Zimbabwean Billionaire Strive Masiyiwa Warns Young Africans Against Flashy Living

Zimbabwean-born billionaire Strive Masiyiwa is pushing back against what many young people in his home country call Mbinga culture the flashy, social media-driven display of wealth built around high-end cars, designer watches and exotic holidays. In a recent Facebook post, the London-based founder of Econet and Cassava Technologies said those images should not be read as proof that someone is genuinely doing well, especially by aspiring entrepreneurs who treat them as the standard to chase. Masiyiwa said he will never tell anyone how to spend money earned honestly. But he warned that judging success by what people show off online means nothing at all and mostly misleads those who do not understand what lasting success looks like. To make his point, he turned to stories from his own life. He recalled visiting a billionaire family that built a global diamond business. At dinner, he said, the hosts wife wore only a plain wedding band and no watch her husband rotated the same well-worn jersey with a hole at the elbow and ordered the simplest meal on the menu. The couples wealth, he suggested, was obvious from their investments, not their outfits. In another example, Masiyiwa described travelling in South America with one of the worlds richest business leaders. Moments before a public event, the mans assistant arrived with a fresh shirt bought at a local supermarket. For people like that, Masiyiwa said, luxury brands simply do not matter. The billionaire framed these anecdotes as a warning to younger followers who equate lifestyle branding with progress. Obsession with labels and attention, he argued, can destroy your capacity to build a business that lasts and contributes to national development. In Zimbabwe, critics have long associated Mbinga culture with conspicuous consumption and, in some cases, unexplained wealth linked to political patronage or state looting. Masiyiwa did not name individuals, but his comments land in the middle of that debate, challenging the idea that a super-car or imported watch is a reliable signal of entrepreneurial success. He also took aim at older generations. Before spending heavily on themselves, he said, parents should ask whether they can fund their childrens education without help. For many families, he suggested, the honest answer is no a sign that it is too early to live like a Mbinga.