Beyond the Ballot Box: Strive Masiyiwa’s redefinition of leadership through contribution

Growing up must be one of the most beautiful experiences in life. Yes, there are many beautiful experiences in life but growing up is unparalleled.

It is not only the body that develops but even the intellectual part also grows. You realize you are not just learning but also unlearning and relearning.

After meticulously looking at the journey that Zimbabwe’s richest man Dr Strive Masiyiwa has travelled, I have realized that one can be a great embodiment and personification of societal development without being a public officer bearer.

One can bring change to their society, bring smiles to many and save thousands of lives. In fact, they can bring more positive impact to their society than any politician can ever bring, especially in the African context.

Have you ever keenly looked at the odyssey of Strive Masiyiwa?

Don’t you agree with me that he is not only a thought leader in the world of business but his societal contributions have greatly exhibited that you can effectively ‘vote’ for yourself, ‘appoint’ yourself a leader and bring great change to society?

His contributions, together with his wife Tsitsi, are not an accident of history but these are products of a man who has always been ahead of his time, a leader without a title.

Reader, this is not meant to be a hagiographical piece of work but just an acknowledgement of inspiring contributions being made, which all of us ought to emulate.

I always ask myself, why was this man name “Strive”? Those who did Literature in English are familiar with a literary device called ‘charactonym’. Charactonym is a name that reflects a person’s character, personality or traits.

My dictionary defines the word ‘strive’ in the following words, that is, ‘to try to achieve a result, to make strenuous effort, to try earnestly and persistently’.

After learning that it took Strive five years to win a five-year legal battle with the government of Zimbabwe in order to get Econet registered, don’t you think he really strived?

But as l shall bring it out in this article, the man has not only strived to change his life but to also change thousands of people’s lives not just in his home country Zimbabwe but far beyond the borders of our teapot shaped country, especially through his humanitarian and philanthropic works.

I remember vividly that I first heard about Dr Strive Masiyiwa in December 2013 when I was 12 years old and doing grade 6 in Gokwe.

I was herding cattle with a guy called Peter Ndlovu, a fellow villager and I remember he asked me who was the richest man in Zimbabwe and I responded sheepishly that Robert Mugabe, the then Zimbabwean president, was the richest man in Zimbabwe.

Peter corrected me by saying that it was actually a guy called Strive Masiyiwa. I remember I kept on asking him the name of the guy so that I would not forget it. Peter was my senior and he was doing form 6 and I was only doing grade 6.

Peter was a student at Nembudziya Government High School and by virtue of that he usually frequented Nembudziya Growth Point, which we considered our ‘town, he had come to know all this information which I had never even dreamt about.

I had no WIFI to google, I only had radio and the only station we could access in our remote area was Radio Zimbabwe.

So, I only got to know more about Strive after coming to Harare in 2017 when I was now doing form 3 and had access to phones. Anyway, this is not the crux of this article.

At a time when most Zimbabweans were still gripped by the euphoria of independence, Strive was contemplating about how he would become a great changemaker in the world of business.

He set up Econet Wireless after a five-year legal battle with the government of Zimbabwe and it grew to be one of the biggest companies by market capitalization in Zimbabwe.

Grandfathers and grandmothers in Mberengwa, Chimanimani, Muzarabani, Gokwe, etc, can now access a lot of technological services and can receive money from their children who stay in the diaspora, thanks to Strive.

At a time when it was unimaginable, that individuals could use cellphones, Masiyiwa and his wife were way ahead of most Zimbabweans in as far as their vision was concerned.

Strive’s powerful leadership acumen can be traced to as far back as 1996 when he, together with his intelligent wife Tsitsi, set up The Higher Life Foundation which currently has a strong presence in countries like Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Lesotho.

Up to date, the organization, which he runs together with his wife Tsitsi, has benefitted more than 350 000 orphans in Africa. Reader, this is a very huge number. How many politicians have single-handedly done this in Africa?

Strive also runs the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship which has sent to school more than 3500 students to university so fa, in Zimbabwe.

The scholarship is named after Dr Joshua Nkomo because Joshua Nkomo, the late vice president of Zimbabwe, played a pivotal role in ensuring the licensing of Econet Wireless.

Imagine if Strive and Tsitsi had not set up these programs, who would have done it? What would have become of those children?

Some of the beneficiaries of his larger than life humanitarianism and acts of ploughing back to the community are now international superstars because Masiyiwa and his wife extended their helping hand at a very critical moment.

I have once come across a statement that says, ‘the first step is always the hardest’ and the Masiyiwas are really doing a good job in ensuring that those underprivileged people climb one of the hardest steps to the promised land.

Their contribution to African development also extends towards areas like healthcare, agriculture and supporting upcoming entrepreneurs, among others. At one point, Masiyiwa donated more than $60 million towards fighting the deadly cholera pandemic in Zimbabwe.

