Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Technologies Southern Africa, was last night honoured as All Africa Business Leader of the Year at the 13th annual All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA), hosted in partnership with CNBC Africa at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Celebrating leadership and transformation

Accepting the award, Mali reflected on Lesaka’s remarkable journey and paid tribute to the team behind its success: “This award belongs to all of us at Lesaka. In just three years, we’ve built a connected ecosystem where technology works for people – not the other way around. We’ve become a driving force for financial inclusion in Southern Africa, using technology to bring essential services to communities that need them most.”

A remarkable business turnaround

The award also recognises one of Southern Africa’s most significant business transformations. In FY2022, Lesaka reported an Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) loss of R268-million and was burning cash at over R500-million/year. By FY2025, the company delivered an Ebitda profit of R922 million and generated positive cash flow from operations – a testament to disciplined execution and visionary leadership.

Putting people first

Mali emphasised that Lesaka’s success is rooted in understanding customer needs rather than pushing products: “We are not a product-centric business. We are not trying to sell a transactional account or insurance or credit. We are trying to understand what our customers need in order to provide them with the best as they engage with the digital world. We are just getting started.”

Beyond business: a commitment to leadership

Beyond the boardroom, Mali champions youth leadership development through the Lincoln Mali Leadership Foundation, established in 2022 with his wife, Sva Mali. The foundation’s initiatives include leadership mentoring programs, community feeding schemes and sports development projects.

A call to action

Mali concluded with a powerful message for Africa’s innovators: “Awards are not the finish line; they are an invitation to keep building. Keep showing up. Keep choosing collaboration over competition. Keep proving that when values align, impact compounds. The future isn’t waiting for us to invent it – it’s waiting for us to co-own it. We dare to be midwives for Africa’s rebirth.”

About Lesaka Technologies
Lesaka operates a South African fintech company driven by a purpose to provide financial services, software and other business services to Southern Africa’s underserviced consumers and merchants. We offer an integrated and holistic multiproduct platform that provides transactional accounts, lending, insurance, merchant acquiring, cash management, software and alternative digital products (ADP). We provide targeted solutions and integrations to facilitate payments between consumers, merchants and enterprises. By providing a full-service fintech platform in our connected ecosystem, we facilitate the digitisation of commerce in our markets. Lesaka has a primary listing on Nasdaq (LSAK) and a secondary listing on the JSE (LSK). Visit www.lesakatech.com for more information.