Connect with us

Technology

Thunes and Papara establish a bilateral partnership to enable cross-border transfers to and from Türkiye

Published

on

Papara’s over 21 million users can send and receive money to and from five continents, further enhancing its cross-border transfer capabilities.

ISTANBUL and SINGAPORE, Nov. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, today welcomed Papara, Türkiye’s leading fintech company, as a new Member of its Direct Global Network, and allies to facilitate cross-border payments to and from Türkiye. This collaboration empowers Papara users in Türkiye, enabling them to send money into 3 billion mobile wallet accounts, 4 billion bank accounts, and 15 billion cards in over 80 currencies to more than 130 countries. The cooperation also enables fast, simple and affordable international money transfers directly to Papara accounts, marking the first time such a service is available in Türkiye.

With over 21 million users, Papara offers comprehensive digital services facilitating various domestic and international financial transactions. The alliance allows Thunes’ extensive Direct Global Network Members to send money directly to Papara accounts in real-time, providing a faster, more convenient way to transfer money to Türkiye. With Thunes’ in-house SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, Members of the Network receive unrivaled speed, control, visibility, protection, and cost efficiencies when making real-time payments, globally.

Simon Nelson, Chief Revenue Officer at Thunes said: “It is an honor to welcome Papara to our proprietary Direct Global Network. Papara users in the Republic of Türkiye can send money to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America, supporting Papara in its quest to offer compelling international money transfer services to its users.”

Aik Boon Tan, Chief Network Officer at Thunes added: “We are thrilled to partner with Papara to expand our Network’s reach into Türkiye. By enabling direct transfers to Papara accounts, we are removing traditional barriers and offering a more efficient service for cross-border payments into Türkiye to Members of our Direct Global Network.”

Emre Kenci, CEO at Papara, commented: “Our partnership with Thunes significantly enhances Papara’s cross-border payment capabilities, providing our users with a trusted and secure platform for international transfers. Now, millions of Papara users can receive money from around the world directly into their accounts—a major step forward as they continue to send money using our expanding global money transfer service. This alliance enriches our offerings and reaffirms our commitment to delivering innovative financial solutions for our users.”

About Thunes:

Thunes is the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world. Thunes’ proprietary Direct Global Network allows Members to make payments in real-time in over 130 countries and more than 80 currencies. Thunes’ Network connects directly to over 7 billion mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide, as well as 15 billion cards via more than 320 different payment methods, such as GCash, M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN, Orange, JazzCash, Easypaisa, AliPay, WeChat Pay and many more. Thunes’ Direct Global Network differentiates itself through its worldwide reach, in-house SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, ensuring Members of the Network receive unrivaled speed, control, visibility, protection, and cost efficiencies when making real-time payments, globally. Members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network include gig economy giants like Uber and Deliveroo, super-apps like Grab and WeChat, MTOs, fintechs, PSPs and banks. Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes has offices in 15 locations, including Abidjan, Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Manila, Nairobi, Paris, Riyadh, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. For more information, visit: https://www.thunes.com/

About Papara:

Papara is a leading financial technology company based in Turkey. Founded in 2015, Papara is committed to providing fast, simple, affordable, and enjoyable financial services for all. Papara brings an unrivaled range of products and services offering instant and free transfers to users as well as providing a one-stop shop for paying bills, enabling international money transfers, buying insurance, investing in precious metals, and tracking spending habits. In addition, Papara offers Papara Cards that are valid worldwide and online. Papara users who use Papara Cards earn instant cash rewards with the Cashback program for purchases in specific brands and categories. Papara has 21M retail users and 7,000 corporate users, such as Uber and TikTok. Papara has more than 1,000 employees. Papara is listed in the latest KPMG Global Fintech100 and LinkedIn Top Startup Turkey 2022. Papara was awarded “Best Fintech Startup” by VISA and selected the “Best Startups” in the 2022 Finovate Awards organized by Finovate.  Papara is listed in CNBC & Statista’s World’s Top FinTechs of 2024 for the second year in a row. Papara is expanding its products, services, and geographic reach to become the leading challenger fintech in the region. For more information, visit: https://www.papara.com/en 

