Abu Dhabi’s Space42 is in talks to raise funds to help the satellite communications company expand its mapping initiative in Africa.
Space42 is having early discussions with potential backers including the African Union Development Agency and financial firms about the project, Hasan Al Hosani, Space42’s chief executive officer in charge of smart solutions said. Existing partners for the Map Africa project, announced last month, include Microsoft Corp. and mapping software firm Esri. The conversations are early, and the business doesn’t yet have a target for how much it will raise, he said.
The company, backed by the Mubadala Investment Co. sovereign wealth fund, has started building out a physical presence and has connected schools and clinics in countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, he said. Its mapping initiative with Microsoft and Esri will improve capabilities across the continent.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to happen locally within each country, within each nation,” Al Hosani said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “So part of our process is actually to identify entities and partners, whether it’s on the private sector or the government sector and in parallel.”
The mapping initiative aims to provide detailed maps for all 54 African countries that can be used for logistics, disaster response and urban planning. The data will be licensed to governments, and will ultimately be available to businesses, the company has said.
Africa’s an attractive market for satellite companies, with a young, fast-growing population that’s increasingly demanding internet access, and a terrestrial infrastructure that leaves vast swathes of the continent uncovered. Still, the patchwork of regulatory requirements across its dozens of countries makes it a challenge.
Space42 is also competing with Elon Musk’s much larger Starlink service, which is already operating in 18 countries on the continent.
In South Africa, Africa’s biggest economy, Musk has been pushing authorities to back down from Black Economic Empowerment rules that would require him to cede a 30% ownership stake to Black holders to qualify for a license. If he successfully lobbies to replace the requirement with an alternative investment program, it would also pave the way for Space42.
Starlink, owned by SpaceX, dwarfs the Emirati company with about 8,000 low-earth orbit satellites serving countries all over the world. Space42 has eight satellites, with plans to launch another three this year, that offer varying types of coverage in 150 countries in Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe and much of Asia.
“Competition is always healthy,” Al Hosani said.