Strive Masiyiwa

An engineering business supplied the capital for Econet

Masiyiwa returned to Zimbabwe after engineering studies in Britain, worked for the national phone company and then left to build an engineering-services firm. Forbes says he later sold that business and used the proceeds to pursue a mobile-phone company rather than entering telecom through inherited ownership. ^[1][2]

Launching Econet required years of legal resistance to Zimbabwe's state telecom monopoly. Econet says Masiyiwa fought a five-year constitutional battle before the group began operations in 1998, turning regulatory access itself into one of the major obstacles he had to overcome before the business could scale. ^[1][2]

Founder ownership remained important after launch. Forbes reports that Masiyiwa owns roughly 38% of publicly traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and about one-third of EcoCash, alongside an interest in private fiber and cloud provider Liquid Intelligent Technologies. ^[1]

The original wireless stake expanded into infrastructure and payments

Econet later expanded beyond mobile service into digital platforms, payments and communications infrastructure across African markets. Related businesses such as Liquid added fiber and cloud exposure, broadening Masiyiwa's wealth beyond the original Zimbabwe wireless operator. ^[2][1]

The value of Econet's networks, subscribers and controlled companies is not the same as Masiyiwa's personal net worth. His fortune is tied to the founder stakes he retained as the businesses expanded, beginning with capital from the engineering company he had built and sold earlier. ^[1][2]