Eva Ngigi Sarwari, who served as Equity Group’s director of payments and international banking and as managing director of its Finserve Africa subsidiary, died at age 45 while on a business trip to China.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by her colleagues, who described the loss as a sudden and profound shock and offered condolences to her family, friends and workmates.

No details on the cause or exact date of death have been disclosed, and further information will be provided as it becomes available.

Sarwari joined Equity Group in January 2025 as group director for payments and international banking, overseeing the lender’s payments strategy across Africa.

In April 2026 she was appointed managing director of Finserve Africa, the group’s payments and digital financial services subsidiary, responsible for its commercial direction and operations.

Prior to Equity Group, she spent more than four years at Visa as senior director and country manager for Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia, and held senior roles at Standard Chartered and Stanbic Bank Kenya.

Her banking career began in June 2005 at Co-operative Bank of Kenya as a relationship manager, where she introduced customers to electronic banking systems and coordinated installations and training.

Colleagues reiterated their thoughts and prayers for Sarwari’s family and friends, emphasizing the difficulty of the loss for the organisation.