From Mosi-oa-Tunya to Batoka Africa: How Vimbai Masiyiwa redefines what’s possible

I recently had the honor of being introduced by my counsellor, Vimbai Masiyiwa — and I’m still processing what that moment meant for me, not just as a young leader, but as an indigenous person trying to find my place in global conversations.

- ANNA MAE YU LAMENTILLO

Before I met her, I knew the public headlines: CEO and chief creative officer of Batoka Africa, Forbes Africa 30 Under 30, Zimbabwe CEO Network’s Outstanding Young CEO, astyle icon on Tatler’s Best Dressed List. But none of that prepared me for the woman who stood in front of us: grounded, warm, deeply intentional — and fiercely committed to re-imagining what African, and more specifically indigenous, leadership can look like.

Batoka Africa, the ecotourism company she co-founded with her mother, Tsitsi Masiyiwa, is more than a safari brand. Hearing her speak, it became clear that Batokaisa statement. Its lodges along the Zambezi, near Victoria Falls - Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders” — are designed not only to showcase nature’s grandeur, but to place African voices, communities, and creativity at the center of the story.