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Revision as of 14:21, 8 July 2008 by Namiba (talk | contribs) (→External links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Strive Masiyiwa (aka "Bill Gates of Africa") is a Zimbabwean businessman and cellphone pioneer, founding Econet Wireless.
Strive Masiyiwa was born in what was Southern Rhodesia in 1961. He went to High school in Scotland; he gained a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Cum Laude) at the University of Wales, returning to newly independent Zimbabwe in 1984, where he took a job with the state-owned telephone company. But he grew frustrated with the bureaucracy and formed his own engineering company. He applied for the country's first mobile-phone license yet had to fight all the way up to and past the supreme court before he could connect his first subscribers to his network. He finally succeded and was able to have his first subscriber connect in 1998.
His privately held company, Econet Wireless, generates revenue of more than $300 million a year, making it one of Africa's five largest telecom companies. Econet's operation includes cellular and fixed-line businesses in Zimbabwe, Burundi, Lesotho and Botswana. The company also owns a 3G license in New Zealand. In New Zealand Econet will soon launch that country's third GSM network. He also owns a cellular licence in Kenya and will soon be launching the network.
He was also the publisher of the Daily News, Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, shut down by the government in late 2003.
In 2002 he was named to Time Magazine's Global Business Influentials List.He is also known as the Bill Gates of Africa, on account of his business and entrepreneurial savvy. He is a workaholic who has bucket loads of guts and passion to achieve his goals notwithstanding anything standing in his way.
Strive resides in Johannesburg with his wife and 6 children. He is a devoted Christian.
External links
- Econet Wireless
- Time Magazine's profile
- Sunday Times' article
- Strive Masiyiwa's biography
- Strive Masiyiwa biography - freenames.com
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