Born in 1961 in pre-independence Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, Strive attended primary school in Zambia, where his family moved when he was only seven years old, and then completed secondary school in Scotland. After graduating in 1984 with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Wales, Strive worked in electronics in Cambridge before returning to newly independent Zimbabwe in 1986.

After working briefly as a telecom engineer for Zimbabwe’s state-owned telephone company PTC, Strive launched Retrofit, an electrical contracting business that quickly flourished. Seeing the promise of new mobile technologies, Strive founded Econet in 1993, where he first came to international prominence in a five-year constitutional legal battle that led to the dismantling of the state monopoly in Zimbabwe's telecommunications sector. The landmark ruling is regarded as one of the milestones in the opening up of African telecommunications to private capital and investment, which led to rapid growth that expanded and transformed the communications landscape across the continent.

Econet Wireless, first listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 1998, is now one subsidiary company of Econet Global, a diversified international technology group with operations in 28 African countries, the UK, and UAE. Other subsidiaries include Liquid Telecom, Cassava Fintech, Econet Energy, and Vaya Technologies Africa.

He sits on the UN Global Commission for Adaptation focusing on climate change challenges and was most recently appointed a Special Envoy to the African Union for COVID response, to help coordinate Africa private sector efforts to procure medical supplies to fight the spread of COVID-19. He led a similar initiative to fight Ebola in West Africa in 2014–2015. Strive is the only African member of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience and served on the jury of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

Strive was a co-founder of the Carbon War Room, the Global Business Coalition on Education, and the Micronutrient Initiative. He served as co-chair of Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development. He also worked with the AU Reform Task Force enabling the African Continental Free-Trade Area. Strive continues to drive continent-wide digital transformation as the only private sector member of the SMART Africa Board. He has served on two key United Nations Commissions, at the invitation of the Secretary-General: One on Financing Global Education Opportunities, and another on Sustainable Energy for All. Other awards and recognitions include:

• 1990: Zimbabwean Businessman of the Year Award (youngest ever recipient)

• 1998: Zimbabwean Manager and Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• 2002: Times Global Business Influential List

• 2003: CNN/Time Magazine Poll, 15 Global Influential of the Year

• 2010: Builder of the Modern Africa Awards

• 2011: Forbes Magazine, 20 Most Powerful Business People in African Business

• 2011: Times of London, 25 Leaders of Africa's Renaissance Award

• 2014: Fortune Magazine, World’s 50 Greatest Leaders

• 2015: Forbes Magazine, 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa

• 2015: UN Foundation Global Leadership Award for Africa Against Ebola Solidarity Trust

• 2018: Points of Light Award

• 2019: Norman E Borlaug World Food Prize Medallion

• 2019: New African Magazine, 100 Most Influential African

• 2020: Inducted into the JA Global Business Hall of Fame

An honorary fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, Strive has received honorary doctorates from Morehouse College, Yale University, Nelson Mandela University, and Cardiff University.