Vimbai founded Batoka Hospitality as a luxury destination management and Africa travel concierge, alongside her mother Heather Masiyiwa.

Formerly part of Imvelo Safari Lodges, Batoka Hospitality took a life of its own in late 2019. Vimbai created this as a way to leverage the travel and hospitality industries to create sustainable economic growth for small and rural communities. Vimbai is passionate about people and Africa, and Batoka allows her to express both of those with social impact at the heart of it all.

In 2022, Batoka opened its first luxury lodge, Zambezi Sands in Victoria Falls. The property has 11 tented suites alongside the Zambezi River.

Vimbai prides herself in being the youngest, black female safari lodge owner in Africa. Like many other luxury safari lodges, Batoka finds itself as a beauty in the middle of a poorly developed community, something Vimbai has spoken about frequently. She believes it is her responsibility as an African and as a member of the community to create economic opportunities beyond employment for each community Batoka lodges borders. In order to achieve her dreams for the community, Vimbai created the Tesse Fund. The purpose of this fund is to financially support community led initiatives in agriculture, education and girls rights in communities where Batoka works. Tesse Fund is funded through a percentage of all Batoka revenues.

Vimbai’s journey with mental health began in 2016, following her battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Following her diagnosis, Vimbai struggles with anxiety and was later diagnosed with clinical depression. It was through her personal experience that she got to learn and understand the meaning of poor mental well-being and that it is common and stigimatised particularly in Africa.

Vimbai strongly believes that with the pressures of life, expectations on ourselves, social media and just the state of the world, most people will struggle with their mental health at some point in their lives. Her mission is to facilitate education around mental health, and accessible treatment across the continent.

Vimbai and her sister, Joanna Masiyiwa, have partnered with The Friendship Bench Zimbabwe to fundraise $100,000 during the 2023 Victoria Falls Marathon. The funds they will be fundraising will go to Zimbabwe’s first toll-free line for mental health crisis support.

Vimbai’s humanitarian and social impact advisory focuses on advocacy, mental health and leveraging relationship within communities, and with her network to create connections for change. She uses her knowledge of the African social landscape to connect individuals and groups with grassroots organisations on the continent. Vimbai is passionate about creating spaces for people to learn and
discuss how they can be transformational on the African continent.

She further advises highly influential individuals on how to structure their social impact work in sustainable ways.

Beneath all her intense projects and commitments, Vimbai is an avid reader. She is constantly looking to learn and expand her knowledge in various areas. Over time she began to share some of the insights she was reading with Instagram followers, and that’s how her book club began. Vimbai shares four books she is reading every month with her followers, and hosts conversations with those reading the same books as her.

If you would like to sign up to the book club mailing list, click here info@vimbaimasiyiwa.com