African Space Policy
RCMRD International Conference 2024 and the 8th AfriGEO Symposium
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) is inviting interested individuals to attend its 8th AfriGEO Symposium, themed "Earth Intelligence for Africa," and the RCMRD International Conference (RIC 2024), themed “EARTH: Our only Home,” which will be held from 12th to 15th August 2024 at RCMRD headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya.
Mustapha Iderawumi, Senior Analyst at Space in Africa, will be speaking on the panel at the RIC 2024 titled "Policy Formulation and Science Policy linkages." He will also give a keynote address on Africa's resources, population, economic strength, EO market, trends and potential.
Registration is still open, so join us in Nairobi.
Dr Tidianne Ouattara Gives Status Update on the African Outer Space Programme
During the inaugural day of the 2024 NewSpace Africa Conference, taking place from April 2nd to April 5th at the Talatona Convention Centre in Luanda, Angola, Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the African Space Council and Head of the Science, Technology, and Space Division at the African Union Commission (AUC), delivered a presentation on the progress of the African Outer Space Programme. In his address, he emphasised that the Outer Space Programme is a flagship programme of the African Union envisioned for an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful utilisation of space technologies and applications in Africa. He highlighted that the programme will be driven by African citizens and positioned as a dynamic force in the global arena.
Dr Tidiane outlined the goals of the African space policy and strategy, the compass guiding Africa’s space endeavours, based on the aspirations stipulated under Agenda 2063. According to him, the policy aims to establish a well-coordinated and integrated African space programme that addresses the continent's social, economic, political, and environmental needs while being globally competitive. Additionally, the policy aims to establish a regulatory framework that supports the African space programme and ensures Africa's responsible and peaceful use of outer space.
Regarding the space strategy, the goals involve leveraging space-derived products and services for decision-making and addressing various economic, political, social, and environmental challenges across Africa. Furthermore, the strategy aims to develop indigenous space capabilities in private and public sectors, fostering a coordinated, effective, and innovative African-led space programme. These goals reflect Africa's ambition to develop space technology and become a key player in the global space arena.
Furthermore, Dr Tidianne reported that the host agreement for the African Space Agency was signed on January 24, 2023, and that the African Space Council was elected on February 15, 2024. In addition, Dr Tidianne stated that the African Space Council would operate as the governance and supervisory body of AfSA, tasked with ensuring alignment between the Agency's activities and the broader policy objectives of the AU. According to the AfSA Statute, the Council would approve strategic plans, budgets, policies, and regulations, establish the Advisory Committee and appoint the Director General, strengthening AfSA's contributions to the AU Agenda 2063. The council comprised ten members, including the President and the Vice President. He also mentioned that the AU’s Executive Council deferred the election and appointment of the remaining two (2) members from the Central African region of the Space Council to its 45th Ordinary Session scheduled for July 2024.
Dr Tidanne mentioned some notable achievements of the African Outer Space Programme, including:
- Several studies have been conducted to establish the rationale behind the African Space Agency's Sectoral Programmes and activities. These studies include assessments of the Earth Observation private sector in Africa and socio-economic studies encompassing Earth Observation, SatCom, Astronomy, Space Science, and Academia.
- Capacity-building efforts have been substantial, with over 10,000 African experts and young individuals trained through initiatives such as GMES & Africa and hackathons.
- Numerous centres, laboratories, and training institutions have been equipped, including the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), the Organisation for the Safety of Space Operations (OSS), etc. Additionally, 12 Earth Data reception stations (E-Stations) have been installed across 11 countries.
- Awareness and outreach activities have been extensive, with participation in continental events such as the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) Conference, AfricaGIS, NewSpace Africa Conference, Africa-USA Space Forum (held alongside the Africa-USA Summit), and the European Space Conference.
- Agreements have been established under the AU-EU framework for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) & Africa phases 1 and 2 and on COPERNICUS data access.
- A new AU-EU Space Cooperation Programme has been initiated through the AU-EU Space Dialogue.
- Agreements have been signed with the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES - France) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), alongside a letter of intent with the European Space Agency. These agreements aim at capacity building, infrastructure development, training, research and development, and technical support for Earth Observation data accessing and processing.
- AUC is holding discussions with several other countries, including the USA (government entities, Space Foundation), China (White Space Policy Paper), and Brazil (Science, Technology, and Innovation agreement including space).
