Partnership with Sterling Bank empowers Nigerians abroad with faster, transparent, and reliable money transfers

Thunes has announced a strategic collaboration with Sterling Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading full-service commercial banks, to enhance cross-border payments for Nigerians in the diaspora

The partnership aims to simplify, accelerate, and secure money transfers, setting a new standard for sending funds home.

With approximately 17 million Nigerians living abroad, the need for reliable, transparent, and fast financial connections has never been greater. Leveraging Thunes’ Direct Global Network, Sterling Bank will roll out this enhanced capability across multiple European markets, providing diaspora customers with a consistent, seamless way to support their families and manage finances.

Through this collaboration, both new and existing Sterling Bank account holders can now enjoy instant, secure cross-border payments. Research conducted by Thunes indicates that for nearly half (46%) of diaspora consumers in Europe, sending money home is a routine and essential activity, comparable to paying rent or utilities.

Daniel Parreira, senior vice-president, sales – Africa at Thunes, said, "Welcoming Sterling Bank to our Direct Global Network marks another significant milestone in our expansion across Africa, and the trust in our infrastructure across the continent. Together, we're enabling a new level of convenience, speed, and confidence for customers managing finances across borders. This alliance demonstrates our ongoing dedication to making global money movement instant, transparent and accessible for all."

Ayodeji Saba, head, Switch & Remittances at Sterling Bank, added, "This partnership reflects Sterling Bank's deep commitment to making it easier for Nigerians abroad to send money home. With Thunes' trusted technology, we're giving our customers a faster, more reliable, and more affordable way to fund their Sterling Bank accounts from their foreign bank accounts. It's a major step forward in improving the experience for our diaspora community."

This collaboration underscores both companies’ shared commitment to financial inclusion and community empowerment, helping Nigerians abroad manage their finances efficiently while supporting Thunes’ mission to onboard the next billion end users in emerging markets into the global economy.

Totogi’s multi-tenant platform introduces a new operating model for the MVNE

Totogi has revealed that an Africa-based mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), supporting around one million subscribers across 30 mobile brands, has chosen Totogi Charging-as-a-Service to manage its entire multi-brand operation on a single cloud-native charging platform

The MVNE oversees a broad mix of prepaid, eSIM, broadband, and value-added mobile services for both consumer and enterprise offerings, all delivered through a unified infrastructure. By adopting Totogi’s pay-as-you-grow, price-per-transaction model, the operator aims to maintain tighter cost control, enable flexible scaling, and simplify the management of multiple brands through one multi-tenant charging environment.

Totogi’s multi-tenant platform introduces a new operating model for the MVNE. Each MVNO brand operates within its own dedicated tenant, with full autonomy to create tariffs, set pricing, and launch promotions, without relying on the MVNE for routine changes. This approach allows brand teams to move faster, while the MVNE retains overarching visibility and governance across the platform. The self-service capability removes much of the operational friction typically associated with supporting multiple MVNOs.

“Running multiple brands on one charging platform is the kind of operational complexity that would paralyse a legacy charging deployment,” said Danielle Rios, CEO of Totogi. “With Charging-as-a-Service on AWS, this MVNE gets elastic scale, instant pricing changes, and the ability to spin up new MVNOs, each with its own separate tenant, without spinning up new infrastructure. Each MVNO controls its own offers; the MVNE manages the platform. This is what modern charging looks like: one platform, 30 brands, a million subscribers, zero change requests.”

The deployment is currently in progress, with full implementation expected to be completed in early 2026.

OneWeb LEO brings connectivity to Gabon trains

Eutelsat has announced the deployment of its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services to passenger trains in Gabon, in partnership with Airtel Gabon

The rollout follows successful testing and is part of a national initiative spearheaded by the Gabonese Ministry of Digital Economy, Digitalization and Innovation and the Ministry of Transport, Merchant Marine and Logistics, in collaboration with the Transgabon Railway Operating Company (SETRAG).

