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A session on the first day of the Europe-Africa Space Earth Observation High-Level Forum, which took place in Lisbon and online on 10-11 June, looked at capacity building, innovation and entrepreneurship in downstream applications. Speaking at the session, European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) Head of Market Development Fiammetta Diani talked about how synergies between the space programme components are boosting entrepreneurship in Africa by creating opportunities for entrepreneurs.

The speakers of this session agreed that cooperation was central to achieve sustainable development through capacity building, innovation and entrepreneurship. The cooperation should exist at different levels between the two continents and the countries, between the systems (Earth observation, Navigation (Galileo), communication, meteorology) and technologies (IA, big data, …) and between the organizations (private and public partnerships, network of academia, network of entrepreneurs, …).

In a keynote address ahead of the session, Veronica Cesco, Associate Programme Officer at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) said that space assets had transformed the way we live and that space infrastructure had unlocked virtually limitless access to data and information, enabling great strides in the quest for sustainable development.

She referenced a study produced by UNOOSA in cooperation with the European Commission, which found that geolocation (via GNSS) and Earth observation (EO) support 40% of targets underpinning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). When satellite communications are included, this share increases to over 50%. She said that capacity building was essential if we are to ensure that access to space and the benefits it enables are available to everybody.

Read this: EGNSS and Earth Observation: A promising convergence for sustainable development

The session started with an overview of current capacity building programmes, during which Meshack Ndiritu, GMES & Africa training officer at the African Union Commission (AUC) highlighted the importance of the public and private sector working together. He said that academia brings innovation and the private sector brings deployment of this innovation and that this combination is needed to sustain the services on the continent.

Space-driven entrepreneurship

Highlighting how space synergies are driving entrepreneurship, EUSPA Head of Market Development Fiammetta Diani noted that over 2 billion users are already able to access Galileo in their smartphones, which makes it possible for them to develop applications. Diani gave three examples of where space synergies are driving innovation. 

In precision farming, georeferenced maps are combined with highly accurate machine positioning in variable rate application systems that make agriculture more resource-efficient and reduce its environmental impact. In renewable energy, Copernicus imagery is used to optimise site selection and evaluate energy potential, while EGNSS supports fine-tuning of site selection, construction and maintenance, and timing and synchronisation functions in smart grids. Finally, EGNSS and Copernicus support infrastructure planning and maintenance with tracking and navigation and land monitoring and environmental impact assessments.

And this: Space synergies serving the environment

Diani stressed that these applications are providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and that EUSPA promotes this entrepreneurship, for example though the CASSINI initiative, or through initiatives like the Farming by Satellite prize, which last year had a Special Africa Prize, won by Kenyan-Italian team GeoM&E for a solution that uses European satellite technology to monitor coffee diseases.

Diani also said that EGNOS is expanding to Africa and that this would open up opportunities for entrepreneurs in many different areas. “EUSPA is working on new opportunities to support entrepreneurs, including through Horizon Europe. There will be concrete opportunities coming soon,” she said.

Success stories

Frank Salzgeber, Head of Innovation and Ventures Office at ESA noted that supporting entrepreneurship is about cooperation – start-ups don’t have to do everything by themselves. 

The session ended with the presentation of some African space entrepreneurship ecosystem success stories. The Agribora project improves decision making by different agriculture value chain actors through the use of data-driven services and digital tools. Using technology, it de-risks the smallholder agriculture ecosystem and bridges the information and access gaps that limit productivity and profitability of farmers and agribusiness ventures. 

The second success story, Manobi Africa, delivers digital solutions and services for businesses, development projects and service providers in Africa’s water and agricultural sectors. The company profiles, maps and monitors the activities of value chain actors, in real-time, across 14 African countries by combining geospatial mapping and remote-sensing technologies at scale.

Mariane Diop, from the World Meteorological Organization moderating this session, concluded on recalling that EO works in complementarity with other space technologies as GNSS and Communication. Integrating these technologies is an opportunity for entrepreneurship.

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