Carey Eaton, the co-founder of online marketplace business One Africa Media, has died after an “armed robbery at a friend’s home in Nairobi in the early hours of the morning,” according to a statement on Thursday.

Carey played a key role in growing Cheki into Kenya’s biggest online car portal and helping to grow One Africa Media to 150 people. One Africa Media is also renowned for websites such as online jobs finding tool Jobberman and Private Property.

“It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the untimely death of Kenyan businessman Carey Eaton,” says One Africa Media in a blog post.

“Carey was the co-founder of the One Africa Media group of companies and one of the inspirational leaders of the technology revolution happening across the continent of Africa. He was on the boards of many companies and was well respected as a leader in the emerging online business sector where he also played a mentorship role to young technology entrepreneurs,” says the company.

Carey was previously the chief information officer (CIO) of Australian classifieds group SEEK.

But he returned to his native Kenya in 2011 to start Cheki.

“Carey was intelligent and bold but wielded this gift with a humility that gave all around him the confidence to achieve more than they knew was possible,” says One Africa Media.

“However, it is not Carey the business leader that we will miss as much as Carey the man: energetic, passionate and connected to us all in some special way,” says the company.