By bringing LEO broadband connectivity to rail transport, the project aims to modernise Gabon’s railway network, enhance passenger comfort, and provide reliable digital services along long-distance routes that extend beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. The initiative is expected to accelerate the integration of digital services into public transport, supporting the country’s broader digital transformation goals.

This deployment also expands the reach of Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO services across Africa, reflecting the company’s commitment to collaborating with governments and telecom operators to develop digital infrastructure for transport and public services. It further strengthens Eutelsat’s partnership with Airtel, laying the foundation for future rail connectivity projects across the continent.

“This deployment with Airtel Gabon reflects Eutelsat’s commitment to extending the benefits of OneWeb LEO connectivity in support of national digital initiatives. It also reinforces our partnership with Airtel and establishes a strong foundation for additional rail connectivity projects across Africa. By enabling reliable broadband services on passenger trains, we are contributing to the modernisation of public transport infrastructure and an improved travel experience for rail passengers in Gabon,” said Philippe Baudrier, vice-president, Africa, Eutelsat.

“Working with Eutelsat, the government, and national partners such as SETRAG, we are supporting the delivery of onboard connectivity services that enhance passenger comfort and support the integration of digital services into Gabon’s rail network. This project reflects our broader commitment to supporting the country’s highest authorities in their vision for innovation and digital transformation across the country,” added Thomas Herbert Gutjahr, Airtel Gabon managing director.

Medusa Africa set to boost Cameroon’s digital connectivity

Cameroon has completed a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for participation in the Medusa Africa submarine cable system, according to Business in Cameroon

The MoU has been submitted to the Presidency for “High Approval”, marking the first step toward the State’s formal commitment to the project

The country’s investment in the initiative is estimated at CFA32.8 billion (approx. US$58.5mn). Medusa Africa represents the West African branch of the broader Medusa system, led by AFR-IX Telecom Group, a Barcelona-based operator already present in Cameroon through a local subsidiary. Co-funded by the European Union, the cable is scheduled to become operational in 2028, linking Southern Europe to the Maghreb and Africa’s Atlantic coast, with planned landing points in Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, Lagos, Kribi, Libreville, Luanda, and Cape Town.

The European Commission has granted €14.3 million through the CEF Digital programme to support the project, while the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided approximately US$1.5mn for a feasibility study to extend the system into Africa.

Cameroon currently connects to five international submarine cables—SAIL, WACS (West Africa Cable System), SAT-3/WASC, NCSCS, and Ceiba-2—with Camtel as the sole operator owning and managing these systems. SAIL, NCSCS, and Ceiba-2 connect Cameroon to Brazil, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea, while WACS and SAT-3/WASC provide connectivity to Europe, North Africa, and Southern Africa. Ceiba-2 also links Cameroon to the ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) cable through Equatorial Guinea.

Despite this network, Camtel reportedly uses only 16% of the combined capacity of its submarine cables. Individual usage rates vary: 6% for SAIL, 57% for WACS, 29% for SAT-3, and 92% for NCSCS. Business in Cameroon notes that this underutilisation raises questions about the regional market’s capacity to absorb additional bandwidth and the operator’s commercial strategy.

Camtel attributes the low utilisation to limited Internet penetration in the sub-region, contrasting earlier projections of high bandwidth demand. Additionally, 83% of African Internet traffic is directed toward Europe, reducing the attractiveness of the SAIL cable. High pricing for capacity to Europe and South Africa via WACS, SAT-3, and NCSCS has further discouraged traffic routing through SAIL. The recent activation of Equiano and 2Africa cables, which have lowered regional capacity prices, has compounded the challenge.

Cameroon’s participation in Medusa Africa is expected to redirect traffic flows and may require reconfiguration of commercial offers to fully leverage existing assets. With 24 fiber pairs per segment and a capacity of 10–18 Tbit/s per pair, Medusa is designed as an open, independent system capable of supporting Cameroon’s digital growth for at least 25 years. For the country, it also provides a critical replacement for the aging SAT-3 cable, whose capacity limitations and maintenance costs have become increasingly burdensome.