Equity Group Director of Payments and International Banking and Finserve Africa Managing Director Eva Ngigi Sarwari has died aged 45 while on a business trip to China.
Her colleagues confirmed her death in a statement, describing it as a sudden and profound shock to those who worked with her.
The statement did not disclose the cause or date of her death, adding that further updates would be communicated in due course.
Sarwari had more than 20 years of experience in banking, digital financial services and payments, having held senior positions at several financial institutions in Kenya and internationally.
She began her banking career in 2005 after completing university, working in customer service and teller operations before progressing to sales and corporate banking.
She later joined Co-operative Bank of Kenya as a relationship manager, where she helped corporate clients adopt electronic banking products. Her responsibilities included overseeing installations, demonstrating services and training users.
In 2020, Sarwari moved to SC Ventures, the venture-building arm of Standard Chartered, where she served as a venture lead. In September that year, she joined global payments company Visa as senior director and country manager for Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia.
At Visa, where she worked until December 2024, she was responsible for developing and implementing growth strategies across the three markets.
She joined Equity Group in January 2025 as Director of Payments and International Banking, overseeing the execution of the group’s payments strategy across Africa.
In April 2026, she was appointed Managing Director of Finserve Africa, an Equity Group subsidiary specialising in payments and digital financial services. She was responsible for the company’s strategy, commercial direction and operations.
Her career spanned retail and corporate banking, international financial services, venture development and global payment systems, with a focus on expanding digital payment solutions for individuals and businesses.
Her death marks a loss to Kenya’s financial services sector, where she held senior roles in the development and expansion of digital payments across several African markets.
Colleagues have extended their condolences to her family, friends and co-workers following her death.
