Senegal and Rwanda unveil their space infrastructure development plans

Colonel Francis Ngabo of the Rwanda Space Agency revealed that the agency intends to develop its ground station later this year, as well as a ground station-as-a-service initiative. The colonel announced this information on the second day of Space in Africa’s first NewSpace Africa conference.

He made the revelation while discussing the country’s space milestones, including Rwanda’s first satellite, the creation of the space agency and, subsequently, the Rwandan geospatial hub. In addition to the above, Colonel Francis Ngabo also disclosed that Rwanda is working on its national space legislation and policy, which will be ready later this year.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gayane Faye, Senegal’s space program coordinator, took the opportunity as the keynote speaker at the conference to divulge Senegal’s plans to launch its first satellite in the third quarter of 2023. of the satellite, Dr. Gayenne noted that the country would soon also launch the Senegalese space agency

Apart from the revelations, the colonel spoke about the importance of the private sector in the development of the space ecosystem in Rwanda. He also noted that the agency prioritizes human capacity development and innovation to develop a self-sustaining ecosystem. To that end, he concluded his speech with an impassioned call to action for investors to potentially invest in the country’s space program.

The 3-day conference themed “Making Africa the New Hotspot for Space Business” includes selected keynote speeches, interactive sessions, panel discussions, business presentations, B2B meetups, B2C meetups and unique networking opportunities. Additionally, the high-level event features over 100 delegates from 29 countries across four continents, including heads of African space agencies and industry leaders, representatives from major commercial space companies, investors and other key stakeholders in the African space and satellite industry. .

Faleti Joshua is a passionate lover of space in all its incomprehensible nature. He holds an LL.B and a BL. Joshua is a music lover and a lawyer in his spare time.