African Space Industry Top 10 Under 30 – Class 2019
The African space ecosystem is expanding at a faster pace in modern times, compared to previous decades. Theories suggest that this is due to increased input from government agencies and international organisations, and while this is valid, it would be unfair to ignore those individuals who have stood out, who have excelled in their respective fields of endeavour, and more importantly, who have refused to be constrained by their young age, as if operating by the popular injunction to not allow anyone despise their youth.
Young Africans are disrupting the space industry and achieving milestones, but Space in Africa made a deliberate decision to beam its spotlight on an elite category: space professional below the age of thirty. This is premised on the fact that in spite of the huge strides they may have made, they are still in the early stages of their respective careers, and they are definitely poised to do a lot more in the coming decades.
This exclusive list features engineers, scientists, business developers, researchers and academicians from all corners of Africa who have contributed in their own little way to not only developing their nation’s space industry, but also expanding knowledge in Africa’s evolving space sector. The compilation has curated partly in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic launch into the Moon.