The Strive Masiyiwa Story: My Five Year Battle To Set Up A Cell Phone Business (Part 1)

By Strive Masiyiwa

The investment from the IFC had taken me to a completely different level. For the first time, I had real EQUITY in the business and I was not just relying on bank LOANS. 

I had to meet tight conditions on how I conducted every aspect of the business. I now had a “boss” again; they were called the BOARD OF DIRECTORS, experienced businessmen and women who took their job very seriously.

My management team were well selected; a team of the best young professionals, I could find in my country.They were absolutely the best. I was finally doing the kind of projects, I always dreamed about. We were making money, and growing fast.

Although I had worked for our national telecoms company, called PTC (now TelOne); since leaving them, I had not had anything to do with telecommunications as an industry, because my business was in electrical power construction work. I had however kept subscriptions to all my professional magazines on developments in telecoms.

I knew that Mobile Communications was beginning to emerge as the next frontier. And yet in Africa, there were less than 5 countries that had built such networks, at the time. Most countries only had state owned fixed line operators providing poor, poor service.

I began to put together a business plan for a network in Zimbabwe. I travelled to trade shows, and I visited manufacturers, and operators, to gain greater understanding.

That was 1993 …To be continued.