00:02Turkish Airlines presents Business Africa
00:11Welcome to this edition of Business Africa. I'm your host Afolake Oniloye, the top stories this week.
00:17At the Africa Forward Summit, SkyConnect is showing how Africa can turn idle ground stations into a shared network that
00:25cuts satellite data costs and delivers critical information faster.
00:32Mauritius' brain-gain strategy, how a tourism island is turning African brain drain into a talent magnet for innovation and
00:41growth.
00:43And South Sudan's youth are building a digital economy in Juba despite conflict, inflation and limited internet access.
00:55Africa is entering a new space race, launching satellites to tackle challenges from agriculture to security, but still struggling to
01:03access data efficiently.
01:05At the Africa France Summit in Nairobi, the new initiative highlights efforts to solve this bottleneck and reshape Africa's space
01:14partnerships.
01:14Africa is no longer just a spectator in space. Today, at least 15 African nations have launched over 50 satellites
01:24into orbit.
01:25For countries like Kenya, the satellites are vital tools used to predict droughts and monitor borders.
01:32But here's the catch. Launching a satellite can cost upwards of 5 to 20 million dollars. Yet once it's in
01:39orbit, it only passes over its home country for a few minutes per pass, several times a day.
01:45To get data the rest of the time, you usually have two bad options. Build a network of ground stations
01:52costing millions of dollars each, or pay exorbitant fees to foreign companies to use theirs.
01:58Because of these high costs, much of the data collected by African satellites stays trapped in space, or arrives too
02:06late to be useful. It's a massive waste of investment.
02:10An antenna that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain often sits idle 90% of the time.
02:18This is where SkyConnect steps in. Instead of asking Kenya to spend millions more, the project uses software to unlock
02:26existing antennas.
02:28By turning these dishes into a shared network, similar to how Airbnb works for spare rooms, Kenya can now rent
02:36out its idle antenna time to the rest of the world.
02:40This turns a massive expense into a profit center. It cuts the cost of data access by nearly half, and
02:48ensures that information reaches farmers in minutes, not days.
02:52Amid the Africa Forward Summit, SkyConnect is proof that the future of space isn't about who has the biggest budget.
03:00It's about who has the smartest connection.
03:05To explain how they turned this vision into reality, we're joined by one of the men who led the project
03:11on the ground, Nathan Jugler.
03:14Thank you for joining us on the show. Now you've called this project the Airbnb of ground stations.
03:19How were you able to turn KSEs on used infrastructure into revenue? And what makes this model the future of
03:26African space programs?
03:28So for us, being able to leverage this station as part of the SkyNOP like Airbnb model, we can leverage
03:36like the extra bandwidth of this antenna.
03:38And in that case, we are able to transform these existing infrastructures that is most of the time like underutilized
03:44into a ground assets that can be very like monetized for like the local institution.
03:50And the idea here is to derive from like a pure like a CAPEX model, to be able to maximize
03:57like the capability of the existing ground station, to be able to offer this ground station to different satellite operators
04:05that could be interested in the unique positioning of the Kenya station.
04:08And to be able to create like a win-win partnership between SkyNOP and the Kenya Space Agency in a
04:15way that every time like a satellite operator is using the antenna, we are going to generate revenues.
04:20And the idea is to transfer like a percentage of the revenue to the Kenya Space Agency.
04:24And so that way, it will generate like extra revenues or extra credits that can be used for the local
04:31ecosystem to build like more capabilities, to support like local projects, to be able to value like the data that
04:38is coming through like the antenna.
04:40And more and more, we see like many space agencies around the world interested by this model.
04:45And that can be leveraged as an asset that can be monetized and bring like extra revenues.
04:51How does this revenue sharing model go beyond space aid to make Kenya a sovereign space partner rather than just
04:58a tech recipient?
05:01One key lesson of like the partnership is that first of all, like low latency data is paramount, is very
05:08important and critical for different like operations that rely on satellite data, such as like agriculture, maritime surveillance, but also
05:16like disaster management and environmental monitoring.
05:19And the idea is that really the sustainable impact really comes from combining like the local expertise, this like a
05:27local investment, but also having a kind of like commercial viability.
