The State of Commercial Earth Observation Sector in Africa

Disclaimer

This article is a reflection on my personal observations regarding the commercial Earth Observation (EO) landscape in Africa. It does not claim to be a comprehensive market analysis, nor is it sponsored by any organization or individual. The research is based on publicly available reports and academic research. While I have attempted to provide a broad view, I acknowledge that there may be additional developments that I have overlooked.

"Publishing a theory should not be the end of one’s conversation with the universe but the beginning."

Terms

EO, Earth Observation : satellite data and application domain
EO businesses: focus on using satellite data in application domain
Commercial : companies able to demonstrate a sustainable business plan or profit without relying on government grants, though they may engage with the government as a paying client

Preamble

Recently, I was researching Cloud-Native Geospatial (CNG) for EO analysis, specifically using STAC API to access open data stored on AWS, with the intention of creating a technical blog post. My goal was to develop a lightweight Python workflow for “commercial businesses” in Africa, particularly those constrained by the high cost of cloud computing analytic services, to process EO data efficiently.

But then I hit a wall.

Does a commercial EO industry exist in Africa?

If EO businesses don’t operate at scale, who is this solution for? That single question forced me to reassess the broader economic reality of EO in Africa. I began investigating fundamental questions:

Who are the buyers of EO services in Africa?
What industries rely on EO, and how are they using it?
Why hasn’t Africa built a thriving, self-sustaining commercial EO ecosystem?

This article is the first in a three-part series aimed at unpacking these questions. What I found was both promising and concerning. While EO is recognized as a powerful tool for decision-making, the commercial landscape remains underdeveloped, with most initiatives driven by governments and international donors.

The three part series will explore topics on:

The state of commercial EO in Africa (this article).
How other countries successfully built thriving EO industries.
What specific industries in Africa could benefit from EO and how to drive adoption

I hope this will raise awareness and spark some interest across various industries about the possibilities of EO, especially for those unfamiliar with the technology in Africa.

The Reality of Commercial EO in Africa: The Business That Isn't

Photo from Unsplash

Africa is not lacking in EO capabilities. Several countries have established national space programs, agencies, and research centers that drives the adoption of EO for national development. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has the continent’s most advanced EO program, while in Nigeria, The National Space Development and Research Agency (NASRDA) focuses on agricultural and disaster monitoring. Kenya’s Space Agency (KSA) supports EO applications in agriculture, urban planning, and resource management, while Ethiopia’s ESSTI oversees programs like the ETRSS-1 satellite for environmental monitoring. While these agencies have advanced EO adoption at the national level, commercial growth remains limited.

EO is widely recognized as a valuable resource in sectors such as agriculture, urban planning, disaster management, and climate monitoring. The latest advancements driven by new satellite missions, advanced analytics, and cutting edge technology are expanding its capabilities. Africa has yet to fully capitalize on these advancements, as its commercial EO sector remains in its early stages and largely reliant on foreign organizations.

Key Findings from Industry Reports

This section draws insights from two industry reports, one from 2016 [1] and another from 2024 [2].

Africa’s EO Market is Growing—But for Whom?

According to report, the sector was valued at $1.4 billion in 2023, yet the key question remains:

Who actually benefits from this growing market?

Roughly 90% of EO projects in Africa are led by non-African organizations.
The commercial EO sector has grown steadily over the past two decades, but is still dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Most companies generate annual revenues below USD 500,000 with only a few surpassing this range and an even smaller number reaching beyond USD 1 million.
Most local EO companies operate in value-added services, working directly with raw data to develop specialized products for various applications, as well as in downstream services, where derived product is integrated into broader business operations rather than EO being the core focus, and consultancy. High-value EO analytics remain dominated by international firms.
The three most important EO market segments in Africa are local & regional planning, environmental monitoring, and agriculture. Other key sectors include utilities, mining, transportation, forestry, health, humanitarian, oil and gas.

This trend is concerning because economic value in EO globally is increasingly derived from analytics and decision-making tools. Yet, local businesses remain stuck in providing services, rather than advanced EO analytics and intelligence platforms.

