Biography
Born in Zimbabwe, Zinona Zed Koudounaris completed his tertiary education at Rhodes University in South Africa where he attained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Business and Computer Sciences. Popularly known as Zed, Zinona Koudounaris is the co-founder of Innscor Africa Limited. He founded the company in 1997 together with fellow entrepreneur Michael Fowler. Zed Koudounaris is credited with being the driving force behind the initial operations and success of Innscor’s fast food brands. He has held several positions within Innscor and was its Chief Executive Officer when it listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) in 1998.
Zed’s interests now include other ZSE listed companies like Padenga, Axia Holdings and Simbisa Brands. Innscor itself has grown to become one of the largest conglomerates in Zimbabwe with interests in Colcom, National Foods, Capri, Profeeds, Pro Brands, NatPak and Irvines. Mr Koudounaris is also believed to have other interests in farming, mining, real estate and tourism. He is considered to be among the richest people in Zimbabwe with an estimated net worth of around $1.1 billion. At the moment, Zed sits on a number of boards which include Innscor Africa Limited, Simbisa Brands and Axia Corporation Limited.
It must be noted that in 2016, Zed Koudounaris and his partner Michael Fowler were accused of having opened four companies in the British Virgin Islands and transferring money from their salaries to those firms in 2015. This was against regulations that the transfer of money earned in the country to offshore accounts should be approved by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. It is not clear what happened to those accusations. However, this does not take away the fact that Zed remains one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. You only need to look at Simbisa Brands to understand this. Simbisa currently operates 413 Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in 9 countries across Africa. These countries include Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Ghana and others.
