Chitungwiza – In 1998, Strive Masiyiwa overcame a five-year protracted government opposition to launch an independent mobile phone network.
The battle to access the operating license left him bruised, leaving him at the brink of bankruptcy.
To date, he owns just over 50 percent of the publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is one part of his larger Econet Group.
Written By Derick Matsengarwodzi
He is also an owner of private company Liquid Telecom, providing fibre optic and satellite services to telecom firms across Africa.
In 2015 Forbes Magazine named Masiyiwa in the 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa list for 2015. A philanthropist, he and his wife Tsitsi founded the Higherlife Foundation, which supports orphaned and poor children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi and Lesotho.
On the international platform, he has won numerous accolades and gained international recognition for his business expertise and philanthropy, and is considered one of Africa's most generous humanitarians.
Over 100 000 young Africans have benefited over the past 20 years through his family foundation. He also supports over 40 000 orphans with educational initiatives, as well as sponsoring students at universities across the globe.
Masiyiwa has devoted his time to mentoring the next generation of African entrepreneurs on Facebook. Facebook has identified his platform as having the most engaged following of any business leader in the world. His public health and agriculture initiatives across the African continent have transformed many.
In 2012, former US President Barack Obama invited Masiyiwa and four other business leaders to attend the 38th G8 summit at Camp David to address them on strategies on how to increase food production and end poverty in parts of Africa.
Fortune Magazine recognized Masiyiwa among the 50 most influential business leaders in the world in 2014. Again, the publication mentioned him as number 33 in the World's Greatest Leaders list for 2017 along with Elon Musk and LeBron James.
For overcoming advertise, Masiyiwa managed to possess the business mountain, in line with the Tiyambuke 2019 theme: Give me this mountain.
The Tiyambuke International Christian Convention (TICC) is an annual gathering of Christian believers from various denominations, organized by Glory Ministries under the leadership of Apostle Pride and Anna Sibiya.
With its inception in 2001, TICC has grown to become one of the largest conferences in Zimbabwe.
The convention's name, "Tiyambuke," meaning "Let Us Cross Over," reflects its mission to lead people out of ignorance, sin, and bondage into a life of knowledge, love for God, health, prosperity, and freedom.