Last year, he donated maternity stuff worth 240 thousand to three big hospitals in Zimbabwe. The man has done a lot of work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2019, he donated $5 million towards victims of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani, Manicaland.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Masiyiwa donated a lot of necessities like ventilators, test kits, etc, not just to Zimbabwe but to many African countries. Think about the number of lives that he saved?

This is a testament to the fact that individuals can bring significant development to society without even being public office holders, setting an unequalled example for more people to follow.

From your own salary, imagine how it will go a long way if you take some and commit towards helping some poor people so that they can also develop.

The above are just some examples among many. I have only mentioned them so that you see where I am coming from. I remember at one point, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and former United States President Barack Obama, commented that the man was doing laudable work.

Reader, think about the concept of development. This work is being done by one individual together with his wife. Imagine if God raises more than one thousand Africans who think like Masiyiwa? Think about the magnitude of development that will visit Africa.

How many office bearers in Africa are doing similar work? In fact, most African office bearers must pick up huge lessons from Strive and Tsitsi. The couple openly say they are Christians and it is really commendable that they walk their talk.

To be a Christian is to do what Jesus preached. Didn’t Jesus ask us to look after the helpless in society? Think about the number of the helpless who were and are being looked after by Strive Masiyiwa.

Probably, there are many people who are thinking about making a contribution to society but they keep on asking themselves how they can make a difference and contribute to development if they do not hold public office?

Africans in the diaspora, who have some money and even those at home, must rethink.

I think it is high time people think about contributing to development more, especially human development in the context of the downtrodden and the marginalized in our society. I am not saying people are not doing similar work but there is room for improvement.

Setting up organizations funded by a number of people really works if one person is unable to do it alone because they think their money is not enough.

Some of the money that the Masiyiwas use does not directly come from their pockets but they use their star power to mobilize funds towards development in our society.

The fact that they spend all that time thinking about how to mobilize more money to help the poor cannot be underestimated. If they choose to cease to do all that work, who is going to ask them why they stopped?

Quite a number of entrepreneurs, including the likes of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates do that work on a global scale.

I recently read an article which was saying that had Bill Gates not made all the donations he has made so far, he would not only the richest man right now but he would be a trillionaire.

Now he is worth less than $200 billion, it means that the amount of money he has spent towards philanthropy and human development is more than his current net worth.

Had Masiyiwa not contributed towards many areas of development, especially human development, how much would he be worthy right now?

This also means that we need more entrepreneurs in Africa. I know that there are issues about the deficiency of a business-friendly environment in Africa but that is a conversation for another day.

The fulcrum of this article is to bring out how Strive Masiyiwa is contributing immensely towards African development even though he is not a public office bearer. This is a story that must inspire more Africans who have the capacity to do similar work.

In a continent riddled with corruption and misgovernance, people like Strive Masiyiwa are like an oasis in a dessert. Even the fact that he set up Econet and Eco-Cash, which most Zimbabweans depend, shows that he is great force to reckon with.

Think about the tax he is paying? Think about his contribution to the gross domestic products of many African countries.

Conclusion

Speaking at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, former United States President Bill Clinton made a powerful statement that really interested me. He said, “World over, people are more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”

Strive Masiyiwa was never given power by anybody via ballot box but the contribution that he has made, using his star power as an emminent business mogul, is very powerful in as far as development is concerned.

Most ‘powerful’ people are going to be forgotten after death because they try to impress people with the example of their power rather than with the power of their example.

The powerful example of Strive Masiyiwa must serve as an indelible illustration to many, that one can move mountains in the arena of societal development, without being a public office bearer.

If anything, one can actually do better than most public office bearers, like what Masiyiwa is doing.

Some have suggested that Masiyiwa needs to consider contesting for public office but the man created a de facto public office for himself through his social responsibility, doing work which he was never tasked by any human being to do and is doing more superb work than most public office bearers in Africa.

I do acknowledge that he does most of his work with his wife and actually, Higher Life Foundation is run by his wife. So, I do commend both him and his wife. When you commend the husband, the wife is also included because most changemakers are often largely supported by their wives.

The world needs more people of Masiyiwa’s calibre. What will become of Zimbabwe and Africa, if we have  1 million people who are passionately committed to ploughing back to the community, just like Masiyiwa?

What will become of Africa, if we have more “genuine” business people who are willing to provide some start up capital to most youths, who are sadly becoming drug addicts as a way of escaping serious penury and squalor?

What will happen if more “credible” rise and contribute towards rehabilitating youths who are now drug addicts and thigh vendors?

Reader, care should be taken to note that a call for the emergence of individuals who develop societies is not an encouragement to office bearers to abdicate their role which they get elected to do.

Clayton Gonese is a 24 year old young man who is inspired by the great work that both Dr Strive Masiyiwa and his wife are doing. He is also very passionate about development. He can be contacted on 0788159037/ [email protected]