Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa joins the board of advisors of Laurel Strategies, the global CEO advisory firm

Strive Masiyiwa, the Zimbabwean billionaire founder of Econet Group and one of Africa's most globally connected business figures, has joined the board of advisors of Laurel Strategies, the global CEO advisory firm that counsels senior executives of Fortune 500 companies on strategy, crisis management, reputation and governance, in a role that extends his influence in the international business advisory space.

The appointment was confirmed by Business Wire on June 25, 2026, in a formal press release from Laurel Strategies describing Masiyiwa as a global business leader whose expertise will strengthen the firm's capacity to advise chief executives navigating complex geopolitical, regulatory and operational environments. Laurel Strategies serves chief executives across a range of global industries, providing strategic counsel on matters ranging from stakeholder management and corporate communications to board dynamics and international expansion.

Masiyiwa's appointment to the Laurel Strategies board of advisors reflects a dimension of his career that has become increasingly prominent in the past decade: his role as a trusted counsellor to global business and political leaders alongside his primary identity as a builder of African infrastructure businesses. He served as a special envoy for the African Union during the coronavirus pandemic, co-chairing the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust that secured approximately 220 million vaccine doses for African nations. He sits on the boards of several prominent global institutions including Unilever, Netflix and the Council on Foreign Relations. He was a co-chair of the inaugural US-Africa Business Summit alongside former President Barack Obama and has been described by multiple Fortune 500 chief executives as among the most influential informal advisors in global business.

Masiyiwa built Econet Group from its founding in Zimbabwe in 1993, despite a seven-year legal battle with the Zimbabwean government to secure a mobile telecommunications licence that would have broken the state monopoly on mobile services. He ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe in 1998, launched Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, and used that foundation to build a diversified group spanning telecoms, energy, agriculture, fintech and media across more than 20 African countries and several international markets. Econet's portfolio includes Cassava Technologies, which provides fibre broadband, cloud computing and fintech infrastructure across Africa, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which operates one of the continent's largest fibre networks with connectivity spanning more than 35 African countries.

He relocated from Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom in 2000 citing security concerns and has since operated globally while maintaining his primary business focus on the African continent. He is a prominent public voice on African education, entrepreneurship and economic development and runs the Higherlife Foundation, one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest private philanthropy vehicles, which has supported more than 250,000 children across Zimbabwe and other African countries with scholarships, mentorship and social support programmes.

The Laurel Strategies appointment adds a formal advisory role to a portfolio of global influence that has been built informally over more than a decade of engagement with the world's most senior business and political leaders. For Laurel Strategies, Masiyiwa's addition brings the perspective of an entrepreneur who has built businesses across some of the world's most complex operating environments and who has counselled African governments, multilateral institutions and global corporations on strategy and investment across the continent.