Ever heard the name Strive Masiyiwa? The AYC is proud to celebrate him as her first Great African.
Strive Masiyiwa is an African, Entrepreneur, Businessman and Philanthropist from Zimbabwe. Born on the 29th of January 1961 in his home country, Strive attended primary school in Zambia before completing his secondary education in Scotland. He studied Electrical Engineering and obtained a degree from the University of Wales.
He is the founder and executive chairman of the diversified Econet wireless. After being away from Zimbabwe for seventeen years, Strive returned and worked briefly as a Telecom Engineer for the state owned telephone company. One of Masiyiwa’s most successful ventures is the London-based privately held Liquid Telecom Group , Africa’s largest satellite and fibre optic business spanning over 14 countries. Other activities of Econet include enterprise networks, financial services, renewable energy, and solar-powered solutions (Solarway Industries).
Strive has influence both in Africa and beyond. He serves on the boards of some global organisations, including The Rockefeller Foundation , US Council on Foreign Relations International Advisory Board, the Asia Society , the Africa Progress Panel (APP), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), The Micronutrient Initiative of Canada, Grow Africa, The African Union ‘s (AU) EBOLA Fund, Morehouse College Board, and The Pan African Strategic Institute. Masiyiwa also sits on two United Nations Advisory Panels and is the only African member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience.
An active philanthropist, Strive supports a diverse range of health issues including campaigns against HIV/AIDS, Cervical Cancer, malnutrition, and more recently EBOLA. He is an avid environmentalist and together with Sir Richard Branson founded the environmental group, the Carbon War Room. He took over, from former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the chairmanship of AGRA, an organisation that supports Africa’s smallholder farmers. He is also co-Chair of Grow Africa, the investment forum for Africa’s agriculture, which has helped mobilise over US $15 billion in investments for African agriculture. His family foundations support and educate more than 40,000 children. Masiyiwa is also a member of the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, initiative known as the Giving Pledge.
Strive has received multiple honours and awards for excellence in business and humanitarian services. He is married to Tsitsi Masiyiwa and they have six children.
Reference: Wikipedia
African Youth Corner 