News
e& To Establish Largest Subsea Cable Connection In UAE
The cable will land at the carrier’s neutral SmartHub Data Centre to enhance connectivity across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
e& Carrier & Wholesale is preparing to lay the most extensive subsea cable network in UAE, dubbed “2Afria”. The chosen gateway for this significant communications upgrade is Kalba, a tranquil city in the northeastern United Arab Emirates. This strategic choice augments e&’s existing Fujairah cable landing station, diversifying connectivity in the UAE and hopefully boosting network resilience.
The 2Africa consortium of Bayobab, including centre3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC, is behind the massive 45,000 km submarine cable system, which is currently the largest of its kind worldwide.
Alcatel Submarine Networks is responsible for building and installing the 2Africa cable, which will deliver essential internet capacity and reliability upgrades across substantial swathes of Africa while also addressing growing network demand across the Middle East.
As the UAE designated landing partner for 2Africa, e& will be in charge of the development and construction of the necessary infrastructure for the landing station as well as maintenance over the coming decades.
Nabil Baccouche, e& Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer, explained: “The 2Africa project promises to elevate the overall digital landscape in the region, solidifying the country’s position as one of the region’s premier ICT hubs. e &’s involvement in this transformative project will significantly enhance the Internet user experience in the UAE, enabling the world’s largest content providers and global carriers to deliver cutting edge technology in e& carrier-neutral data center ecosystem, SmartHub”.
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Around 20 subsea cable systems come ashore in the UAE, most of which are already managed by e&. The carrier is, therefore, ideally suited to carry out work on the new cable system, as it already boasts unique technical expertise and a robust existing network.
News
Stake Powers Instant Payouts With Checkout.com Pay To Card
The new feature lets investors in the UAE, KSA, and UK receive real estate returns in minutes — cutting withdrawal times to under 10 minutes.
Stake, a leading digital real estate investment platform, has unveiled Pay to Card, a next-generation withdrawal feature built on Checkout.com’s global payment infrastructure. The integration enables investors to have dividends and returns credited directly to their bank cards — often within minutes — dramatically reducing the traditional multi-day payout process.
After a successful pilot in May involving over 200 users, some investors reported receiving their funds in under 10 minutes. Ricardo Brizido, CPTO and Co-Founder of Stake, emphasized the importance of speed and reliability: “With Pay to Card, we’re eliminating unnecessary delays and putting returns in our investors’ hands almost instantly. This feature was built to directly solve one of the most common pain points in real estate investing, and it’s already driving strong results”.
The feature launch coincides with rapid growth in real-time finance across the Middle East. Checkout.com’s “State of Digital Commerce in MENA 2025” report highlights a 388% year-on-year surge in Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) in the UAE, reflecting strong demand for immediate payout solutions. The same study recorded a 176% increase in total processing volume from 2023 to 2024 and noted that daily online transactions have jumped 320% since 2020.
Since its 2021 debut, Stake has facilitated over AED 1 billion in property transactions, advancing its mission to democratize real estate investment in high-growth markets. By integrating Pay to Card, Stake reinforces its commitment to customer-centric innovation and operational transparency.
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Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, praised the collaboration: “Stake has always led with customer-first financial experiences. Together, we’re meeting the expectations of a region that is no longer just digital-first, but real-time-first. Pay to Card exemplifies how modern payment infrastructure can directly solve investor pain points”.
Pay to Card is now available to all Stake users in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. By slashing withdrawal times from days to minutes, Stake and Checkout.com are setting a new standard for seamless, on-demand real estate investing.
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