Author: Lorine Otamo

Eva Ngigi Sarwari, managing director of Finserve Africa and Equity Group’s director of payments and international banking, has died at 45 while on a business trip to China. Her colleagues announced her death on Tuesday 20 October and called the news a “sudden and profound shock”. The statement gave no cause or date of death. It said updates would follow as details became available and that “thoughts and prayers are with Eva’s family, friends and colleagues”. Equity Group had not issued a separate public statement in the first reports. From an internship to Equity Group’s payments business Ngigi Sarwari’s career…

Pressy Akinyi has joined Apple as Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for East Africa. She will work between Nairobi and Dubai. Akinyi announced the appointment on LinkedIn. “I’m excited to announce my new role as Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy, East Africa at Apple,” she wrote. She added: “I’ll be in between Nairobi and Dubai, feel free to connect.” She was previously Policy Lead at the American Chamber of Commerce, Kenya (AmCham Kenya). Akinyi ran policy advocacy at AmCham Kenya for two years Akinyi joined AmCham Kenya in September 2024 as Policy and Legal Specialist and…

Eric Muriuki has left NCBA Group, where he ran the LOOP digital banking business, to join Absa Group as Managing Executive for Pan African Growth Strategy, Platforms and Digital Ventures. His LinkedIn profile says he starts at Absa this month and will work from the Johannesburg area. Anyone in Kenya who has borrowed, saved or covered a payment from a phone has probably used a product he helped build. Two decades in Kenyan banking Muriuki joined Citi in Kenya in 1999 as a Business Systems Manager and stayed almost five years. In 2004 he moved to Co-operative Bank of Kenya…

Turaco promoted Cedrick Todwell to Chief Commercial Officer, Africa, on 1 October 2026, which puts one executive in charge of revenue, partnerships and country teams as the insurer enters more markets. What changes at Turaco Todwell joined Turaco in October 2024 as Director of Business Development. He built relationships with banks, microfinance institutions, fintech companies and telecom operators, mostly in East Africa. He now sets commercial strategy across the continent. His remit covers revenue, market share, partnerships, country teams, business units that pay their own way, and entry into new markets. For a bank or telecom operator that sells Turaco…

Anne Juuko became Director General of the East African Development Bank (EADB) on October 2, 2026. Her arrival ends almost two years of acting leadership at the Kampala based lender, which finances businesses and projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. A markets banker takes the top seat EADB’s Governing Council announced the appointment in Kampala. Juuko moves from Standard Bank Group, where she served as Regional Head of Global Markets for Eastern Africa. Standard Bank named her to that role effective April 1, 2024, after four years as chief executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda. She began her banking career…

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved a Short Form Prospectus that lets eligible Kenyan investors buy into the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO through Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), with the Nigerian offer closing on October 13. The regulator announced the approval on Monday, October 5, 2026. How the GDR route works A GDR is a negotiable security that represents shares in a foreign company. Kenyan buyers would hold receipts that give them economic exposure to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, without buying the Nigerian shares directly. A local route also spares investors from opening a Nigerian brokerage account before the…