04 October 2021

AAC Clyde Space, a self-proclaimed ‘new space’ company, has founded an African entity, which has been launched to capitalise on the growing market for satellite and space services across the continent.

Newly-formed AAC Space Africa will design, build and deliver space missions to the continent from its Cape Town base. It will also be the group’s centre of competence for advanced radio communication.

Initially, the team will focus on radio communication systems, in addition to sales and marketing. Furthermore, the team is expected to grow at speed in the coming 12 months to meet demand from the African space economy – according to experts, it is set to grow to US$10bn by 2024.

“We see great potential for small satellites to provide timely, accurate and targeted data for sectors such as weather forecasting, ocean monitoring, agricultural planning and land management,” said AAC Clyde Space chief executive officer, Luis Gomes.

The company had previously been active in Africa via its European companies’ hubs. Most recently, it supported the island nation of Mauritius in its efforts to become a space nation and to track ocean currents with earth observation technologies.