African Union Survey of Earth Observation and Geospatial & Allied Technologies Private Sector in Africa

The African Union Heads of State and Government during their Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Session on 31 January 2016 in Addis Ababa adopted the African Space Policy and Strategy as the first of the concrete steps towards realizing an African Outer Space Programme that was identified as one of the flagship programmes of the AU Agenda 2063 (Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.589 (XXVI)).

Pursuant to this, the African Union Commission is conducting a Comprehensive Survey of Earth Observation (EO) and Geospatial & Allied Technologies Private Sector in Africa (2018). The study aims to facilitate achievement of one of the key aspirations of the African Space Policy and Strategy i.e. developing a sustainable and vibrant indigenous space industry that promotes and responds to Africa’s needs. The survey is expected to provide an in-depth all-round understanding of the current state of the EO and geospatial industry in Africa and recommend a realistic growth pathway for the industry and market in Africa, leveraging the priorities and opportunities ushered by the continent’s Space Policy and Strategy. The study will also generate a comprehensive continental geo-portal/online business directory of the continent’s EO and geospatial & allied technologies private sector entities. The directory will enable each entity to manage and update its content.

The information to be posted in the directory will include: Company name; Physical address; Postal address; Telephone number(s); Email address; Website; Social media addresses; your company’s location (longitude & latitude in decimal degrees) that will help derive an online map of all companies; and a brief overview of the products/services/solutions offered by your company. The survey’s report will also be circulated to all participants of the survey.

In order to achieve a 360-degrees overview of the EO and geospatial industry in Africa the survey also targets to collect responses from four key stakeholders, namely: Government ministries / departments / Space agencies in Africa concerned with policies and applications of Space and geospatial technologies; Academic and Research institutions in Africa applying EO and Geospatial technologies; EO and geospatial technology Communities of Practice (CoP) and Associations; International Organisations and NGOs interested or applying EO and geospatial technologies in Africa.

LocateIT Ltd, a Kenyan based company has been mandated by the African Union Commission (AUC) to conduct the survey in all African countries. The company has deployed approaches such as online survey, remote interviews via telephone/internet calls and country visits to gather the required information from the widest achievable majority of companies and stakeholders.

Companies and stakeholders wishing to take part in the survey can access the online questionnaires at the following links:

1. EO and Geospatial & Allied Technologies Private Sector: English https://bit.ly/2QQqMtq, French https://bit.ly/2P3xz5Y
2. Government ministries / departments / Space agencies: English https://bit.ly/2D3iRX2, French https://bit.ly/2OK3OHT
3. Academic and Research institutions: English https://bit.ly/2CCiGkf, French https://bit.ly/2EFKXsU,
4. Communities of Practice (CoP) and Associations: English https://bit.ly/2PRXpah, French https://bit.ly/2PONMZP
5. International Organisations and NGOs: English https://bit.ly/2S8ptYt, French https://bit.ly/2D1MQOZ

For inquiries, contact LocateIT Ltd via email: Af*************@lo******.ke