05:31And this is what we are bringing as part of SkyNope.
05:34We have a network of ground stations all over the world.
05:37We have like many customers in terms of satellite operators that can use the Kenya Space Agency's antenna and that
05:44will generate like revenue in the ecosystem.
05:46Many African countries have satellites, but with limited impact.
05:52What lessons from Nairobi can help space infrastructure turn them into real gains for food security and economic growth?
06:00As SkyNope, we are also developing like the local expertise, transferring some knowledge, like a lot of training.
06:09And the idea is really to be able to position Kenya not only like as a local, like a recipient
06:15of satellite data, but being able to transfer potentially Kenya into like an international hub in terms of like not
06:24only one ground station, but like multiple ground stations.
06:27And to be able to link the Kenya Space Agency's antenna to value stakeholders throughout like Africa and other continents
06:36for them potentially to make like this antenna disposal of like the African Union Space Agency's or other like a
06:46project in Africa.
06:47Well, thank you very much for those insights.
06:49For many African countries, brain drain remains a major obstacle for growth.
06:58But Mauritius is reversing that trend by attracting talent across the continent and showing how brain gain can drive a
07:05modern service economy.
07:07By implementing soft taxation and offering permanent residency, Mauritius has created an environment where African innovators can thrive.
07:22For anyone looking to invest in property, Mauritius offers a highly favorable system.
07:29There is no property tax and investors who later sell their property pay no capital gains tax on the transaction.
07:37Property can also be passed on to children without inheritance tax for heirs.
07:44Another major attraction is the residency scheme linked to investment levels.
07:50Above a certain threshold, investors can obtain permanent residency in Mauritius, a significant advantage on what is widely seen as
07:59a paradise island.
08:01By investing in education, health and local incubators, the island has created a conversation between global experts and young entrepreneurs,
08:12ensuring that the inventiveness found across Africa stays within its borders.
08:20There is a real demand for innovation and talent, particularly African talent.
08:26Across the continent, there is remarkable technical and practical ingenuity, which is welcomed and actively encouraged by Mauritius' private sector.
08:38As Mauritius seeks to maintain its rise in fintech and regional integration, its message to the rest of Africa is
08:46clear.
08:47To transition from a resource-based past to a service-based future, you must become a magnet for the continent's
08:55brightest minds.
09:00In South Sudan, where only 13% of the population has internet access, among the lowest in the world, young
09:08entrepreneurs are using digital tools to overcome instability and build a growing invisible economy.
09:14Today, we look at Juba's tech-resilient traders.
09:17For many in Juba, the dream of a brick-and-mortar shop is being replaced by the reality of the
09:23smartphone.
09:25High inflation, which peaked at over 90% last year and soaring commercial rents, have made physical ownership a risky
09:32bet.
09:34Entrepreneurs like Musa Ahmed Labi Kalagba are instead leveraging Facebook's reach to find a captive audience without the overhead.
09:42Like, for example, even if you're having physical business, there is no way that you can handle the physical shop
09:49without being online.
09:51And then some of the challenges and the stranger issues, it depends on the trust.
09:57But the digital leap isn't without its hurdles.
10:00Data remains a luxury, with one gigabyte costing between $2 and $7, some of the highest rates in the region.
10:07Furthermore, a severe liquidity crisis means that even when sales are made, withdrawing cash from mobile money or banks is
10:16a daily struggle.
10:18For the sector to truly anchor the economy, experts say the state must transition from a regulator to an enabler.
10:28For the government to be able to digitize tax or collect revenue.
10:34However, it is also bad for short-term revenue collection.
10:37Unless the government is able to create suitable policies and people adapt, it becomes very easy.
10:43Defying conflict and high costs, South Sudan's digital pioneers are proving that the future of African commerce
10:50isn't just about fiber cables, it's also about the sheer will to innovate.
10:56That brings us to the end of this edition of Business Africa.
11:00For more business stories and the latest updates, stay tuned to African News or visit us online at Africannews.com.
11:07See you soon.
11:15Business Africa was presented by Turkish Airlines.
11:19So, here's your favorite part of the British Airlines.
11:19So you can see the same Voyager, which is about various different lines.
11:19Now, the battery is also about the front lines.
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