Zimbabwe’s first billionaire, Strive Masiwa is an entrepreneur and businessman.  He is the CEO of Econet Group, a conglomerate with presence in over 20 countries. He also owns majority stakes in Liquid Telecom.
Having attended primary school in Zambia, Strive completed his secondary school education in Scotland and obtained a degree in Electrical Electronics from the University of Wales. He decided to return to Zimbabwe after 17 years of absence in 1984. He worked briefly as a Telecom Engineer before quitting the job to set up his own telecommunications company.

Photocredit: fortune.com

It was tough getting a Zimbabwean license to run a privately-owned company because of the state’s monopoly in telecommunication. Refusing to accept a no, the undeterred Masiyiwa appealed to the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe which after 5 long years of legal battling, finally ruled to his favor. Econet Wireless listed on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange in 1998 and has grown to become the second-largest company by market capitalization.

Masiyiwa and wife
Photocredit: techzim.co.zw

The London-based billionaire and Tsitsi his wife runs Higherlife Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers less privileged children through educational initiatives. The foundation has provided scholarships for more than 10000 African youths and 40000 orphans over the past 20 years. Masiyiwa demonstrates a passion for training the next generation of African entrepreneurs through mentorship on his Facebook page.
His business expertise and philanthropy have earned him several awards and global recognition.  He is a member of several boards, including the Africa Progress Panel, a group of ten Africans advocating for sustainable development growth in the continent. Forbes recently recorded his net worth at $2.3 billion.