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2552948/Thunes_Papara.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/thunes-and-papara-establish-a-bilateral-partnership-to-enable-cross-border-transfers-to-and-from-turkiye-302300210.html

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

Anamana Disrupts Micro-Serial Market with AI-Native Platform; 97% Cost Reduction Empowers Global Creators to Challenge “China-Centric” Model

Published

on

By

By empowering a culturally-native creator ecosystem with agentic AI, Anamana bypasses traditional ‘reskinning’ models to deliver high-resonance storytelling at 3% of legacy production costs

SINGAPORE, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Anamana, the first integrated AI-native micro-serial ecosystem, today shared demographic data from its inaugural Anamana 100 Creator Incubator, revealing a globally diversified creator base poised to disrupt the non-China global micro-drama industry analysts estimate to reach $5 billion this year.

Two months into the program, the platform has successfully greenlit projects across five continents, signaling a major move away from the dominant mass-production “reskinning” model used by incumbents such as ReelShort and DramaBox.

While the market has historically relied on exporting Chinese narratives through simple translation or Western “reskinning,” Anamana utilizes agentic AI to empower culturally-native storytellers. The Anamana Studio production platform allows individual creators to produce high-fidelity serialized video with up to 97% lower capital and manpower costs than traditional live-action filming, effectively lowering the barrier to entry for independent creators worldwide.

“The current ROI-driven mass production model has hit a creative ceiling,” said Brian Xie, founder of Anamana. “We aren’t just localizing scripts; we are providing the tools for creators around the world to own their narratives and maximize their own economic results. By reducing production costs by over 90%, we are shifting the power from centralized content factories back to the original storyteller.”

Global Creator Footprint & Engagement

Internal statistics from the incubator showcase a massive shift in how global talent is embracing AI-native vertical drama:

The Americas: Represent 40% of both total applications and active production projects.Asia & Europe: Account for a combined 50% of the applicant pool and 53% of current productions.Africa & Oceania: Despite smaller total volumes, projects are nearly evenly split, showcasing high engagement from emerging creative “tribes”, particularly in the number of submissions from Africa.

“Geographic diversity is just the start—cultural authenticity is the goal,” said Kai Pan, Head of Marketing Communications. “With AI-native technology, storytellers are no longer tethered to traditional production hubs like Los Angeles, Kyiv, or Istanbul. We are democratizing the ‘addictive’ vertical format, ensuring the next global hit feels as authentic to its audience as it does to its creator.”

Anamana’s $2 million incubator fund continues to commission creators to foster the first generation of AI-native visual storytellers. Creators interested in the future of micro-serials can apply at anamana.com.

About Anamana

Founded in 2025, Anamana is an integrated AI-native micro-serial platform, production ecosystem, and global creator incubator. By leveraging agentic AI in Anamana Studio, the company enables human storytellers to produce and distribute premium vertical content with unprecedented efficiency. Micro-serials produced are distributed on Anamana’s standalone app and third-party platforms including YouTube and TikTok.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anamana-disrupts-micro-serial-market-with-ai-native-platform-97-cost-reduction-empowers-global-creators-to-challenge-china-centric-model-302772154.html

SOURCE Anamana

Continue Reading

Technology

MCA inaugurates the largest off-grid solar park on the African continent and strengthens its solution for bringing electricity to remote communities

Published

on

By

The infrastructure is part of the Rural Electrification Project, which will benefit more than a million people

MCA has surpassed the previous record set at Cazombo for installed infrastructure, specifically in terms of solar capacity, battery storage and tonnes of CO2 avoided annually

The Luau Photovoltaic Park, which will supply green energy to over 90,000 people, has a production capacity of 31.85 MWp, batteries with a storage capacity of 75.26 MWh and will prevent the emission of 47 tonnes of CO2

GUIMARÃES, Portugal, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In early May, MCA inaugurated Africa’s largest off-grid renewable energy solar park in the village of Luau, Angola. The project was designed to address a challenge faced by many countries across the continent: ensuring a supply of electricity to remote and isolated communities, for whom extending the grid is technically and economically unfeasible.

