How a man called Strive beat off the corrupt cronies Despite being the victim of outright corruption in Zimbabwe, Strive Masiyiwa has prospered. He would have failed without help from an unexpected quarter. Where cellphones have been licensed in Eastern Europe, Latin America and, most recently, in Africa, demand has been unquenchable. People like to talk to each other.
Wireless networks are quicker and cheaper to build than landlines.
Conventional telephone networks are plundered for copper and equipment. So when, in 1993, Strive Masiyiwa decided to set up a cellular network in Zimbabwe, he had little trouble raising the necessary finance. But when he suggested a joint venture with PTC, his former employer and the national telephone company, its bosses refused, saying there was no call for mobile telephones in Zimbabwe. Masiyiwa made up his mind to go it alone, which, as it turned out, was a courageous decision. At every turn his company, called Econet, was frustrated by officialdom and corruption.