We’ve confirmed via a number of sources that current EcoCash CEO, Cuthbert Tembedza, is leaving Econet Wireless. Tembedza is leaving Econet after about a year & a half and after leading the mobile money company through a period of tremendous success cementing EcoCash’s position as the undisputed leader in mobile money in Zimbabwe.
We contacted Tembedza to learn more about his reasons for leaving and where he’s headed to but he referred all questions to Econet PR. Econet PR wouldn’t comment on this. We are however told that Econet tried unsuccessfully to make Tembedza stay. Our sources say Tembedza is now serving his notice period in preparation for his exit from Zimbabwe’s largest mobile telecoms and financial services group.
On where he is headed to, our sources say it’s one of the popular global internet companies but they weren’t sure so we’re not going into those details. Before joining EcoCash, Tembedza was CEO Africa & Cash Operations at BankservAfrica, South Africa’s payments clearing house. At EcoCash he took over the mobile money leadership from Darlington Mandivenga who was upgraded to Econet Services CEO, the parent company.
Prior to Tembedza announcing his intentions to leave the group, we’re told there had been other executive level changes at the company that saw a new Econet Services CEO being appointed and Mandivenga elevated to another international position within the group.
The successes at EcoCash clearly made Tembedza an even more sought after payments executive on the continent. We have no information on who is going to replace him as EcoCash CEO or if there are any plans to do so. What is clear though, looking ofcourse from outside, is that he’s the kind of executive that’s hard to replace and this may indeed negatively impact the execution of Econet’s payment platform strategy onwards.
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