Courage Under Fire featuring Strive Masiyiwa (Episode 81)

In this episode, Dr Modupe highlights the journey of a man who has been called Africa’s Bill Gates, Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Global. Strive was born in Zimbabwe but relocated to Zambia with his parents at a young age because of the civil war. He pursued his studies in Electrical Engineering at University of Wales. Determined to make basic communication accessible to the ordinary Zimbabweans, he decided to start his own telecom company, Econet Wireless, applied for the license and got denied. Strive turned to the courts of which the legal battle lasted 5 years before ruling in his favor. For the first time in the history of Zimbabwe, a private company could operate in the mobile network industry. Though the early days were challenging, Strive strived and now, Econet operates in more than dozen countries with ten millions of subscribers. Lessons: 1. Stand firm in the face of opposition 2. ⁠See beyond the obvious 3. ⁠Success is a platform for service 4. ⁠Faith & values matter 5. ⁠Think beyond borders