Nairobi City Thunder Name Send App as Main Sponsor for the 2026 Season

WHY THIS MATTERS

The announcement of Send App by Flutterwave as the front-of-shirt sponsor for Nairobi City Thunder on May 14, 2026, marks a significant convergence of African fintech and elite sports. This two-season deal arrives as the Thunder—two-time unbeaten champions of the Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL)—prepare to represent Kenya in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the second time. The partnership is uniquely bolstered by the dual role of Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, who serves as both the CEO of Flutterwave and a strategic investor in the club.

For Flutterwave, this is a calculated move to embed Send App into the “cultural fabric” of East Africa. By aligning with a dominant sports brand that has pan-African ambitions, Flutterwave is positioning its remittance platform as the primary bridge for the African diaspora to support their families back home. In a year where Kenyan basketball is gaining unprecedented international visibility via the BAL, this sponsorship provides Send App with a high-impact platform to reach millions of fans across the continent and globally.

Nairobi City Thunder have announced Send App, a leading cross-border remittance and  payments platform by Flutterwave, as the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor on a two-season deal,  starting with the 2026 campaign. The partnership carries added significance, with Flutterwave  CEO and Nairobi City Thunder investor, Olugbenga Agboola, uniquely positioned across both  organisations.  

The partnership comes at a defining moment for Nairobi City Thunder, who come into the season  as two-time unbeaten champions of the Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) and with the  responsibility of representing Kenya in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the second time. 

As part of the partnership, Send App will feature as the club’s premier sponsor throughout the  2026 season, with branding integrated across matchday experiences, digital platforms, and fan  engagement initiatives, beginning with the pre-season games. 

Nairobi City Thunder CEO, Colin Rasmussen, said: “We are proud to be partnering with a celebrated brand like Send App that has global reach and  is creating real impact through convenient access to capital. Our ambition is to build a pan-African  brand with global recognition, and we believe this partnership with Send App will play a key role  in helping us achieve that.”

Send App’s Head of Business, Harvey Bahia, said: “We’re proud to have supported Nairobi City Thunder’s 2026 BAL campaign and look forward to  continuing this journey as the team builds towards returning to the BAL and sustaining success  on the continental stage. The team’s continued success and unwavering commitment to  excellence mirror our own drive to provide Africans in the diaspora with a seamless way to support  their families back home. We believe in the power of sports to unite and inspire, and we are proud  to stand behind the Thunder as they showcase the very best of African basketball to the world.” 

Nairobi City Thunder have opened their 2026 league campaign, building on their domestic  dominance while continuing their journey on the continental stage. With Send App on board as  the premier sponsor, the club heads into the season with strong momentum, renewed backing,  and a clear focus on sustaining success both locally and across Africa. 

FF NEWS TAKE

Flutterwave isn’t just sponsoring a team; it’s building a sport-fintech ecosystem. By having its CEO as an investor in the Nairobi City Thunder, the company ensures that the “Send App” branding is more than a passive logo—it is a strategic alignment of two organizations chasing continental dominance. The “Send” branding on the Thunder jersey serves as a constant visual metaphor for the fast, reliable movement of value, whether that is a cross-court pass or a cross-border payment.

As the Thunder head into the 2026 season, the pressure is on to maintain their “unbeaten” status. However, from a business perspective, the win has already been secured. The integration across matchday experiences and digital platforms provides Flutterwave with a fertile testing ground for fan-engagement initiatives, such as integrated ticket payments or exclusive fan rewards delivered via the Send App. If Nairobi City Thunder can replicate their domestic success on the BAL stage, Flutterwave will have successfully hitched its brand to the rising star of African professional sports.