NEWSPACE AFRICA CONFERENCE

The inauguration of the African Space Agency (AfSA) paved the way for the NewSpace Africa Conference which took place on 21-24 April in Cairo, Egypt. The conference embraced the theme “Empowering Africa's Economy through Space-driven Innovation” and brought together industry leaders to discuss the growth & future of the African space industry.

IAF Executive Director Christian Feichtinger delivered a keynote presentation “Empowering Africa’s Presence in the International Space Arena”, showcasing the Federation’s inclusive global mission and its strong support for the African space community.

With 19 active members from across the continent, IAF emphasized its commitment to fostering sustainable development, capacity building, and high-level dialogue through initiatives like the IAF Global Space Leaders Summit and the IAF Africa Subcommittee under the IAF-ACCESS (Committee on Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems) framework.

A key highlight of the presentation was the IAF’s Emerging Space Leaders (ESL) Programme, which has supported 47 young African professionals since 2009 and continues to grow. The Federation also spotlighted Africa’s increasing contributions to International Astronautical Congress (IAC), with a record 200 abstract submissions from 16 African countries for IAC 2025 in Sydney.