Man from rural South Africa who leads a R6.1-billion company is taking on Standard Bank, FNB, Nedbank and Absa

• Lesaka Technologies is buying Bank Zero for R1.1 billion
• Ali Mazanderani is the executive chairman of Lesaka Technologies, a Nasdaq and JSE-listed financial technology company
• Mazanderani's background in academia and consulting influenced his focus on emerging-market finance and led to his current venture