African telecoms mogul is UK’s first black billionaire

Zimbabwean-born business mogul and Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa who fled civil unrest in his homeland at the age of seven has become the first black billionaire to break into The Sunday Times Rich List with his wealth estimated to be £1.08bn. However, the telecoms tycoon, who lives in London, may be too busy to notice his elevation into the ranks of Britain’s super-rich. He is currently trying to fix one of the planet’s most pressing problems: finding enough vaccines for Africa’s 1.3bn-strong population. The Times reports that Masiyiwa (60) is a father of six who also serves on the boards of Netflix and Unilever. ITWeb reports that he also chairs Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African fibre-optic operator. The businessman already serves on several international boards, including National Geographic Society, Asia Society, and the Global Advisory boards of Bank of America, the Council on Foreign Relations (in the US), Stanford University, and the Prince of Wales Trust for Africa. Masiyiwa is also AU Special Envoy to the continent’s Covid response, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2020.