Lesaka strengthens leadership team with executives from Starlink, MultiChoice and Deloitte

The JSE-listed fintech has announced three strategic appointments to boost its merchant division and reinforce group-level strategy.

Kagiso Khaole, CEO of Lesaka’s merchant division.

Lesaka Technologies, formerly known as Net1 UPS, has unveiled three senior appointments aimed at accelerating growth and innovation across its operations. The new executives will take on leadership roles within the merchant division and at the group level.

Kagiso Khaole stepped in as CEO of the merchant division on September 1. With more than a decade of experience at global technology companies, he most recently led Starlink’s expansion into 25 African markets for SpaceX and previously served as general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Uber.

Roland Naidoo will join the merchant division as chief operating officer on November 1. He comes from MultiChoice, where he headed data, customer experience and operations, and earlier held senior positions at Standard Bank, with a strong track record in digital transformation and building high-performing teams.

At the group level, Akash Dowra will assume the role of chief strategy officer on October 1. Formerly a managing partner at Deloitte Africa’s strategy and transactions practice, Dowra also served as chief growth officer at Discovery Bank and sat on its executive committee, helping scale the bank to over one million accounts within four years.

Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa, said the new appointments represent “an exciting chapter for the company,” underlining the quality of talent being brought into the organization.