The Observer - 23 February 2014 - 9
small and medium enterprises; finally, international
donor organizations from Norway, Ireland, Britain,
Austria, and the US also provided some funding.
Masiyiwa’s business benefited from his association
with the IBDC, and from the political connections
that this association facilitated. At its peak, Retrofit
was the biggest electrical engineering company in
Zimbabwe, with annual revenues of approximately
Zim$100 million (approximately US$33 million at
the prevailing exchange rates). The International
Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the
World Bank, was a shareholder in the company,
as was the Zimbabwe Development Bank. Even
though Masiyiwa estimated that his company
carried out the electrical installation of 30-40% of
the major buildings in the capital city of Harare, its
main business was projects for the armed forces.
Retrofit thus had high-level security clearance - it
was even given the contract for President Mugabe’s
rural home. Masiyiwa also represented the IBDC in
international forums.
Around this time, Masiyiwa set up two other
ventures. The first was a construction company
called Omega, which he closed down when the
construction boom ended. The second was
a telecommunications service provider called
Cosmos in partnership with a colleague from
the IBDC. Masiyiwa later withdrew from this
partnership.
Masiyiwa married Tsitsi, whom he had known
for several years, soon after the abduction incident
in 1990. Masiyiwa was not a very religious person
until his abduction. Tsitsi recalls that after surviving
the harrowing experience, Masiyiwa would never
go to bed without saying his prayers. Tsitsi was also
university educated, had a successful career of her
own for some years, and was a devout Christian.
4 Interest in mobile
telecommunications
In spite of heading a very successful electrical
engineering company, Masiyiwa continued to be
passionate X