Zimbabwe’s richest man, billionaire Strive Masiyiwa gains over $49 million from stake in EcoCash Holdings

Omokolade Ajayi -

Strive Masiyiwa, a Zimbabwean billionaire based in London, has seen the market value of his stake in Zimbabwe-based smart tech group EcoCash Holdings rise by more than $49 million since the beginning of the year due to an increase in the valuation of his stake.

The recent drop can be attributed to a double-digit increase in EcoCash Holdings’ shares, as investors increased their buying interest in the company following a recent report revealing a ZWL650-million ($2 million) increase in its mobile money business’ wallet funding.

EcoCash Holdings, formerly Cassava Smartech, is a diverse smart technology group that uses digital and financial technologies to create shared economies, drive financial inclusion and promote economic empowerment.

Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s richest man, owns 30.26 percent of the company, or 783,882,701 ordinary shares, through Econet Global Limited, a diversified telecommunications company with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, South America and East Asia.

Shares in EcoCash Holdings were trading at ZWL105.25 ($0.33) as of press time, 4.91-percent higher than their opening price on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange this morning.

The group’s shares have increased from a price of ZWL85 ($0.264) per share on Jan. 1 to ZWL105.25 at the time of writing this report, representing a 24-percent value gain for shareholders.

The market value of Masiyiwa’s stake has increased from ZWL66.6 billion ($206.9 million) on Jan. 1 to ZWL82.5 billion ($256.2 million) at the time of writing this report.

This amounts to a total gain of $49.3 million for the billionaire businessman since the start of the year.

Despite a difficult business environment in 2021, EcoCash Holdings reported that its mobile money business maintained transactional activity growth, with wallet funding increasing by ZWL$650 million ($2 million) from the previous quarter.

Its insurtech segment continued its customer acquisition drive in line with its revenue diversification strategy, with a 37-percent increase in short-term business compared to the previous quarter.

Masiyiwa’s net worth increased by 125 percent to $2.7 billion in 2021 from $1.2 billion due to a 750-percent increase in the shares of his publicly traded telecom company, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe.