Strive Masiyiwa: Biography of Zimbabwe's Richest Man

Nov 18, 2025 0

Strive Masiyiwa, born on January 29, 1961, is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire businessman and philanthropist.

The man with the biggest money bags in Zimbabwe is Strive Masiyiwa, the founder and executive chairman of Econet Wireless, a diversified telecommunications group. Econet Global founder Strive Masiyiwa tops Zimbabwe’s rich list with a $1.8 billion fortune, driven by telecoms, fintech, and renewable energy ventures.

Masiyiwa moved to South Africa in 2000 and now lives in London, England with his family. The only listed entity is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Here's a glimpse into the top 10 richest men in Zimbabwe in 2025:

Strive Masiyiwa: Founder of Econet Wireless and Cassava Technologies.
Kudakwashe Tagwirei: Controls major interests in energy, agriculture, mining, and banking.
Kenneth Sharpe: Founder of WestProp Holdings, a successful real estate developer.
Billy Rautenbach: Fortune from mining, logistics, farming, and cross-border trade.
Philip Chiyangwa: Investments in real estate, sports, construction, and entertainment.
Moses Chingwena Made his fortune through auto dealerships, real estate, and finance.
Shingai Mutasa: Founder of Masawara, an investment firm with stakes in insurance, property, and chemicals.
Ian Saunders: A successful gold mining entrepreneur.

Zimbabwe’s wealthiest business figures aren’t just accumulating fortunes-they are shaping the nation’s economic future in ways both visible and far-reaching. Operating in an economy that has long been tested by hyperinflation, currency instability, and unpredictable policies, these entrepreneurs have navigated shifting tides with calculated risk-taking and an unyielding drive.

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From boardrooms to construction sites, these business leaders are not only securing their legacies but also shaping Zimbabwe’s economic trajectory-generating jobs, driving industrial expansion, and redefining what’s possible in a challenging market.

Early Life and Education

Strive Masiyiwa was born in Southern Rhodesia, on 29 January 1961. When he was seven, his family left the country after Prime Minister Ian Smith's government declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom.

The family settled in Kitwe, a city in north central Zambia known for its copper mines. It was here that he attended primary school, before completing his secondary education in Scotland. They sent him to private school in Edinburgh, Scotland.

When he graduated in 1978, he travelled back to Rhodesia, intending to join Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo's anti-government guerrilla forces. However, he returned to education in Britain, and earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wales in 1983.

Business Career

Masiyiwa returned to his native Zimbabwe in 1984 after a 17-year absence.

Some of the key businesses that he established with partners included Econet Wireless International, Econet Global, Mascom Wireless Botswana, Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), Econet Satellite Services, Lesotho Telecom, Econet Wireless Burundi, Econet Wireless South Africa, Solarway, and Transaction Processing Systems (TPS).

Econet Global (Econet) is a privately held international technology group with business operations and investments in Africa, Latin America, The United Kingdom, the USA, Europe, the Middle East, India, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and New Zealand.

Masiyiwa appealed to the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe, on the basis that the refusal constituted a violation of "freedom of expression".

Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet

Philanthropy

Masiyiwa has used his own family fortune to build one of the largest support programs for educating young people in Africa. Since 1996, Masiyiwa has provided scholarships to more than 250,000 young Africans through his family foundation. He has supported more than 40,000 orphans with educational initiatives and sponsored students at universities in America, the United Kingdom, and China.

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Masiyiwa has also been involved in supporting a diverse range of health issues including campaigns against HIV/AIDS, Cervical Cancer, malnutrition, EBOLA, and COVID-19.

Together with his wife, they pledged $100m to establish a fund to invest in rural entrepreneurs in his home country. The two also started a non-profit organisation, Higherlife Foundation, which empowers disadvantaged children through education and creating opportunities for highly talented young people.

Upon the cholera outbreak that happened in Zimbabwe in 2019, Strive Masiyiwa together with his wife donated a total of US$10m to fight against the disease.

In January 2020 he paid for Zimbabwe's doctors to return to work after they struck to get paid. Masiyiwa agreed to pay each doctor a subsistence allowance of about $300 (£230) and provide them with transport to work, through a fund he set up.

International Appointments and Recognition

Masiyiwa's international appointments and board memberships over the years include: Unilever (former board member), Netflix (board member), Gates Foundation (trustee), the National Geographic Society (trustee), Bank of America (Global Advisory Council), UN Commission on Adaptation (former Commissioner), Generation Africa (co-founder), Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development (former co-chair), The Rockefeller Foundation (former board member), US Council on Foreign Relations (former Global Advisory Board 2012-2023), the Asia Society (former board member), Stanford University (Global Advisory Board), the Africa Progress Panel, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (chair, now chair emeritus), The Micronutrient Initiative of Canada (former board member), Grow Africa, the African Union's Ebola Fund (co-founder), Morehouse College(former Trustee), the African Academy of Sciences (Honorary Fellow) and the Pan African Strategic Institute.

In September 2014, the chair of the African Union (AU), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, asked Masiyiwa to help mobilise resources for Africa's response to the Ebola outbreak. The fund raised millions of US dollars from the public using SMS donations, with contributions coming from many African countries.

In 2022, he was named UK Spear's Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year. In April 2023, Masiyiwa was elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences that was founded in 1780 `'honoring excellence, innovation, and leadership and recognizing a broad array of stellar accomplishments`'.

In October 2024, Masiyiwa was awarded the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal by Harvard University's Hutchins School for African and African American Research. In December 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

In 2019 he stepped down from AGRA and now serves as Chairman Emeritus. He [66] took over from former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the chairmanship of AGRA, an organisation that supports Africa's smallholder farmers.