Zimbabwe’s richest man Strive Masiyiwa to provide jobs and income opportunities for 30,000 people
Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has directed Econet to create employment and business opportunities for citizens returning from South Africa, with the group preparing to appoint 15,000 new EcoCash agents before Christmas in a plan expected to support income opportunities for about 30,000 people.
The initiative brings together several parts of Masiyiwa’s business empire. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is looking at a faster construction programme at Econet Tech City, an expansion of its agricultural operations and a major increase in the number of people working in the EcoCash agent network. The projects are intended to put people to work quickly as Zimbabwe absorbs citizens coming back from South Africa and faces continuing pressure to create livelihoods at home.
Douglas Mboweni, chief executive of Econet Zimbabwe, said management had held several meetings with Masiyiwa to identify practical ways for the group to assist returnees and complement government efforts. The focus, he said, was on projects that could begin creating work without waiting for long planning cycles.
“We are looking at various projects aimed primarily at creating even temporary jobs,” Mboweni said.
The largest immediate opportunity is expected to come through EcoCash, Econet’s mobile-money business. The company plans to recruit 15,000 new agents by Christmas. Mboweni said each agent could support at least two jobs, taking the potential reach of the programme to roughly 30,000 people.
“Each time we appoint a new agent, that results in at least two jobs. So this is one way we think we can help,” Mboweni said.
EcoCash agents operate as local points where customers can access services that would otherwise require a branch or formal office. They handle transactions such as cash-in, cash-out and payments, bringing mobile financial services into neighbourhoods, towns and trading areas. For the agent, the arrangement creates a small-business opportunity built around daily customer transactions. For people working alongside the agent, it can provide roles in cash handling, customer service, records, shop operations and local distribution.
The planned recruitment therefore extends beyond a simple increase in the number of outlets. It is designed to widen a network that links households, merchants and businesses to the digital payments system. New agents will need premises, working capital, equipment and staff, while existing small businesses may be able to add EcoCash services to their shops and trading operations. The new appointments could also create openings for people who have returned with work experience, savings or business skills acquired in South Africa.
The agent model is already built around individual and business partners authorised to provide limited EcoCash services. Applicants can obtain a partner application form from an Econet shop, submit the required documents, undergo vetting and sign a contract. Once approved, a partner acts as a physical contact point in areas where EcoCash does not have a branch.
For returnees, that structure offers a route into self-employment or small-scale enterprise rather than only conventional salaried work. The programme’s success will depend on how quickly suitable agents are approved, whether they can access enough liquidity to serve customers and how much activity each outlet can generate. But the scale of the target makes the mobile-money network the central part of Econet’s short-term response.
Econet also plans to accelerate work at Econet Tech City, a large industrial and technology development being built near Harare’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. Mboweni said construction could provide about 2,000 short-term jobs as the project gathers pace.
“We could provide about 2,000 jobs in the short term as we ramp up construction,” he said.
Tech City was unveiled as a planned $1 billion development covering about 800 acres. The project is expected to host roughly 300 companies when fully developed and could create more than 20,000 jobs over time. Its proposed role is broader than that of a conventional office park. It is intended to bring together technology companies, industrial activity, digital infrastructure and supporting services in one location.
The construction phase can create work for builders, machine operators, electricians, plumbers, drivers, security staff, suppliers and other trades. It can also support indirect business for transport operators, food vendors, accommodation providers and small contractors serving the site. By bringing forward construction activity, Econet is seeking to produce an immediate employment effect while laying the foundations for a longer-term technology and industrial economy.
The agricultural component of the plan is another part of the effort to create work outside the capital’s technology and financial sectors. Econet intends to expand AgriTech operations that grow fruit for export to China. The expansion could create hundreds of additional jobs, including work in cultivation, irrigation, harvesting, sorting, packing, transport, maintenance and agricultural management.
“We are not farmers, but we are putting money into agricultural initiatives because they are a quick way to create jobs,” Mboweni said.
The decision to use agriculture as a fast employment channel reflects the wide range of skills needed to move produce from a field to an overseas buyer. Export agriculture depends on farm labour, technical services, logistics, packaging and quality control. It can also create opportunities for local suppliers and small producers that provide inputs, equipment, transport or services to commercial operations.
The China export market gives the agricultural project an income-generating purpose beyond domestic production. Fruit grown for export must meet standards for quality, timing, packaging and traceability, creating demand for trained workers and specialist services. Expansion can therefore connect Zimbabwean labour to international markets while supporting activity in rural areas.
The announcement comes as Zimbabwe deals with the return of citizens who had been working or living in South Africa. Many returnees are arriving in a domestic economy where formal employment is limited and where small businesses, informal trading and family enterprises remain important sources of income. The pressure has placed employment creation at the centre of discussions between government and the private sector.
Econet is engaging government on elements of the response. Mboweni said businesses should use the resources available to them to help fellow citizens and urged other companies to identify employment opportunities, including temporary work, that could ease the difficulties faced by returnees.
“As industry and business, we have to use all the tools at our disposal to help our fellow citizens,” he said.
His wider Econet interests include technology, fibre networks, cloud services, data centres, fintech and artificial intelligence. Cassava Technologies, the group associated with Masiyiwa, includes Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, Cassava AI, Sasai Fintech and Liquid C2 Cloud and Cybersecurity. These businesses operate in sectors that require engineers, technicians, software specialists, sales teams, customer-service staff and support providers.
The employment effect of such companies is not limited to people on their payrolls. Telecommunications infrastructure requires construction contractors, tower technicians, distributors, retailers and maintenance teams. Mobile-money platforms rely on agents, merchants and service partners. Digital companies create demand for data, software, logistics, security and professional services. Each layer gives small businesses a chance to participate in a larger commercial network.
Masiyiwa and his wife, Tsitsi Masiyiwa, have also supported education and livelihoods through the Higherlife Foundation. Established in 1996 during Zimbabwe’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, the foundation says it has supported more than 400,000 learners, from early childhood to doctoral studies. Its work includes scholarships, digital learning and leadership development.
The foundation also describes sustainable livelihoods as a route from dependence to self-reliance. Its programmes include work intended to strengthen food systems, build institutional resilience and equip people with skills and resources for changing climates. Climate-smart farming initiatives form part of that wider approach, linking education and community support with the ability of families to earn and produce.
Those efforts sit alongside the commercial projects now being accelerated by Econet. Scholarships and skills programmes can strengthen a person’s ability to find work, while agent networks, construction sites and agricultural operations create places where those skills can be used. Together, they show how Masiyiwa’s organisations have approached employment through several channels: direct jobs, small-business partnerships, infrastructure development, technology services, agriculture and human-capital investment.
The immediate target is clear. EcoCash is expected to appoint 15,000 agents by Christmas, with each agent supporting at least two jobs. Econet Tech City could add about 2,000 short-term construction positions, while the AgriTech expansion is expected to create hundreds more. The wider Tech City development is projected to support more than 20,000 jobs once companies begin operating from the site.
For Zimbabweans returning from South Africa, the first opportunities are likely to be local and practical: running an agent outlet, joining a construction crew, working in a field or packhouse, providing transport, supplying a business or helping customers use digital financial services. The programme places those opportunities within a larger plan to expand Econet’s presence in communications, finance, technology and agriculture.
Masiyiwa’s intervention makes his companies a prominent part of Zimbabwe’s response to the return of citizens from South Africa. The job drive is not confined to one factory or one recruitment campaign. It combines a national mobile-money network, a major construction project, export agriculture and long-running education and livelihood programmes. In doing so, it aims to turn existing business infrastructure into new income opportunities for people seeking a way to rebuild their working lives at home.