Dr Strive Masiyiwa, the billionaire founder of Econet Global, has revealed a long-standing charitable tradition kept private for decades. For more than 26 years, he has quietly donated millions of dollars to charity every New Year’s Eve.
He described the practice as an “institutionalised” initiative embedded within Econet’s corporate culture. Despite its scale, the tradition has remained largely out of public view.
How the New Year’s Eve Donations Work
Writing on LinkedIn, Dr Masiyiwa explained that Econet donates all December 31 revenue to charity each year. He described the day as Econet’s own corporate “Thanksgiving Day.”
The donations support orphaned and vulnerable children across Zimbabwe. The tradition marks December 31, 1997, when the High Court allowed Econet to operate legally.
“I decided to make the 31st of December our own ‘Thanksgiving Day’ by giving all the money we make on that day to charity,” Dr Masiyiwa stated.
Millions Donated Without Publicity
Dr Masiyiwa confirmed the donations “generally runs into millions of US dollars.” However, Econet does not issue press statements about the annual giving.
The funds are separate from Higherlife Foundation’s regular endowments. Instead, the foundation distributes the money to child welfare organisations nationwide.
The process remains simple and private within Econet’s leadership.
Each year, Econet Zimbabwe CEO Dr Douglas Mboweni reports the total collected.
“You will not find press statements and announcements made at the time. I just directed the management team of the company to do it and every year, the CEO of Econet Zimbabwe, Dr Douglas Mboweni, calls me to say how much has been collected, then we both thank the Lord for using us as vessels to support the needy and that is it,” said Dr Masiyiwa.
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