Africa

SGAC and the Malisetti Foundation are proud to announce that Senjuti Mallick will be sponsored to attend the 8th Space Generation Fusion Forum (5 – 8 April, 2019), and the 35th Space Symposium (8 – 12 April, 2019).

NSR’s In-Orbit Servicing Markets, 2nd Edition (IoSM2) report forecasts $4.5 billion in cumulative revenues from In-Orbit Satellite Services by 2028. While growth is anticipated across all applications in all orbits, GEO satellite life extension will yield the largest share of revenues.

OneWeb has secured its largest fundraising round to date with the successful raise of $1.25 billion in new capital. This brings the total funds raised to $3.4 billion. This round was led by SoftBank Group Corp., Grupo Salinas, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and the Government of Rwanda.

The Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) at the African Union Commission, Professor Sarah Anayang Agbor, has held bilateral talks with the French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Frédérique Vidal, on enhancing cooperation on space, education, science and technology between France and the African Union Commission.

President Emmanuel Macron paid state visits to Ethiopia on 13 March 2019 and Kenya on 14 March 2019. Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall was part of the delegation, reflecting the development of space cooperation between France and Africa supported by the agency, notably in the fields of applications and new technologies.

Viewers in the Republic of Benin are now receiving 15 new Free-to-Air (FTA) channels from satellite, thanks to a new agreement the Government of the Republic of Benin has signed with SES, the world’s leading satellite-based solutions provider.

In the presence of France’s Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu, Jean-Pascal Le Franc, Centre national d'etudes spatiales (CNES) Director of Planning, International Relations, and Quality, and Valanathan Munsami, CEO of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), signed an agreement outlining future space cooperation between France and South Africa on 28 February 2019 in Pretoria.

Sky and Space Global, Ltd. (SAS) has announced that it has signed a trial agreement with Nigerian mobile telecommunications provider, MTN Nigeria.

Eutelsat Communications has signed simultaneous multi-year contracts with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation and the Association of Ethiopian Broadcasters for video capacity on its EUTELSAT-8 West B satellite. The aggregate of these contracts represents multi-transponder capacity, including incremental resources.

The Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Authority’s (RURA) Director General, Patrick Nyirishema, has confirmed that it is planning to launch the country’ inaugural satellite later this year.