4 Zimbabweans among 100 most influential Africans

FOUR Zimbabweans have been named among the 100 most influential Africans by London-based New African Magazine.

The four are Dr Amai Grace Mugabe, novelist Noviolet Bulawayo, media entrepreneur Trevor Ncube and Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa.

Comrade in waiting?

Grace Mugabe hit the headlines this year, even outshining her husband. She used her nationwide publicity tour to attack VP Joice Mujuru, seen as a possible successor to Robert Mugabe. At this month's Zanu-PF conference, Grace is likely to join the politburo. In 2015, she is likely to be touted as a potential successor to her husband.

The telecommunications king

It took a five-year-long legal battle for Strive Masiyiwa to get Zimbabwe to lift the state monopoly on telecommunications, but since he managed it and founded Econet, the company has not stopped growing. This year, the network has continued to diversify, deepening its involvement in services such as car tracking, advertising and mobile money transfers, while it has also bought up telecoms companies in the likes of Burundi and the Central African Republic. The more Strive strives, the more Econet grows.

The media mogul

Trevor Ncube believes that change has to start with a conversation, and as the man in charge of four newspapers in Zimbabwe and one of the biggest media organisations in South Africa, he is well-placed to facilitate that percolation of ideas. African media is getting bigger, louder, and ever more fearless, and the Zimbabwean media mogul is in pole position to help drive this trend.

The young author who won't stop winning awards

NoViolet is back on the list after amassing further awards this year for her debut novel We Need New Names, including the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Prize for fiction. Through the eyes of Darling, NoViolet paints a jarringly vivid depiction of the immigrant experience, where dreams are shattered by the harsh realities of America, and the clash of cultures causes confusion.

There are 45 women on the list.