Can Less Developed Countries Catch up With the African Union’s 2063 Space Agenda?
Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the African continent over the next 50 years. It builds on and seeks to accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable development. Less Developed Countries (LDCs) in this context, are countries that do not yet possess the technological wherewithal to follow the trends being set by the continent as well as other more developed countries in the continent, towards the realization of the goals contained in the Agenda 2063. LDCs are important because the uniform development of countries in Africa is the best and perhaps the only way to achieve the aforementioned goals.
This article will be discussed in the context of three critical points, namely;
- The Africa Union Agenda 2063 and its relation to outer space development
- The importance of EO to the future of the continent vis-à-vis outside competition from superpowers
- How Least Developed Countries will affect the Agenda and EO progress on the continent.
The Africa Union Agenda 2063 and its Relation to Outer Space Development
The Agenda 2063 strategic framework is set out to achieve development especially in a target set of fields. One of these is the African Outer Space sector. This decision is hinged on Africa’s realization of the fact that outer space is the next new frontier, and its immense opportunities will go a long way to boosting the rapid development of the continent. In an effort to actualize this vision, the African Union Heads of State and Government during their Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Session on 31 January 2016 in Addis Ababa, adopted the African Space Policy and Strategy as the first of among concrete steps towards realizing an African Outer Space Programme.
The policy, amongst other things, prioritizes the development of a sustainable and vibrant indigenous space industry that promotes and responds to the needs of the African continent, with necessary regard to the needs of Less Developed Countries (LDCs). To do this, the African Space Policy and Strategy outlines the pillars of Space Technology and sets out goals to aid the continent in developing the necessary institutions and capacities to utilize these pillars for socio-economic benefits which would improve the quality of lives and create wealth for Africans as stated in the Agenda 2063. This of necessity includes Less Developed Countries (LDCs). These pillars include; Earth Observation (EO), Navigation & Positioning, Satellite Communication, and Space Science & Astronomy.
Importance of EO to the Future of Africa vis-à-vis Outside Competition from Superpowers
Earth observation from space generally has shown its growing scientific, social, economic and political importance by contributing to a better understanding of the Earth and its environment, by supporting a wide range of applications and by providing essential data for numerous purposes. For example, Earth observation systems can be harnessed, through satellites and other tools, to improve environmental monitoring, agricultural productivity, climate change mitigation, food security, health and disaster risk reduction. In Africa, earth observation can be used to monitor and bolster the continent’s expansive animal reserves. Its application in this sector will undoubtedly lead to better management of Game Reserves, with some bigger than whole countries. Accordingly, the capabilities deriving from EO, to monitor urbanization by examining the growth of settlements, as is already being done in South Africa, will radically improve government policies as they relate to the provision of housing, and better management of the population, amongst others.
In a bid to tap into the vast benefits of the EO sector, the African space policy defines specific policy goals which it must achieve to bolster a sustainable and vibrant indigenous space and EO industry that promotes and responds to the needs of the African continent.
These goals include
- Creating an EO industrial capability;
- Promoting public-private partnerships with respect to EO;
- Promoting EO R&D-led industrial development; and
- Using indigenous EO technologies, products and services
It is no gainsaying that the success of the foregoing will directly, and in no small measure amplify the present and observable benefits of EO in Africa.
It should be noted that these goals necessitate that the development of the African EO sector is carried and influenced mostly – if not wholly – by indigenous EO technologies, products and services. The reason is not far-fetched. Holistic development of the African EO sector will be incomplete if the development is not influenced by indigenous products.
How Least Developed Countries Will Affect Agenda 2063 and EO Progress in Africa
One of the trite lessons from history is that development is never uniform, and certain places will develop faster than other places, not necessarily due to the fault of the lagging parties. This phenomenon is observable in small-scale settings, such as states and provinces, and in large scale settings, such as in continents. In such an instance, it is not rare for the weaker regions to be left behind which does not also signify their fate permanently these may exemplify the circumstances surrounding Africa’s quest for the utilization of the immense benefits to be enjoyed from a flourishing indigenous EO sector, and the fate of Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
In the African space sector, especially as regards the capacity to develop and maintain EO services, there are countries, such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, amongst others, that score high in this regard, and there are African countries that score lower. As at December 2019, only four countries have launched at least five satellites into space, being Egypt, with 9, South Africa, 8, Algeria, and Nigeria with 6 apiece. Furthermore, only 11 countries have launched at least 1 satellite. This means that only about 7% of African countries have national satellites capabilities. While satellite capabilities are not all that is to EO capacity, they represent the imbalance that presently pervades Africa's EO sector. This does not, however, mean that Africa's Agenda 2063, as regards the EO sector is unachievable.
