batoka Hospitality, a luxury hotel group in Zimbabwe, while completing her Master's degree at UCL
• Sarah Masiyiwa - holds degrees in economics and journalism from New York University, works at Sky
• Joanna Masiyiwa - born 1998, graduated from Yale University with a degree in ethics, politics, and economics
• Moses Masiyiwa - the only son, a sports coach and founder of Mofitness Limited

Faith

Masiyiwa is a devout Christian, and his faith has been an important influence throughout his career and philanthropic work.

See also

• Econet Wireless
• Cassava Technologies
• Tsitsi Masiyiwa
• Telecommunications in Africa
• Mobile banking in Africa

External links

• Official biography at Cassava Technologies
• Biography at Econet Africa
• Strive Masiyiwa on Facebook