The Luau Solar Park has a generation capacity of 31.85 MWp and batteries with a storage capacity of 75.26 MWh, enough to supply more than 90,000 people, whilst preventing the emission of 47 tonnes of CO2. This is the country’s second off-grid system with a solar power source and a battery bank for night-time supply, eliminating the need for any fossil fuel. The inauguration of the facility was attended by the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, and the Minister of Energy and Water (MINEA), João Baptista Borges.

With its commissioning, the Luau Photovoltaic Park has become the largest off-grid park on the African continent, surpassing the record previously set at Cazombo. It should be noted that the Cazombo Solar Photovoltaic Park features infrastructure installed by MCA comprising 25.3 MWp of solar capacity, 59.46 MWh of battery storage, and 40,320 630 Wp photovoltaic modules.

“It is with immense pride that MCA contributes to the country’s energy transition with the delivery of yet another solar park. This is a project that goes far beyond the technical aspect: it represents a commitment to communities that, for decades, have lived without access to energy. The completion of the Cazombo and Luau parks marks just the beginning of a structural and ambitious programme, which will continue to expand in the coming months. We believe that energy transforms lives, creates opportunities and strengthens regions, and it is with this aim that we will continue to work, side by side with the communities, to ensure that electrification reaches where it makes the most difference,” says Manuel Couto Alves, Chairman of MCA.

This infrastructure, budgeted at over €87 million and comprising a total of 54,912 installed solar panels, has created more than 200 local jobs and will enable annual savings of around 18 million litres of fuel. The Luau solar farm is the second to be delivered as part of the Rural Electrification Project covering 60 communes in Angola. 

In a context where electricity plays a fundamental role in promoting local development, the Rural Electrification Project emerges as a structural solution, placing solar energy at the heart of the solution. Off-grid solar farms combine solar generation and storage, enabling clean and reliable energy to be delivered to the most remote communities, with direct benefits for quality of life and economic activity through the democratisation of essential services. The first results are already visible with the completion of the Cazombo plants in 2025, now joined by the Luau plant, in an expansion drive that will intensify until 2027.

The Rural Electrification Project, which envisages the implementation of 46 autonomous mini-grids (powered by solar photovoltaic parks) and an estimated impact on over one million people, has been recognised in the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, which aims to promote sustainable, inclusive and high-quality connections in the fields of energy, digital technology and infrastructure, contributing to the economic and social development of partner countries. 

In the context of rural electrification, these projects seek to ensure access to clean, reliable and affordable energy for remote communities, strengthening essential services such as healthcare, education and local economic activity, whilst supporting the energy transition and climate action. Based on balanced partnerships and high environmental, social and governance standards, Global Gateway projects in the energy sector aim to generate a lasting impact on local populations, reduce regional inequalities and promote more sustainable and resilient growth. 

Designed and built by the Portuguese MCA Group, the financing for this operation was structured by the British Standard Chartered Bank with the support of the German Export Agency, Euler Hermes, which provided a guarantee of around one billion euros, reinsured by the Portuguese and Korean Export Agencies (Cosec and K Sure). The Angolan state-owned electricity production company (PRODEL Ep) is the project developer.

The Portuguese company has been making a name for itself in the Angolan market by successfully developing turnkey projects aimed at ensuring the provision of basic infrastructure, namely water supply and energy production facilities.

About MCA 
MCA is a Portuguese company founded in 1998 in Guimarães by businessman Manuel Couto Alves and currently has around 2,000 employees in various countries. The company is active in the development, engineering, procurement, construction, and operation of projects in four business verticals: Energy, Urban Development, Infrastructure and Health. MCA began its internationalisation process in 2006 in the Angolan market and is currently present in three geographical clusters including the Iberian Peninsula, Central Europe, and Africa. The company endeavours to create and share long-term value, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the communities in which it operates. https://www.mcagroup.com/en/ 

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2979585/May_MCA_Luau.jpg

SOURCE MCA Group

Continue Reading

Technology

ScioSense launches UFC23 ultrasonic flow converter for high-precision, ultra-low-power smart metering

Published

on

By

The new UFC23 sensor combines improved resolution and offset stability with ultra-low standby current, enabling high-end battery-powered water, heat, gas and leak detection meter designs across a wide range of smart metering applications

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ScioSense, a leading developer and manufacturer of semiconductor-based environmental and flow sensors, today launched the UFC23 – the 4th generation ultrasonic flow converter for measurement in water, heat and gas meters.

