The founder of Econet Global, Dr Strive Masiyiwa, has disclosed a long-standing corporate tradition of donating millions of dollars to charitable causes every New Year’s Eve. This practice, which has been institutionalised within the organisation for over a quarter of a century, remains largely shielded from the public eye. According to a report by the Herald, the initiative serves as a corporate day of thanksgiving, during which the entire revenue generated by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe on the final day of the year is redirected to support vulnerable and orphaned children. This specific annual event is separate from the regular endowments provided to the billionaire’s broader philanthropic interests.
The tradition was established to commemorate 31 December 1997, the date the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that Econet possessed the legal right to operate its mobile network. This judicial victory concluded a protracted five-year legal battle and marked the official birth of the telecommunications giant.
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While the company does not typically release the exact financial figures involved in this single-day collection, Dr Masiyiwa confirmed that the total generally runs into millions of US dollars annually. This substantial sum reflects the high volume of digital and voice traffic that occurs as people celebrate the transition into the new year. According to data from PitchBook, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe recorded a trailing twelve-month revenue of over one billion dollars in 2025, suggesting that a single day’s turnover represents a significant injection of capital into the charitable sector. These funds are distributed through a structured network to various welfare organisations nationwide.
The management of these funds is overseen by the Higherlife Foundation, an organisation founded by Dr Masiyiwa and his wife, Tsitsi, which specialises in human capital development. Rather than being absorbed into the foundation’s general scholarship funds, the New Year’s Eve revenue is specifically earmarked for immediate child welfare needs. As reported by Devex, the foundation has a vast reach across Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Burundi, supporting hundreds of thousands of children through education and healthcare initiatives. The year-end donation ensures that a diverse range of local organisations receive the support necessary to maintain their operations.
The process of calculating and releasing the funds has become a quiet, ritualised administrative task for the company’s senior leadership. Each year, the Chief Executive Officer of Econet Zimbabwe, Dr Douglas Mboweni, provides a briefing on the total revenue collected before the transfer is finalised. This internal procedure is conducted without the fanfare of press conferences or media alerts, adhering to the founder’s preference for discreet giving. By keeping the process private, the leadership maintains the focus on the spiritual and communal significance of the act rather than its potential for public relations.
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Strategic analysts suggest that this model of “revenue-based giving” provides a direct and transparent link between a company’s commercial success and its social impact. Because the donation is based on top-line revenue rather than profit, the commitment remains firm regardless of the year’s operational expenses or bottom-line performance. This approach ensures that the charitable partners can rely on a consistent and significant windfall at the start of each calendar year. It also fosters a unique corporate culture where employees and customers are aware that their end-of-year activity directly contributes to a social cause.
As the telecommunications sector continues to expand with the rollout of new digital services, the potential for such philanthropic models to scale increases. Dr Masiyiwa’s disclosure provides a rare glimpse into the intersection of faith, law, and corporate governance in Africa’s tech landscape. The ongoing success of this tradition serves as a reminder of how a single legal milestone in the late nineties transformed into a multi-decade legacy of support for the continent’s most vulnerable citizens.