Eva Ngigi Sarwari, Equity's head of payments, dies on business trip to China

Eva Ngigi Sarwari, 45, was found dead in a hotel room in Shanghai on a business trip, the sudden loss sending ripples through the banking corridors of Kenya and beyond. She had been on the move between meetings with Chinese fintech firms, a trip that had begun with a brief stop in Guangzhou before the flight to Shanghai. The news arrived in the early hours of a Tuesday, when her colleagues posted a statement on the Equity Group’s internal channel, describing the event as a “sudden and profound shock.” No cause was disclosed, and the details remain sparse, but the timing of her deathmid‑week, mid‑flightunderscored how abruptly careers and lives can pivot.

From the first day she stepped into the halls of the Co‑operative Bank of Kenya, Eva was already a catalyst for change. She introduced customers to electronic banking, a move that modernised the bank’s service delivery and set a precedent for digital transformation across the region. That early experience would become a thread that ran through her later roles. When she moved to Visa in September 2020, she carried that legacy into a global card network, overseeing the company’s growth strategy in Kenya, South Sudan, and Somalia. Her mandate was not merely to expand market share but to weave local financial ecosystems into a broader, interoperable framework.

Her time at Visa was preceded by a stint at Standard Chartered’s venture arm, SC Ventures, where she led a venture team in 2020. Before that, she had spent more than seven years in Standard Chartered’s transaction banking division, shaping product relevance and digital transformation across East Africa. Each step had deepened her understanding of both the micro‑level needs of individual customers and the macro‑level structures that enable financial inclusion.

In January 2025, Eva joined Equity Group as group director for payments and international banking. Her remit was to execute the bank’s payments strategy across Africaa role that demanded a blend of local insight and global perspective. Less than a year later, in April 2026, she was promoted to managing director of Finserve Africa, the payments and digital financial services arm of the group. Here, she steered strategy, commercial direction, and operations, bringing together her experience from local banks, an international banking group, and a global card network.

Her career trajectory illustrates a rare blend of depth and breadth. Few professionals can claim to have navigated the corridors of a local cooperative bank, the boardrooms of an international fintech giant, and the strategic corridors of a major African bank, all while championing digital inclusion.

As a writer who follows the pulse of Africa’s creator economy and fintech landscape, I see Eva’s story as a reminder that behind every headline is a human narrative. Her sudden departure highlights the pressures that come with leading in a sector that moves at breakneck speed. The fintech ecosystem is built on ambition, but it also demands resilience and, at times, sacrifices that are invisible to the public eye.

The fact that Eva was on a business trip to Chinaan emerging hub for fintech collaborationspeaks to the increasing interconnectedness of African financial services with global markets. Her work was not just about transactions; it was about building bridges between continents, cultures, and capital flows.

Eva Ngigi Sarwari’s legacy is already felt in the corridors of Equity Group and the wider East African banking community. Her initiatives in electronic banking at the Co‑operative Bank of Kenya laid the groundwork for the digital services that millions now rely on. Her leadership at Visa helped shape a regional strategy that balances growth with inclusion. As Finserve Africa’s managing director, she was poised to drive further innovation in payments across the continent.

Her untimely death leaves a vacuum that will be keenly felt. Yet it also opens a space for reflection on the importance of sustainable leadership in fintech. In a field where speed often trumps depth, Eva’s career reminds us that lasting impact comes from building systems that endure beyond individual tenures.

The next steps for Equity Group and Finserve Africa will likely involve honoring Eva’s vision while ensuring continuity in their payments strategy. As the sector mourns a key figure, it also looks forward to the new leaders who will carry the torch she so brightly illuminated.