Webinar: 2025 Industry Outlook: Implementation and Impact
2024 witnessed monumental strides for Africa’s space aspirations, as many nations advanced their exploration programmes – several African countries launched new space infrastructure and made significant strides in their space programmes in 2024, further solidifying Africa’s place in the global space scene. On infrastructure, South Africa’s new sounding rocket facility, managed by the Aerospace Systems Research Institute, launched its first rockets, further establishing the country as a leader in developing high-performance hybrid rocket technology, and Kenya’s plans for the Luigi Broglio Space Centre in Malindi continues to take shape and will resume its role in launching Earth Observation satellites in a few years.
While Senegal, Djibouti, and Zimbabwe launched new satellites, Nigeria, Egypt, Botswana, and Zambia made progress with their satellite development plans, and the launch continues to get closer. Around policy and financing, Ghana launched its space policy, South Africa started a new EO innovation support fund to transform space-based ideas into tangible products and services that address pressing societal challenges, and Botswana launched a space science centre to further research in planetary sciences. LEO satellite connectivity providers have also proliferated the continent, bringing new solutions to existing problems, all the while causing new concerns for certain industry players. On the commercial side, more African NewSpace companies like Simera Sense, Crop2Cash, NewSpace Systems, and Cubespace Satellite Systems raised funding, expanded their operations and product offerings to global audiences and regions, partnered with international stakeholders to integrate their new product features in planned space projects, pushing Africa higher on the scale in the international space community. From infrastructure development to financing and research, Africa has made remarkable progress, and 2025 is the year to not only expect more but to see the impact of recent developments on the industry, especially with the inauguration of the African Space Agency this April.
This webinar will focus on evaluating the tangible effects of these developments on Africa’s socio-economic landscape, discuss how satellite launches, infrastructure projects, and policy changes have influenced sectors like agriculture, education, disaster management, space funding, and connectivity, and provide insights into the strategic direction for Africa’s space industry in the coming years. In addition, we will identify emerging opportunities, potential pitfalls, and areas requiring policy attention and highlight successes and challenges to help foster a collaborative and progressive space ecosystem in 2025.
Objectives:
Attendees will gain insights into how recent space developments have driven Africa’s socio-economic growth while fostering collaboration between governments, companies, and international actors to maximise industry potential. The session will also provide policy recommendations to address regulatory challenges and align investments, ultimately strengthening Africa’s space ecosystem for sustainable growth.
- Assess industry impact: The webinar will examine how the significant advancements in Africa’s space sector during 2024 have impacted socio-economic areas like agriculture, infrastructure, disaster management, and connectivity, setting the stage for 2025.
- Strategic insights for 2025: Speakers will also share actionable insights into the strategic direction of Africa’s space industry for 2025, focusing on areas like infrastructure, financing, policy development, and commercial expansion with stakeholders.
- Address emerging challenges: Identify challenges such as regulatory gaps, integration issues with LEO connectivity providers, and funding bottlenecks, proposing solutions to overcome these hurdles.
- Foster stakeholder collaboration: Promote dialogue and partnerships between African governments, NewSpace companies, and international players to strengthen the continent’s space ecosystem.
Speakers:
- Jessi Ndaba, CEO, Astrofica Technologies
- Dr Zolana Joao, General Manager, Angola Space Management Office
- Prof. Jean Pitot, Chief Engineer, Aerospace Systems Research Institute
- Dawie de Wet, CEO, Q-KON
Moderator: Mustapha Iderawumi, Senior Analyst, Space in Africa
Date and Time
- Date: Thursday, 20th February 2025
- Time: 12:00 PM GMT
- Venue: Zoom
Important Information
- Date and Time—The event will be held on February 20, 2025, at 12 p.m. GMT via Zoom.
- Registration Link – Registration is open to all interested individuals. To register, please click here.
- To learn more about the webinar, please click here.
About Space in Africa
Space in Africa is the leading analytics and consulting company in the space sector, serving both the institutional and commercial markets with a particular focus on Africa. Our experience builds on a long track of past projects executed for international organisations, national governments, and commercial players, with high stakes in the space business — our practice cuts across all African countries. Space in Africa’s proprietary, research-based business and market analysis predict critical outcomes in what happens next in the industry and the opportunities available. Our data-driven analysis, free of vested interests and pre-conceptions, is helping to shape the ecosystem by making available accurate information critical for the change.