Strive Masiyiwa
Strive T. Masiyiwa is a Zimbabwean based in London and an international business leader. He has served on the foundation’s board of trustees since January 2022.
Masiyiwa is the Founder and Executive Chairman of South Africa-based Econet Group and Cassava Technologies and is one of the pioneers of the mobile telecoms industry on the African continent. Masiyiwa has also been involved in the development of Africa’s independent media.
In May 2020, Masiyiwa was appointed to serve as an African Union Special Envoy to help coordinate Africa’s private sector efforts to procure medical supplies and fight the spread of COVID-19. As Special Envoy he also heads up the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team. He led a similar private sector initiative to fight Ebola in West Africa in 2014-2015.
Masiyiwa is a member of the Giving Pledge. In 1996, he and his wife, Tsitsi, cofounded what is now known as the Higherlife Foundation which has supported the education of over 250,000 orphaned, vulnerable, and gifted children across Africa, as well as health, disaster relief and preparedness, and rural transformation programs.
Masiyiwa received a bachelor of engineering degree from the University of Cardiff.
What has struck me about our employees is the level of compassion and empathy that comes through, which I consider to be an important quality for the work that we do.
More about the foundation
Learn about where we work around the globe and the programs we've created to address urgent issues in global health, global development, and education.
Read the latest stories, research, and news from across the foundation and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Optimist.