Strive Masiyiwa

Founded Econet in 1993 and fought a multi-year constitutional court battle against the state telecoms monopoly, winning a licence in 1997; the Global Business Hall of Fame calls the ruling a milestone in opening African telecoms to private capital.

Built Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which launched in 1998 and, by Bloomberg's 2022 count, grew from 32,000 subscribers at its listing to 13.2 million and dominates mobile money in the country.

Led Econet's growth into a wider technology group, which the Hall of Fame says includes Liquid Telecom and Cassava Fintech and operations in 28 African countries.

In February 2004 a regulator faxed an order that Econet's international link close within hours, and the company went to court, where a judge declared the regulations null and void.

This is consistent with answering a sudden state action by going to court, though the report names the company's chief executive, not Masiyiwa, as the affiant. Conflict Tolerance

By his own account, after losing a first case on whether mobile phones fell inside the state monopoly, he returned to court arguing the monopoly limited freedom of expression and won in 1995.

This is consistent with changing the legal approach after a defeat, though the reframing is told mainly by him. Adaptability

In 1993 the state telephone operator rejected his proposal for a mobile network, and he chose to sue rather than drop the idea, a fight that ended with a licence in 1997.

This is consistent with turning a refusal into a multi-year legal campaign, as recounted by him and confirmed on length and outcome by independent reports. Proactive Agency