Who Owns and Controls Africa’s EO Data?*

A 2024 study by [2] examined the ownership and control of EO data across Africa, and the findings were stark:

Even when African governments launch satellites, they rely heavily on foreign partners, with only 35% contracted to African firms.
Foreign-led EO initiatives make it harder to align data with national priorities and hinder local expertise development.
Many African satellites are operated by foreign partners, meaning the data, expertise are not locally controled

Commercial EO is Stuck in Low-Margin, Service-Based Work

One of the most striking observations from both reports is that most African EO companies operate in downstream, low-value services:

In addition to those listed in the previous section, EO companies engage in other services such as training, reselling third-party data, and conducting business in hardware or software (though specifics are not clearly defined).
Only a small fraction are involved in scalable, high-margin activities such as predictive analytics or EO software development.
The biggest EO buyers are governments, NGOs, and donor-funded projects—not private businesses.

While AI-driven EO applications have since gained global traction, there is limited evidence that many businesses have scaled into these higher-margin activities.

Further Research

Further research showed that the widespread use of drones in Africa has significantly increased access to geospatial insights at a local level, driving applications in agriculture, infrastructure, and mining. This growth also indicates a rising market demand for EO solutions across various industries. I assume that the prevalence of drones is largely driven by the need to meet demand, as high-resolution satellite imagery remains expensive, making drones a more accessible alternative for many companies.

In the AI domain, African Geospace, a company based in Togo, stands out for integrating AI with EO to generate insights. It was the only company identified in this space, as most online searches primarily led to donor-funded EO initiatives, which fall outside the scope of this research.

What’s Holding EO Back in Africa?

One of the biggest challenges facing the commercial EO sector in Africa is the high cost of data and infrastructure. Access to high-resolution commercial satellite imagery remains prohibitively expensive for many African companies, limiting their ability to develop applications that require fine-scale precision. As a result, many firms rely on free EO datasets such as Sentinel and Landsat, which, while valuable for broad-scale applications, lack the accuracy needed for some commercial use cases like property valuation, detailed urban planning, and precision agriculture. The cost of cloud computing and data storage further exacerbates the issue, making it difficult for local businesses to process large amounts of EO data at scale.

Another major limitation is the lack of private-sector investment in EO startups. Unlike fintech or healthtech, which have attracted substantial funding from venture capitalists and tech accelerators, EO remains a largely overlooked industry in investment circles. Most African EO initiatives are funded by foreign grants or government projects, which often prioritize public-sector applications rather than commercial expansion. While these grants provide initial support, they are not a sustainable long-term funding model. When funding cycles end, many EO companies struggle to maintain operations, preventing the industry from growing into a self-sufficient, revenue-generating ecosystem.

Beyond financial constraints, limited industry awareness is another significant barrier to EO adoption. Many African businesses do not fully understand how EO could benefit them, leading to low demand for commercial EO services outside of traditional sectors like agriculture and government-funded environmental projects. Unlike fintech, which has a clear and direct revenue model, EO is still perceived as a niche technology rather than a mainstream business tool. Without greater education and engagement from, it will remain underutilized in industries such as logistics, real estate, insurance, and financial risk modeling—sectors where EO has the potential to add significant economic value.

Who Will Own Africa’s EO Future?

Africa’s EO market is at a critical inflection point. The demand for EO-powered solutions in agriculture, insurance, infrastructure, and climate adaptation is growing rapidly. But if the current trajectory holds, the economic gains from EO could continue flowing out of Africa rather than benefiting local businesses.

While national space agencies play a crucial role in driving the national value, the emergence of self-sustaining commercial businesses will be essential for long-term industry growth.
Countries like USA and China have successfully commercialized EO through startups, analytics firms, and scalable software platforms, offering models that Africa can adapt to build a more dynamic EO economy.

As EO expands, the critical question remains: Who will own Africa’s EO future? Who will own the businesses that transform EO into commercial insights? And to what extent can private-sector investment truly push the commercial EO sector forward.

Final Note

It's possible that I have oversimplified certain aspects of this discussion. While I acknowledge that various factors influence the adoption of technology, I believe that providing this context is a crucial first step in highlighting the challenges and encouraging deeper engagement.

References

Addendum

Additional information after the initial publication.

Innovation Challenge: Africa Earth Observation Challenge is an annual open innovation challenge to support early-stage businesses in Africa.