To assert that the continental disparity in EO capability is not a challenge to the fruition of Agenda 2063 is to bask in a savannah of denial. This continental disparity will no doubt render the realization of the goal difficult. This is because to achieve the goal, there has to be a certain uniformity amongst the capacities of African nations. With some nations much higher on the ladder than others, and if that status quo persists with neglect, any development observed will be superficial at best.
Once again, this is not to posit that the goal is unachievable, instead, its realization has to be earned. The process of attaining this goal has been set out in the specific policy goals outlined in the African Space Policy The policy goal ’promoting public-private partnerships with respect to EO’ and ’using indigenous EO technologies, products and services’ express the need for collaboration between public and private sectors, and necessarily among stakeholders in the continent. The use of indigenous products and services necessitates a partnership, commercial or otherwise, between service providers and end-users, in spite of the observable disparities in the economic wherewithal of the two.
It is exciting to note that the momentum for partnership has already been set in motion, as 92% of private EO and Geospatial companies have expressed eagerness to be members of continental associations. The willingness of African governments to integrate the goals of the African Space Policy within national policies, as well as an overwhelming adherence to the said goals will also work to ensure symmetric development of the African EO sector.
It is, therefore, safe to assert that this and other equally important trends, within the African EO industry, augur particularly well for the realization of Agenda 2063, and for the development of a sustainable and vibrant indigenous space industry that promotes and responds to the needs of the African continent.
Cameroon Plans To Launch A National Space Programme
The African space race is expanding, and from the look of things, Cameroon-Nigeria’s eastbound neighbour- is making concrete plans to join the fray by launching its first feasibility studies project for space programme.
The project, purportedly known as Camspace, was inaugurated by the country's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, on July 17, 2019, by signing a document detailing the organisation and functioning of the group that conducts the studies.
The said group will provide data on the country’s ability to conduct such programmes. It will also investigate the deployment processes of satellite networks, as well as the necessary human resources, the required environmental impact assessment, the cost of a national space programme, and the potential benefits & economic viability of the said programme.
The working group comprises of experts drawn from over twenty administrations and institutions in the higher education, telecommunications, research; agriculture, health, environment mining, and technology sectors .
According to Minette Minette Libom Likeng, the group will be dissolved once the study report is submitted to the Ministry of Communications. This submission is expected to be made within a period of two months after the report is validated by the inter-ministerial commission for frequency bands’ allocation.
It would be interesting to see how the Central African nation goes about finding a place, and taking concrete steps in Africa’s evolving space ecosystem. While there’s some catching up to do, it’s really never too late to join the space train, and whether it’s premature to say “Welcome on board, Cameroon!” is a matter of conjecture.
Senegal Sets Two-Year Target To Launch Its First Nano-Satellite
Senegal have made plans to stamp its authority in the African space ecosystem, and key players in the country’s space industry have laid out a timeline to actualise this, specifically setting a target of two years to launch the country’s first nano-satellite.
Following the visit by Senegal’s Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation to the University Space Centre of Montpellier (CSUM) on Friday July 5th 2019, the Minister embarked on another visit to the ArianeGroup facilities on the site of Les Mureaux in the Paris region. This visit was part of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the ARIANEGROUP Company on January 14th 2019.
The grand plan is for Senegal is to take advantage of space applications for the economic, social and scientific development of the country. The aim of the Memorandum of Understanding with the ARIANEGROUP Company is to identify the different possible cooperation schemes around the design, development and construction of a Center (M-AIT) for satellites weighing less than 50 kg. The goal is to create a real local ecosystem of scientific research and industrial innovation in the space sector, in partnership with universities and companies, promoting natural opportunities for students with a network of start-ups dedicated to high technologies, which is what the space industry needs.
Thanks to this agreement, a first Senegalese nano-satellite developed in partnership with the CSUM, which would involve the input of Senegalese scientists and researchers as well as students, could be launched before 2021.
Senegal's M-AIT center could equally see the light of day by 2022, thus bringing Senegal into the very closed circle of African countries with ambitions in the space industry.
