- Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, Managing Director of Finserve Africa and Equity Group's director of payments and international banking, died aged 45
- Her death occurred while she was on an official business trip to China, with colleagues describing it as a sudden and profound shock
- Ngigi-Sarwari had nearly two decades of experience across Equity Bank, Visa, Standard Chartered, and Stanbic Bank
TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, the managing director of Finserve Africa and group director of Payments and International Banking at Equity Group, has died at the age of 45 while on an official business trip to China.
Source: Twitter
Her colleagues confirmed the news on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, characterising her passing as a "sudden and profound shock."
No cause of death has been disclosed.
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What was Ngigi-Sarwari's Role at Equity Group?
Ngigi-Sarwari had taken on the role of managing director at Finserve Africa in April 2026, where she was responsible for providing strategic leadership, commercial direction, and operational oversight of Equity Group's payments and digital financial services subsidiary.
She had also been serving as Group Director of Payments and International Banking since January 2025, leading the execution of Equity's payments vision across the African continent.
On her LinkedIn profile, she described herself as a financial services leader with 20 years of experience shaping digital financial services across the region.
"Along the way, I've structured working capital and cash management solutions for governments, supranationals, multilaterals, international development organisations, and both large and mid-sized local enterprises," she wrote. "Working with talented teams, we've delivered transformational working capital and digital solutions that changed how clients operate, and that is the work I'm proudest of."
How Eva Ngigi built her career
Before joining Equity Group, Ngigi-Sarwari served as senior director and country manager at Visa in Nairobi for over four years, from September 2020 to December 2024.
Prior to that, she spent nine months as a venture lead at SC Ventures, the innovation arm of Standard Chartered, where she was involved in business model development and market assessments.
She spent more than seven years at Standard Chartered Bank in Kenya, rising from principal in transaction banking to head of transaction banking for commercial banking, where she oversaw the Kenya and East Africa strategy.
Earlier in her career, she worked as transactional products and services sales manager at Stanbic Bank Kenya between 2010 and 2012.
Ngigi-Sarwari held a master of business administration in strategic management from the University of Nairobi and a bachelor of business management in marketing management from Moi University.
She also completed the Oxford Fintech Programme and the Oxford Strategic Management Executive Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Digital Business from Emeritus.
Who was Rosemary Koech?
In other news, Sarwari’s death comes months after the death of Rosemary Chemutai Koech-Kimwatu.
The 40-year-old head of data protection at KCB Bank Group, died at her home in Ngong, Kajiado county, on August 21.
Her death sparked a family disagreement over her burial arrangements, with her husband, Kevin Migwe Kimwatu, proposing their home in Matasia, Ngong, while her parents and sister preferred the family home in Chepseon, Kericho County.
Source: TUKO.co.ke