African Space Agency to be officially inaugurated at NewSpace Africa Conference 2025

The African Union Commission (AUC) will officially inaugurate the African Space Agency (AfSA) during the 2025 NewSpace Africa Conference, reported Space in Africa. The conference will take place at Egypt Space City in Cairo, Egypt. Upon launch, AfSA will become the central body for promoting collaboration on space initiatives across the continent.

AfSA will be the primary point of contact for Africa’s cooperation with Europe and other international partners. One of its key objectives, as outlined in the African Space Agency Act, is to enhance space missions across Africa, ensuring optimal access to space-derived data, information, services, and products. Once fully integrated into national, regional, and continental programmes, AfSA will be crucial in eliminating duplication and inefficiencies within the African space ecosystem. As the official body overseeing and coordinating these efforts, it will also be responsible for effectively implementing the African Space Policy and Strategy and achieving the continent’s space-related goals.

AfSA’s establishment follows years of meticulous planning, negotiations, and financial deliberations. In 2018, the AU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives convened to assess the structural and financial implications of setting up the agency. These discussions were aimed at ensuring that AfSA would be sustainable and able to meet its long-term objectives. Stakeholders debated key issues, including governance structures, funding mechanisms, and technical capabilities needed to support Africa’s space ambitions. The African Union Commission (AUC)subsequently approved a localised roadmap to guide the agency’s growth. This roadmap, finely tailored to Africa’s needs and challenges, outlines strategic objectives and key performance indicators to ensure AfSA’s impact on the continent’s socio-economic development.

Egypt’s Space City will serve as the African Space Agency’s headquarters, solidifying Egypt’s leadership role in Africa’s space ecosystem. On January 25, 2023, an agreement was signed between the Egyptian government and the African Union Commission to formally inaugurate AfSA, and in June 2023, the Egyptian parliament officially greenlighted Egypt to host AfSA’s headquarters. The Egypt Space City, a 123-acre, state-of-the-art facility designed to support Africa’s space exploration efforts, will serve as a hub for space-related research, innovation, and capacity building.

This move is also expected to boost Egypt’s space industry and stimulate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) connected to space technology. Satellite data and other space technologies provided by AfSA will contribute to economic growth, support sustainable development, and align with Africa’s Agenda 2063, the continent’s blueprint for socio-economic transformation.

A crucial part of AfSA’s governance structure is the African Space Council, inaugurated during the 37th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly. The Council is tasked with providing leadership and oversight to AfSA’s operations. It comprises ten members, two from each of Africa’s five regions, ensuring that all parts of the continent have a voice in the agency’s decision-making processes.