Towards Realizing the Continental Free Trade Agreement in the African Space Industry
What would a continental African economy look like if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) comes into force? In particular, imagine the outlook for the African space sector if the AfCFTA comes into force alongside the framework of the African Space Agency. This article explores intra-African space cooperation in the light of the AfCFTA and the African Space Agency.
What is AfCFTA?
At the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012, the African Union adopted a decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by an indicative date of 2017. The negotiations for the draft agreement took eight rounds beginning from 2015 to December 2017.
On 21st March 2018, during the 18th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, 44 African countries took the giant step of creating a large and integrated market by signing the AfCFTA.
African Union has received the instruments of ratification from 22 countries, which is the required minimum for the agreement to enter into force. The AU received two latest ratifications from Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic on 29 April. Africa's largest economy, Nigeria, is yet to sign the agreement following resentment from its trade unions and industry stakeholders.
The Agreement was established alongside the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) which identifies seven clusters: trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information, and factor market integration.
The implementation of plans in the 80-page-long document would create the world’s largest free trade bloc, with about 1.2 billion population and a GDP of about USD 3.4 trillion.
According to Vera L. Songwe, the Executive Secretary - Economic Commission on Africa, "the AfCFTA is complemented by other continental initiatives, including the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right to Establishment, and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). The scale of AfCFTA’s potential impact makes it vital to understand the main drivers of the agreement and the best methods to harness its opportunities and overcome its risks and challenges".
The African Union plans to bring the AfCFTA into operation in 2019 and double intra-African trade by 2022 once tariff and non-tariff barriers are removed. The "AfCFTA will be a game changer for stimulating intra-African trade. It is projected, through the sole removal of tariffs on goods, to increase the value of intra-African trade between 15% (or $50 billion) and 25% (or $70 billion), depending on liberalization efforts, in 2040, compared to a situation with no AfCFTA in place. Alternatively, the share of intra-African trade would increase by nearly 40% to over 50%, depending on the ambition of the liberalization, between the start of the implementation of the reform (2020) and 2040", notes Vera L. Songwe.
How integrated is the African Space Industry?
Some form of regional space cooperation exists before the establishment of the African Space Agency. One of such cooperation is the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES and Africa), a 30 million Euro joint programme co-financed by the European Commission and the African Union Commission, designed to contribute to the implementation of the African Space Policy and Strategy.
GMES & Africa, regarded as a forerunner to the African Space Agency, is promoting the development of local capacities, institutional, human and technical resources for access to and exploitation of EO-based services on an operational basis for sustainable development in Africa.
Similarly, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria and Kenya signed multilateral space cooperation named the African Resource Management Constellation (ARMC) with the objective of creating a shared and affordable EO satellite data to support environmental and resource management in Africa.
Several other bilateral or multilateral space cooperation agreements exist among African governments. However, most intra-African space cooperation is focused on the use of space applications; little or no operational space cooperation exists to directly bolster technology development or industrial growth in the space sector. In essence, African governments make bilateral commitments with foreign entities for core space projects while turning to their African counterparts for superficial agreements on the use of satellite data.
Generally, the share of intra-African exports as a percentage of total African exports is estimated at 17% (2017), which is the lowest compared to levels in Europe (69%), Asia (59%), and North America (31%).
Similarly, intra-African space cooperation is extremely low, as illustrated by the fact that only 3 of the 34 satellite projects flown by Africa from 1998 to April 2019 involved cooperation from more than one African country, according to data from Space in Africa's ongoing research. The 3 satellite projects include Rascom QF 1 & 1R, funded through a collaboration between 44 African entities(RASCOM), Libyan African Investment Portfolio (LAIP) and Alcatel Space (now Thales Alenia Space; and the Intelsat New Dawn satellite funded a consortium of African investors led by Convergence Partners and Altirah Telecoms.
A whopping 94% of the total satellite expenditure, largely funded by the government, was spent on deals involving foreign entities as the prime contractor, according to data from Space in Africa's ongoing research. The foreign entities closing the most deals on the continent include Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space (France), RSC Energia (Russia) and the Chinese CGWIC and CAST. One exception is South Africa, where there is an emerging indigenous newspace cluster capable of manufacturing satellites locally and building ground facilities.