 

 

How can meter manufacturers improve measurement accuracy, extend battery life, and retain control of their preferred system architecture? In modern applications, flow calculation is increasingly handled by a central host microcontroller – requiring a converter that can deliver accurate measurement at very low flow rates and long battery life, two demands that are often difficult to achieve together. The UFC23 is designed for meter manufacturers that want very high measurement precision and extremely low power consumption, while keeping flow calculation on their own central microcontroller.

The UFC23 extends the ScioSense ultrasonic flow portfolio with a pure front-end architecture that omits the on-chip Central Processing Unit (CPU) used in previous flow converters. This gives Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) the flexibility to fit the system architecture now preferred by many meter designers, while also delivering improved analogue front-end performance.

In a typical DN15 water meter setup, the UFC23 provides single-shot standard deviation of 35ps and offset stability of ±7ps with 128-sample averaging and a drift of less than 10ps over the range from 0 to 50°C. This level of precision and stability supports the signal quality needed in high-end water meter designs, including R1000-class measurement requirements. At the same time, the UFC23 is optimized for battery-powered systems, with standby current of typically 0.8µA and an operating current as low as 6.6µA at an 8Hz sample rate.

The UFC23 integrates the functions required to drive ultrasonic transducers, captures received signals, and extracts high-precision time-of-flight data. It supports both 3.3V single-ended drive for water applications and full-bridge drive for gas applications. A programmable gain amplifier with increased gain and bandwidth helps the UFC23 handle weak receive signals, while a programmable ultrasonic burst generator operating up to 4.4MHz and based on an external reference of up to 20MHz allows designers to tune operation to the transducer and application.

The UFC23 also includes features that help improve system-level efficiency and measurement robustness. Designers can monitor the amplitude of up to three received waves and use extended pulse-width measurement to improve first-hit detection. A batch mode allows the sensor to collect up to 12 measurement bundles before waking the host controller, helping to reduce total system power consumption. The UFC23 also supports temperature measurement with external platinum sensors for heat meters and hot-water systems.

Since the UFC23 supports multiple designs, manufacturers can reuse the same sensor across different product families. Typical applications include smart water and heat meters, smart gas meters, water heaters, pump control systems, and smart faucets.

“UFC23 addresses a clear requirement in the metering market for a high-precision, ultra-low-power ultrasonic flow converter that fits modern system architectures. It enables manufacturers to pair ScioSense analogue and timing performance with their chosen host microcontroller and software environment.”
– Norbert Breyer, Director of Marketing and Product Management, ScioSense

The UFC23 operates from a 2.5V to 3.6V supply, supports an operating temperature range of -40°C to 85°C, and is supplied in a QFN32 package. Samples are available now, and evaluation kits are available through key distributors at launch.

For more information, go to https://www.sciosense.com/ufc23/.

About ScioSense – Sensing tomorrow’s world

Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, ScioSense is a leading expert in and manufacturer of semiconductor-based environmental and flow sensors. Its product portfolio consists of humidity, gas/air quality, temperature, pressure and flow sensors for building automation, home appliances, IoT, wearables, mobile devices, automotive and industrial applications.

At ScioSense, we believe that everyone deserves to understand the world around them, and we are here to help make that happen. Our sensors are designed to be small, smart and easy to use. We are a team of passionate and dedicated professionals committed to making a difference in the world. We believe that our sensors can help create a more informed and sustainable future for everyone.

Information about the company and its products can be found at www.sciosense.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2979202/ScioSense_UFC23.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sciosense-launches-ufc23-ultrasonic-flow-converter-for-high-precision-ultra-low-power-smart-metering-302771168.html

Continue Reading

Trending