Only USD 2 Billion of Africa’s USD 7.9 Billion Satellite Pipeline Is Firmly Committed, New Space in Africa Report Finds

Space in Africa, the leading consulting and media firm providing data-driven insights for businesses and decision-makers in the African space ecosystem, has today released the African Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Market Report 2026, a comprehensive analysis of how Africa has built, bought, and launched satellites since 1998, and what African operators are likely to spend on new satellites between 2027 and 2036.

The report’s central finding is that Africa’s satellite pipeline is much larger on paper than in contracts. Space in Africa tracks 113 satellites that African operators could build and launch over the next decade, worth USD 7.94 billion. Only USD 2.00 billion of that, across 21 satellites, is firmly committed through a signed contract, a funded build or a named partner. Counting only satellites rated Credible or better on the report’s five-level evidence scale, likely spending between 2027 and 2036 is USD 3.69 billion, expected to peak at about USD 1.1 billion in 2029.

That peak rests mostly on satellites not yet ordered. Most of the likely spending replaces communications and Earth observation satellites already in orbit, and operators are expected to choose suppliers between 2026 and 2029. Sixteen geostationary communications satellites account for 69% of the pipeline’s value, so whether governments keep buying national satellites, or turn to low-orbit broadband instead, will move the market more than anything else.

The report also looks back. Since 1998, 69 African satellites have reached orbit, costing about USD 7.2 billion in 2026 dollars. African teams built 22 of them, all small satellites. Every large satellite was built abroad, and not one African satellite has been launched from African soil.

“Africa’s satellite market is usually described by what has been announced. This report separates what is committed from what is only intended, satellite by satellite, so governments, manufacturers and lenders can see where the real decisions sit,” said Mustapha Iderawumi, Senior Analyst at Space in Africa. “Between 2026 and 2029, the operators behind most of the likely spending will choose their suppliers, and much of that work has not yet been awarded. That is the window in which African governments can negotiate better terms and keep more work at home, and in which manufacturers, launch providers, and brokers can lock in deals early. This report helps all of them stay ahead of the curve.”

Beyond market size, the report covers what satellites have cost Africa and why; who carries African satellites to orbit and who chooses the rocket; who really builds Africa’s satellites beneath the prime contractor; what technology transfer has delivered for the countries that paid for it; and the space laws and export rules that shape who can operate. It is built from Space in Africa’s records on every African satellite launched since 1998 and every known satellite project in the pipeline, each rated from Confirmed to Weak signal.

What the Report Covers

1. Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology
2. Chapter 2: Overview of Africa’s Satellite Manufacturing Industry (1998 to September 2026)
3. Chapter 3: African Satellite Manufacturing Market, 2027-2036
4. Chapter 4: Satellite Manufacturing Cost Analysis
5. Chapter 5: Launch Services Market
6. Chapter 6: Satellite Manufacturing Supply Chain Analysis
7. Chapter 7: How Africa Buys Satellites, and What It Gets for the Money
8. Chapter 8: The Rules That Shape the Market

Who the Report Is For

Most people planning for Africa’s satellite market lack forward-looking data. This year’s report adds it: the most comprehensive pipeline of African satellites Space in Africa has ever compiled, 113 satellites through to 2036, built from each country’s procurement history and disclosed priorities. Every satellite is rated by the strength of its evidence, and its spending is modelled year by year, so each reader can see what is coming, when decisions fall, and how to get ahead of them.

The report is written for African governments and space agencies planning their next satellite; satellite manufacturers, integrators and subsystem makers competing for African contracts; launch providers and brokers; lenders, development finance institutions and investors; and the regulators shaping the sector.

1. Governments and space agencies: benchmark what each class of satellite has actually cost Africa, in 2026 dollars, against every other African buyer; compare what each foreign partner offers; and see which contract terms have left skills, facilities and work behind and which have not.
2. Satellite manufacturers and integrators: see every pipeline satellite rated by strength of evidence, which contracts still have no builder chosen, when each buyer is expected to decide, and which repeat buyers have switched supplier country.
3. African subsystem makers and universities: see, layer by layer, who supplied the bus, payload and parts of every African satellite, and where African content can still be written into the contracts that are not yet signed.
4. Launch providers and brokers: see the launches the pipeline will need to 2036, which heavy launches are genuinely open, and who really chooses the rocket in each deal.
5. Lenders, development finance institutions and investors: see the spending each year to 2036, the projects stalled for want of finance, and how tied loans shape which builder wins.
6. Regulators and policymakers: compare licensing, liability, insurance and export-control rules across the countries that own most of Africa’s satellites, and what could change by 2030.

How to Get the Report

Discover and download the full report here.

Licensed buyers also receive the client data sheet, with the satellite-level records behind every chart and their confidence ratings. For enterprise licences, custom data cuts, or a team briefing, contact mariam@spaceinafrica.com or write to info@spaceinafrica.com.