“Every cent earned by Econet on December 31st goes to charity,” Dr Masiyiwa

Online Reporter

Dr Strive Masiyiwa, the billionaire founder of Econet Global, has revealed a long-standing “institutionalised” tradition of donating millions of dollars to charity every New Year’s Eve—a practice he has kept largely out of the public eye for more than a quarter of a century.

Writing on his LinkedIn page, Dr Masiyiwa said the initiative, which functions as a corporate “Thanksgiving Day,” involves donating the entire revenue generated by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe on December 31 of every year to support orphaned and at-risk children across the country.

The tradition commemorates December 31, 1997, the date the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that Econet had the legal right to operate its mobile network.

“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, noting that the tradition has now continued for 26 years.

While the exact figures are not publicly disclosed through press statements, Dr Masiyiwa confirmed the annual sum “generally runs into millions of US dollars.”

These funds are distinct from the regular endowments provided to the Higherlife Foundation, the philanthropic organisation founded by Dr Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi. Instead, the New Year’s Eve collection is distributed by the Foundation to various organisations nationwide that specialise in child welfare.

The process has become a quiet annual ritual within the company’s executive leadership. Each year, the CEO of Econet Zimbabwe, Dr Douglas Mboweni, briefs Dr Masiyiwa on the total collected before the funds are released.

“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.