Strive Masiyiwa, the founder of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and its related companies in Africa (together forming one of the biggest telecoms group on the continent) has been named the 33rd greatest leader in the world in 2017 by Fortune Magazine.
Fortune, a US based wealth magazine, that competes with Forbes and Bloomberg. We mention this for the obvious reason that this is a list based on the perspectives of news editors in a New York newsroom and their experts. We’re sure Masiyiwa would occupy a different position on a list Africans would create. Us Zimbabweans would definitely have him in a top 5. The Asians would also have him in a different slot.
Anyway, Fortune is big and the world listen when they say something, so here we are. Fortune says people on the list have excelled as leaders that:
- Acknowledge reality and offer hope
- Bring followers physically together
- Build bridges
And here’s why Masiyiwa is on the list:
Few people have shaped modern Africa as much as Masiyiwa, whose telecommunications firm, Econet, came into being in 1998 after a long legal battle with the Zimbabwe government. His victory busted up a state monopoly and helped spur the development of private telecoms across the continent. Masiyiwa has since relocated to London, but his energetic and well-rounded philanthropy still makes an impact in Africa; he chairs numerous boards and has been lauded for supporting orphans, funding scholarships, and fighting hunger, poverty, and Ebola.
“Strive Masiyiwa’s life and his business story is impressive, but it is his lifelong commitment to helping others that set him apart…He is a crusader who has transformed countless sectors and lives while also seeking to preserve Africa’s vital resources through his own sustainable investments and environmental policy leadership…I am inspired by his vision, his persistence, and his fearless spirit.” —Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Geographic Society
Other names on the list include a Chicago based Baseball coach (number 1), Jack Ma (2), the Pope (3), Melinda Gates (4), Jeff Bezos (5), LebRon James (11), Shakira (27) and Elon Musk (30).
5 comments
Wedu wadadisa, itai makorokoto-korokoto kwatiri per Tuku.
Congratulations Strive!! Proud to be of the same nationality as you.
In contrast, some have been in, near, around, or within “corridors of power” for close to 40 years in Zimbabwe and what do they have to show for it? Excelling in being architects of oppression, misery, fear and all the negative things one can think of…if only…….
Congrats keep it up. We are very proud of you, today’ and tomorrow.
Jack ma is number 2 on the list after Theo Epstein President of Baseball Operations, Chicago Cubs.
33 is no insignificant number; in the Illuminati, it’s the highest “degree” one can achieve, so hopefully Forbes placing him there is not a hidden message that our homeboy from humble Manicaland is in cahoots with the alleged ‘dark rulers’ of the world. If not, congrats fellow Zimbabwean on making yet another meaningless list.