The point is that space projects in Africa are fragmented on the table of bilateral space collaborations with foreign entities at the expense of intra-African space cooperation and technology transfer. Most intra-African space cooperation programmes lack adequate funding from regional stakeholders or national governments, leaving room for foreign entities to dominate the sector based on established diplomatic relations.
Can the Africa Space Agency boost an integrated African space industry?
The momentum for an integrated African economy is holistic in its ideals, encompassing commerce and technical sectors such as the space sector. One of such integration effort by the African Union is the establishment of the African Space Agency.
The African Space Agency is expected to complement national space programs while implementing the continental space policy and aspirations as stipulated under Agenda 2063. The Agency is expected to promote technology transfer among all African countries and transform African nations from users of space to developers of the space technologies.
It still remains a question of whether the African Space Agency will effectively foster grassroots collaboration and bolster the African space industry or be left to the mercy of foreign donor agencies. With Egypt winning the bid to be host country, the implementation of the agency is expected to commence soon, with the host agreement expected to be signed between Egypt and the African Union before the next session of the Assembly of the African Union. The operational modalities and structure of the Agency are expected to be concluded before the end of 2019. The success of the agency is largely dependent on the leadership of the Agency.
AU Commissioner gives update on the implementation of the African Space Policy and Strategy at AU Summit
In a recent press briefing, the Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) at the African Union Commission, Professor Sarah Anayang Agbor, explained the status of the African Space Policy and Strategy. The media briefing was part of the media engagement activities organized in conjunction with the ongoing 32nd African Union Summit.
Prof. Agbor spoke to journalists about how the African Space Policy and Strategy is designed to positively impact the lives of people on the continent. The objective is to share information on the programmes and progress in activities being undertaken by various departments of the Commission.
Read our chat with Prof. Islam Abou El-Magd, where he gave deep insight into the African Space Agency. "It will be the largest achievement for Africa in Space, which will stop any duplication and redundancy in space activities. It will properly implement the African space policy and strategy and achieve the continental goals. It will be the official space body that will take care of the coordination and implementation of the space policy. This will be great achievement to stop fragmentation of the space activities in Africa" - Prof. Islam.
Talk begins on the structural and financial implications of the African Space Agency in Mauritania
Talks by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the African Union began in Nouakchott on Monday, ahead of the summit of the continental organization scheduled for July 1-2, 2018.The holding of this session marks the inauguration a brand new Convention Center at the Nouakchott International Conference Center called “El Mourabitoune,” and located outside the city, on the road to the airport.
The two-day agenda includes the review of a number of reports, including that of the joint meeting between the Program and Conferences Subcommittee and the Subcommittee in charge of the coordination and overall supervision of the budget and financial and administrative affairs.
It also includes three reports from the Subcommittee on Multilateral Cooperation, the Subcommittee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa and the Subcommittee on Structural Reform.
Permanent Representatives will also discuss the AU Commission’s 2017 reports on gender equality in Africa, the situation in Palestine and the Middle East, the structural and financial implications of the African Space Agency and the humanitarian situation in Africa.
The African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government during their Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Session on 31 January 2016 in Addis Ababa adopted the African Space Policy (ASP) and Strategy as the first of the concrete steps to realize an African Outer Space Programme, as one of the flagship programmes of the AU Agenda 2063. The African Space policy was presented at the Second Ordinary Session for the Specialized Technical Committee Meeting on Education, Science And Technology (Stc-Est) in Cairo Egypt last November.
They will also consider other reports, one from the AU Commission and the African Court of Human Rights, while the others are from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the AU Advisory Council against Corruption and from the African Parliament.
Opening the session, the Permanent Secretary of the Mauritanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ahmed Mahmoud Ould Soueid’Ahmed, said the challenges facing Africa “require joint efforts, energies and capacity building, to achieve the noble goals set by the founding fathers of the union.”
The sacrifices of these founding fathers “compel us to continue the path they have cleared for Africans,” he said, pointing out that in recent years, there have been several important milestones, including the advent of the African Continental Free-Trade Area and the Global Reform System with a view to achieving safe and effective means for funding the African Union.
The head of the 36th Session of the PRC, Hope Tumukunde, who is also Rwanda’s ambassador to the AU, hailed the decision of the Heads of State and Government to dedicate the Nouakchott Summit to the fight against corruption, whose struggle is a sustainable process through the establishment of a roadmap to eradicate the scourge in Africa.
She insisted that corruption is the biggest challenge to human development.