Her death was reported on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, citing a statement attributed to her colleagues, who described the news as a sudden and profound shock.
The exact date and cause of her death have not been disclosed.
Eva Ngigi-Sarwari was a prominent figure in East Africa’s financial services industry, with more than two decades of experience spanning banking, financial technology, digital payments and financial inclusion.
Her career included senior leadership positions at Visa, Standard Chartered, Stanbic Bank and Equity Group, where she contributed to the expansion of digital financial services across African markets.
Eva Ngigi-Sarwari’s Leadership at Finserve Africa
Ngigi-Sarwari joined Equity Group in January 2025 as Group Director of Payments and International Banking, overseeing the institution’s payments strategy and international banking operations.
In April 2026, she became Managing Director of Finserve Africa, the group’s financial technology subsidiary, responsible for advancing its digital payments business.
According to her professional profile at the Africa CEO Forum, she had more than 20 years of experience in financial services, including 16 years in senior leadership positions.
Her responsibilities at Equity Group included supporting financial innovation, strengthening digital payment infrastructure and expanding access to financial services across the group’s African markets.
Finserve Africa operates as Equity Group’s technology subsidiary, providing digital financial solutions to businesses, banks and consumers.
Its products include the Jenga Payment Gateway and Jenga APIs, which allow businesses to process payments, manage transactions and connect with financial institutions.
The company also supports Equitel, Equity Group’s mobile virtual network operator, which provides mobile banking and telecommunications services.
Ngigi-Sarwari’s appointment came as financial institutions across Africa continued investing in digital payment platforms, cross-border transactions and financial inclusion.
Her Career at Visa and Standard Chartered
Before joining Equity Group, Ngigi-Sarwari served as Senior Director and Country Manager for Visa in Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia between September 2020 and December 2024.
During her four-year tenure, she worked on expanding digital payment adoption, strengthening partnerships with financial institutions and supporting financial inclusion.
In a LinkedIn statement reflecting on her departure from Visa, she highlighted efforts to provide merchants and consumers with alternatives to cash payments.
She also emphasised collaboration with governments and financial institutions to strengthen digital payment systems and promote financial inclusion.
Before Visa, she spent more than seven years at Standard Chartered, where she held senior transaction banking positions.
She later worked with SC Ventures, the bank’s innovation and venture-building division.
Earlier in her career, she held positions at Stanbic Bank Kenya and Co-operative Bank of Kenya.
Her banking career began in 2005, when she worked on customer banking services before progressing into corporate banking, transaction products and financial technology leadership.
Her Contributions to Africa’s Digital Payments Industry
Throughout her career, Ngigi-Sarwari contributed to the transition from traditional banking systems to technology-enabled financial services.
Her experience covered electronic banking, merchant payments, financial technology partnerships and international banking.
In a 2021 interview with Business Daily Africa, she discussed her professional journey and the importance of leadership, mentorship and creating financial solutions that improve people’s lives.
She was also recognised for her contributions to women’s leadership in Kenya’s financial services industry.
Her work formed part of a broader transformation that has seen African financial institutions increasingly adopt digital payment technologies.
That transformation continues through new developments such as Visa and M-Pesa’s stablecoin payment pilot in the Democratic Republic of Congo, previously reported by Techsoma.
While Ngigi-Sarwari was not identified as a participant in that pilot, the initiative illustrates the evolving digital payments industry in which she built her career.
Beyond her professional responsibilities, she held an MBA in Strategic Management, completed executive education at Oxford Saïd Business School and earned a postgraduate diploma in Digital Business.
Her death marks the loss of an experienced banking and fintech executive whose career spanned some of Africa’s most important financial institutions.
Further information surrounding her death and funeral arrangements has not been publicly confirmed.
