A conference bringing together stakeholders in Africa’s space sector is underway in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The Newspace Africa Conference is a high profile gathering of space industry stakeholders, co-organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), the government of Côte d’Ivoire, and Space in Africa – a private company based in Nigeria. It is intended to leverage Africa’s potential in exploring existing and emerging opportunities in the global space market.
The conference galvanizes leaders of national space agencies, private space and satellite companies, and space financiers in Africa. It is centered on the theme Space for Africa’s Socio-economic Transformation. Participants will explore the various dimensions of space cooperation and sustainable business partnerships, as well as the prospects for investment and funding for the African private sector.
The African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, H.E Prof. Mohammed Belhocine, believes the continent is on the verge of repositioning itself as a viable player in the global space arena. Africa has succeeded in establishing its own space programme and space agency, which comes under the spotlight during the conference. Commissioner Belhocine has called for more investments in infrastructure, research and human capital development, to harness the continent’s full potential in space.
Cote d’Ivoire is the host of this year’s Newspace Africa Conference, and the country’s Prime Minister, Patrick Jerome Achi, contends that space is a vector of prosperity that Africa must be engaged in. The conference, he argues, is crucial for strategic collaboration among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and for developing services as well as training and research.
The Newspace Africa Conference is motivated by the emerging context of an expanding global space market championed by the private sector. This trend is pushing the frontiers for new space technologies and a liberalized commercial market, bridging the divide between advanced and emerging space actors. The European Union has had a long standing partnership with the AU in the area of space, and Laurent d’Arsu, head of the EU office in Cote d’Ivoire, articulated Europe’s commitment to taking this partnership to new heights.
The proliferation of space companies and start-ups in Africa is creating a vibrant market of technologies, products and services. Telecommunications and education are leading beneficiaries of the transformation induced in Africa by space. With this realization, the Newspace Africa Conference fosters a conversation on how space can contribute to connecting the continent, and on the potential for African academia to leverage the drive for uplifting the industry.
The conference, which closes on April 28, has attracted young African space entrepreneurs, who are sharing their experience and promoting dialogue on the active participation of the new generation in space.
