Strive Masiyiwa

Biography

Born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1961, Strive Masiyiwa moved with his family to Zambia at age seven before attending secondary school in Scotland. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wales in 1984 and briefly worked as a telecom engineer for Zimbabwe’s state-owned telephone company. After founding a successful electrical contracting firm, Retrofit, in the late 1980s, Masiyiwa recognized the potential of mobile communications and launched Econet Wireless in 1993.

Masiyiwa encountered fierce state opposition when the Zimbabwean government refused to grant Econet a mobile operating license. He embarked on a high-profile, five-year constitutional legal battle, arguing that the state monopoly infringed on constitutional guarantees of free expression. In 1998, Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court ruled in his favor, dismantling the state telecom monopoly and opening up African telecommunications to private capital. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe quickly listed on the local stock exchange and became a dominant force in the country's business landscape.

In 2000, Masiyiwa relocated from Zimbabwe to build an international technology enterprise. He developed Econet Global into a multi-asset technology group with operations in mobile services, renewable energy, and digital banking. Under the umbrella of Cassava Technologies, his business operates Africa’s largest independent pan-African fiber network, data center ecosystem, and cloud solutions provider. In addition to his business portfolio, Masiyiwa has held prominent advisory positions—serving on the boards of Netflix, Unilever, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He served as an African Union Special Envoy during the COVID-19 pandemic to lead medical equipment procurement across the continent. Alongside his wife, Tsitsi, he co-founded the Higherlife Foundation, providing educational funding and scholarships to hundreds of thousands of African students.

Career timeline

In their words

“True conviction is tested when the odds seem stacked against you, but integrity and persistence will clear the path.”

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