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- CABSAT conference in UAE brings focus to Africa's satellite market
CABSAT conference in UAE brings focus to Africa's satellite market
The international gathering brought 200 brands from 35 pioneering countries to the event
The CABSAT conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched on Tuesday, with the goal of pushing forward the future of the satellite and content delivery industry.
At a time when Israeli-Emirati cooperation is pulling up the whole region and beyond, a lot of excitement could be felt. The international gathering brought 200 brands from 35 pioneering countries to the event, and the African continent seemed to be the next playground for investors.
Africa was presented as the new "El Dorado" of the satellite business. But each African country thought that it wouldn't be able to act alone.
“The more partners that we have, that we come together, we lessen the burden on each other, and then we make it a reality,” Stanley Ayittah from iSAT AFRICA told i24NEWS.
“Content consumption is taking off in Africa,” he continued. "The graph could just go straight up. It’s not exaggerated. There is an available market for everyone to have a part in.”
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Africa's space industry is a $10 billion market that is growing and profitable. Tunisia, South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, and even the tiny Republic of Mauritius have launched their own satellites. The continent is being targeted by many space agencies around the world too, including Azerbaijan.
“Africa is one of the top priority markets for us. We see lots of potential. There is a lot of need and demand for satellite communication,” Dilara Baylarova from Azercosmos told i24NEWS.
Asked about space clutter, she claimed that “we are quite aware of the footprint. We are actively working to address them.”
And in the Middle East-North Africa region, the UAE wants to be the foremost space power. The Emirates sent an unmanned spacecraft to Mars in 2021, the first interplanetary mission by an Arab country, and then a rover to the Moon. As of May 2023, the Gulf state also boasted a spacewalk.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Ministry together with Israel Aerospace Industries also recently launched the next-gen "Ofek 13" satellite into space, an observation satellite with advanced capabilities.