About This Platform
Preserving and sharing the wisdom of one of Africa's most influential entrepreneurs.
About Strive Masiyiwa
Photo: Econet Africa
Strive Masiyiwa is a telecommunications and technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. In nearly four decades as an entrepreneur, he has founded and invested in businesses globally, spanning Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, New Zealand, and the USA.
Some of his most prominent start-up companies and investments include Mascom Wireless Botswana, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), Liquid Intelligent Technologies (formerly Liquid Telecom), Econet Wireless New Zealand (now 2degrees Mobile), Trilogy Capital Partners Canada (early investor), Cassava Technologies (including Cassava AI), Africa Data Centres, Sasai Fintech, and Telrad Group Israel. He continues to invest privately through his investment companies and family office.
Born on January 29, 1961, in Zimbabwe, Masiyiwa left the country as a child and returned home after Independence in 1984, working briefly as a telecoms engineer before setting up his first business in 1986. His journey to build Econet included a famous five-year legal battle with the Zimbabwean government for a mobile phone license, a story that has inspired millions of entrepreneurs across the continent. He emigrated from Zimbabwe in 2000, living with his family in South Africa until 2010 when they moved to the UK. He now lives in Jersey from where he runs a global portfolio spanning more than 40 countries on four continents.
A graduate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Cardiff University, Masiyiwa has received honorary doctorates from Stellenbosch University, Yale University, Morehouse College, Nelson Mandela University, and Cardiff University (Fellow). His accolades include the World Food Prize Borlaug Medallion in 2019 for his role as Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; induction in 2023 as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal awarded in 2024 by Harvard University; the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award in May 2025 (together with his wife Tsitsi); and being named by Time Magazine amongst the world's 100 Most Influential People in AI in August 2025.
Beyond business, Masiyiwa is known for his deep Christian faith, which he openly discusses in his writings. Through family foundations, Higherlife Foundation and Delta Philanthropies, led by his wife Tsitsi and eldest daughter Elizabeth Tanya, Masiyiwa has supported 400,000+ scholarships for African youth. He continues to invest in catalytic social impact initiatives in Africa, focusing primarily on education, health, youth entrepreneurship, rural transformation, sustainable livelihoods, disaster relief and preparedness. Committed Christians, he and his wife have six children. They are signatories of the Giving Pledge.
For over a decade, Strive has shared his business wisdom, leadership principles, and life lessons through his social media posts, reaching millions of aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders across Africa and beyond.
Bio source: LinkedIn
Key Achievements
Econet Group
Founded Africa's leading telecommunications company, operating across multiple continents
Cassava Technologies
Built one of Africa's largest technology companies focusing on digital infrastructure
Higherlife Foundation
Supported 400,000+ scholarships for African youth through family foundations
Time Magazine AI 100
Named among the world's 100 Most Influential People in AI (August 2025)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Current Board of Trustees member, one of the world's largest private foundations
Rockefeller Foundation
First Black African to join the board of the Rockefeller Foundation
AGRA Board
Serves on the board of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Netflix Inc.
Current Non-Executive Director on the board of Netflix
Our Mission
This platform curates and organises Strive Masiyiwa's publicly available social media posts into a searchable, accessible knowledge base. Our goal is to:
- Preserve and organise years of valuable entrepreneurial wisdom
- Make his insights easily discoverable through categorisation and search
- Provide an AI-powered interface to explore his teachings interactively
- Inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs
About the Curator
This platform was created and is curated by Phin Mpofu-Masamba II, a mentee and admirer of Strive Masiyiwa's work. As an entrepreneur and technologist, Phin has been deeply influenced by Strive's teachings shared on social media over the years.
This project is a labour of love, created to ensure that Strive's wisdom reaches even more people and remains accessible for generations to come. It is built with the aspiration that it may one day receive official endorsement.
Important Disclaimer
This platform is an independent project that curates publicly available content. It is not officially affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Strive Masiyiwa, Econet Group, Cassava Technologies, or any of his associated organisations. The "Ask Sahwira AI" feature generates responses based on his published writings and should not be taken as direct advice from Mr. Masiyiwa himself. The AI responses may not reflect his current views or opinions. Always verify important information through official channels.