Kenya, Italy to bolster cooperation in the space sector

By Steve Umidha

Fresh strategic plans are in the offing to foster stronger relations between the Italian Republic and the Kenyan government aimed at unlocking investment opportunities in the rapidly evolving space industry.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing second biennial Kenya Space Expo and Conference 2024 in Nairobi, the Italian Ambassador to Kenya Roberto Natali, reaffirmed his country’s commitment on peaceful uses of outer space with Kenya.

Through the Luigi Broglio Space Center (BSC) located near Malindi, which is an Italian Space Agency (ASI) Spaceport, the two countries will enhance tactical collaboration on key areas like infrastructure development, human resource and training among others.

“At the Malindi facility plans are underway to establish a Centre for Earth Observation with assistance from the Italian Space Agency. My government has provided fifteen (15) fully paid PhD scholarships on Earth Observation to Kenyan nationals, and the nominees for the PhD programme will begin their studies in September this year,” said Natali in an interview the Financial Fortune Media.

The Centre provides Kenya with access to numerous earth observation and remote sensing datasets and processing capabilities for decision support and planning.

In addition, the Italian Space Agency will establish an International Training Centre for Space Education and a Centre for Cubesat Development intended for training and apprenticeship of our budding engineers on space systems engineering, and other specializations.

Consequently, Kenya announced Tuesday its plans to financially – equip the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) as it seeks to make the country one of the world’s most attractive and innovative space economies.

Cabinet Secretary in the ministry of Defence Aden Duale, called for partnerships and increased investments into the country’s space industry – noting that, “Space plays a vital role in our lives, with satellites monitoring the climate, providing communications, offering national security, and underpinning our financial transactions. And therefore, investment into the sector was critical at this time.”

The sector is seeing the emergence of new government space programmes with the governments of Egypt and Rwanda establishing fully operational space agencies during the 2nd half of 2019 and 1st half of 2020. With other countries announcing their national space program, this translates to an increase in national budgetary allocation for space.

In the year 2020, African governments budgeted an estimated USD 490 million towards their space programme compared to USD 250 million from the previous year, excluding capital expenditures on the acquisition of satellites.

Globally the Space economy is expected to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035 as satellite and rocket-enabled technologies become increasingly prevalent, according to a new report. Already, space-enabled technologies drive everything from weather forecasts to the increasingly ubiquitous smart gadgets such as smart watchs.

The three- day conference is touted as a landmark event dedicated to advancing the conversation around space technologies and their transformative impact on society. Themed Space Technologies for Societal Benefit, the event kicked off today in Nairobi and is slated to end on Thursday.

The Expo further aims to bring together leading experts, innovators, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the globe to engage in meaningful dialogue on how space technologies can address critical issues facing society today.

From enhancing agricultural productivity and managing natural disasters to improving communication infrastructure and fostering educational opportunities, the potential of space technology to drive societal progress.