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Sovereign satellite capabilities are a growing priority as African governments look to boost communications, broadcasting and digital access
NEWS ANALYSIS | BEN PAYTON | Ministers from Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda have agreed to push ahead with a plan to develop a satellite that will improve access to communication and broadcasting services across the region.
The Northern Corridor Regional Communication and Broadcasting Satellite Initiative (NCRCBSI) aims to reduce reliance on foreign satellites and help extend digital services to under-served areas.
To date, only around 65 satellites have been launched by African countries. The majority are government-owned and used for functions including earth observation and climate monitoring. By comparison, more than 5,000 satellites have been launched by US-based entities.
As a next step for the NCRCBSI, the four countries agreed at the Connected Africa Summit in Nairobi to jointly fund a comprehensive feasibility study.
In a statement at the conclusion of the summit, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for information, communications and the digital economy, William Kabogo Gitau, said: “Through this collaboration, we are strengthening regional cooperation and advancing the development of digital infrastructure to enhance connectivity, service delivery, and economic growth across our countries.”
His Ugandan counterpart, Chris Baryomunsi, added that the four states must now “move from preparation to implementation”. However, the timeline for launching the satellite remains unclear, with the feasibility study expected to take 12-18 months to complete.
If development of the satellite does move forward, it will most likely have to be launched from a commercial facility outside the continent, such as the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan or the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Several spaceport facilities have been proposed in Africa as more established launch sites become increasingly congested, though none have yet moved into construction.
Space economy
While Africa’s space economy remains under-developed compared to other regions, there is growing evidence that the sector is gaining traction.
A report published last month by the market intelligence agency Space in Africa states that governments around the continent allocated $828m to the space sector this year. The figure marks a 32% increase from 2025, while spending has increased by some 142% since 2018.
Much of this spending is concentrated in a handful of projects. For example, South Africa is investing heavily in the Square Kilometre Array, part of a project being jointly developed with Australia to construct a massive configuration of radio telescopes to help astronomers monitor the night sky.
The total size of the African space economy reached $25bn in 2024, up from $19bn in 2021, according to Space in Africa.
A key priority for the continent’s space leaders is to bring the newly formed African Space Agency (AfSA) into full operation. The body was officially inaugurated last year, with a headquarters established at the ‘Egyptian Space City’ in Cairo.
The agency’s objectives include harmonising national policies to foster private sector investment, promoting the pooling of resources through projects like climate monitoring satellite AfDevSat, and avoiding the duplication of resources.
Speaking in April, AfSA president Tidiane Ouattara said that improving the coordination of space programmes would allow Africa to become the “next El Dorado of space affairs”.
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Source: Africa.business
