AfricaSpace: Upcoming Tendering Opportunities
The AfricaSpace initiative, a key partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Space Agency (AfSA), will soon publish several public tenders open to eligible entities from Europe and Africa. These opportunities will support projects strengthening space collaboration between Europe and Africa, driving innovation and sustainable development. Below, we outline the scope of opportunities, eligibility criteria, and key steps to prepare a competitive bid.
In which context are ESA and AfSA collaborating?
As a flagship of the Global Gateway strategy, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Space Agency (AfSA) are joining forces and expertise in the context of the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme (AfricaSpace) to bring the space sector in Africa to the next level, developing opportunities for institutional and industry stakeholders.
With a joint budget of EUR 21 million funded by the EU, the two sister space agencies will be implementing activities to contribute to the strategic goals of promoting resilience, digitalisation, and advancing climate action in Africa through cutting-edge technology and innovation.
What is the objective of their collaboration?
ESA and AfSA’s collaboration seeks to strengthen the African space ecosystem both at the institutional level, by supporting the set-up and operational phase of AfSA, as well as at the private sector level, by enhancing the capabilities of the African private sector ecosystem. Strong and close cooperation between the mandated and leading institutions and stakeholders from both continents is essential for such a partnership to thrive.
Which activities will be implemented under this initiative?
A wide range of activities will be implemented under this initiative. Regarding institutional support, ESA and AfSA will collaborate on implementing training for African stakeholders and AfSA upcoming staff, focusing on programmatic design and planning. Technical assistance activities will also be delivered to support the set-up and operational phase of the AfSA.
New Space sector-related activities will aim to transfer knowledge and best practices on New Space technologies, including through hands-on training, to increase New Space capabilities in the region. This will also entail the co-design of an Earth Observation (EO) smallsat responding to African needs, enhancing Africa–Europe industrial space partnerships.
A significant part of the activities will also be dedicated to the development of the private sector through training, mentoring and grant support for EO private sector companies in Africa with a continental capacity development program aimed at strengthening the capacity and skills of African space sector start-ups. Hackathons, challenges and matchmaking events will promote innovation within the African private sector ecosystem and increase Europe-Africa linkages. This will also be complemented by a pilot Business Innovation Lab, which will be located in one selected African country to drive the development of a private space sector ecosystem nationally.
Finally, an African Space Newsroom will also be established for improved communication, with a focus on gender-sensitive outreach.
Will there be tendering opportunities?
Most of the activities mentioned above will be implemented through public tenders that will be published on the esa-star platform. All European and African companies based in European Union, European Space Agency and African Union Commission member states are eligible to participate in those tenders.
Four different tenders are foreseen to be published over the next 2-3 months. As laid out in the segmentation of the activities above, each tender will focus respectively on:
- Institutional cooperation,
- NewSpace activities,
- Private sector development, and
- Set-up of the business innovation lab.
Interested organisations are encouraged to constitute consortia of entities from both Europe and Africa with complementary expertise.