Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa gains $1.7 billion so far this year

Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s richest man and one of Africa’s wealthiest billionaires, has seen his net worth skyrocket since the start of the year, as the value of his investments in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and EcoCash Holdings continues to rise.

Masiyiwa’s net worth has increased by more than $1.7 billion since the year began, owing to a year-to-date price increase in the shares of his telecom company, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, and his smart-tech company, EcoCash Holdings, formerly Cassava Smartech, according to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa.

According to data retrieved from the U.S. business magazine Forbes, the leading billionaire has also surpassed South African mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe to become the richest Black billionaire in Southern Africa.

Masyiwa’s net worth has increased from $2.7 billion to $4.4 billion at the time of writing this report, bringing his average daily gains to $14.53 million.

The billion-dollar increase in his fortune since the start of the year can also be attributed to the valuation of his privately held technology conglomerate, Econet Global, which owns companies such as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, Sasai Fintech, Cassava Remit, Vaya Technologies, and Distributed Power Technologies, among others.

Nearly two weeks ago, Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of the Zimbabwean billionaire’s 52.85-percent stake in Econet Zimbabwe the country’s largest telecom services provider has increased by ZWL164.32 billion ($510.33 million), as investors remained bullish on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange following higher earnings at the end of 2021.

The report disclosed that the triple-digit percent surge in Econet Wireless shares which led to the multimillion-dollar increase in the market value of Masiyiwa’s stake can be attributed to how investors and market participants reacted to figures in Econet’s third-quarter trading update.

The telecom company revealed that its data and voice traffic increased by 43 percent and six percent, respectively, during the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year, as it continues to bridge the digital divide and deliver a digital lifestyle through connectivity, gaming and music streaming, which remained a key theme throughout the period.

The increase in data and voice traffic positions the company to increase earnings at the end of its fiscal year in 2022.

Masiyiwa is credited with founding and growing Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and Econet Group to their respective positions in the African telecommunications and technology ecosystems. He celebrated his 61st birthday on Jan. 29 and announced his retirement as chairman and director of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited.

In response, Econet Wireless’ board of directors announced the appointment of Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa, one of Masiyiwa’s six children, to the board of the Harare-based telecom company in an effort to propel the firm’s growth forward as a going concern.