By: News Desk Report
Space in Africa has released the
NewSpace Africa Conference Impact Report, the first comprehensive account of
the conference's five-year contribution to the development of the African space
and satellite industry, covering the conference’s evolution from 2022 to 2026
and its growing role in shaping conversations, partnerships, and opportunities.
Over five editions, the conference
has grown from 100 delegates from 30 countries in Nairobi in 2022 to nearly 700
delegates from 73 countries across 5 continents in Libreville in 2026, bringing
together a total of 2,300 participants, 782 organisations spanning government,
commercial, academic, and institutional sectors, and representatives from 98
countries. Approximately 51% of all attendees have been African stakeholders,
reflecting the conference’s focus on creating a platform anchored in African priorities
while connecting the continent to global partners.
The impact report is structured
across six key areas: Policy Impact, Partner Engagement, the NewSpace
Ecosystem, International Cooperation, the African Talent Pipeline, and the
Future of the NewSpace Africa Conference. It provides insight into how the conference
has evolved alongside Africa’s space industry and the opportunities ahead.
The report highlights the
conference’s role as a convening platform for African and international space
leadership, catalysing institutional milestones that have defined African space
governance over the past five years. Some of these major milestones include the
inauguration of the African Space Council in Luanda in 2024 and the official
inauguration of the African Space Agency headquarters in Cairo in 2025, marking
the most consequential moment in African space institutional development in a
generation. In the same week, the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme was
formally launched at the conference, backed by a EUR 100 million EU commitment
implemented by the African Union Commission, the African Space Agency, and the
European Space Agency.
“Five years ago, we created the
NewSpace Africa Conference to address a simple need: a platform where the
people building, regulating, investing in, and shaping Africa’s space ecosystem
could meet in the same room,” said Dr Temidayo Oniosun, Managing Director of Space in Africa and
Convener of the NewSpace Africa Conference. “Today, the conference has grown
beyond an annual gathering. It has become a space where important conversations
happen, partnerships are formed, and decisions that influence the future of
Africa’s space economy are shaped.”
Beyond dialogue, the conference has
facilitated tangible ecosystem outcomes. The report documents the conference's
growing role as a platform for commercial engagement and business development.
Thirty-five organisations have partnered with the conference across two to five
consecutive editions, resulting in the formalisation of 16 partnerships and
eight programme launches between organisations that met or deepened their
relationships at the event. In 2026, the conference attracted a high-level
audience, with more than 56% of delegates holding senior positions within their
organisations, reinforcing its role as a platform for strategic engagement
among decision-makers across government, industry, and investment communities.
The report traces the conference’s
journey across Africa’s regions, beginning in East Africa with Nairobi, Kenya
in 2022, moving to West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, 2023), Southern Africa (Angola,
2024), North Africa (Egypt, 2025), and Central Africa (Gabon, 2026). Each
edition has been delivered in partnership with the host country’s national
space agency or relevant government institution, strengthening the conference’s
role as a platform rooted in the priorities and ambitions of Africa’s space
ecosystem.
According to H.E. Dr Tidiane
Ouattara, President of the Council of the African Space Agency, “The growth
of the NewSpace Africa Conference reflects the growing maturity and ambition of
Africa’s space ecosystem. Over the past five years, it has become an important
platform where governments, industry leaders, investors, and partners come
together to exchange ideas, build partnerships, and address the opportunities
and challenges shaping the future of space in Africa. As we continue to advance
continental cooperation through the African Space Agency, platforms that
strengthen dialogue and collaboration will remain essential to unlocking the
full value of space for Africa’s development.”
As the conference prepares for its
next edition in Dakar, Senegal, in 2027, Space in Africa continues its
commitment to building platforms that connect African ambitions with global
expertise, investment, and partnerships.
The full NewSpace Africa Conference
Impact Report is available for download here.
