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Watch Out Africa! Egypt Is The Next Big Thing In Tech
While the world’s eyes are on Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, or “The Big Three,” Egypt has been working non-stop to skyrocket her development in the tech space. The North African country is set to launch the space satellite Next by the end of 2021. The primary goal is to encourage scientific research in space science among academia and the private and public sectors.
Not only that but, Egypt is set to host the African Space Agency initiated by the African Union (AU), which will include all 54 African countries. Despite the presence of Nigerian and Ethiopian proposals to establish the agency’s headquarters on their lands, Egypt’s bid was the winner. It is worth noting that Ethiopia hosts a multimillion-dollar space observatory and research centre in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Space Science & Technology Institute, clearly a good indicator as to how successful Egypt’s proposal was.
The African-Arab state is planning to cooperate with Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Sudan to launch a joint satellite, marking the first multi-party tech space project sponsored by the African Space Agency. This came as part of the speculations that Egypt is keen on joining African “The Big Three” to form “The Big Four.”
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To top that, the CEO Dr Mohamed El-Qousi as the head of the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) has stated that Egypt is planning on launching a cluster of remote-sensing nanosatellites in the first quarter of 2022 to keep track of carbon dioxide levels and climate variations. These include NexSat-1, whose primary purpose is remote sensing and scientific research, along with EgyptSat-2, which will integrate sensor applications capable of a two-meter photographic accuracy.
Moreover, Dr El-Qousi has announced Egypt is “the first country in Africa and the Middle East to have its own camera installed on the International Space Station (ISS).” This groundbreaking achievement came to life after Egypt won a competition organised by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) for the best ISS camera design.
The EgSA has signed multiple cooperation protocols with national and foreign bodies to accelerate the country’s tech space development efforts. For instance, the agency inaugurated a cooperation protocol with the French Space Agency (CENS) to explore outer space, accelerate satellite developments, and conduct training programmes.
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Dr El-Qousi said that CENS is considered the world’s second most prestigious space, which would allow Egypt to gain valuable experience from the agency’s professionals and academics. On the other hand, the former head of the French Space Agency, Dr Jean-Yves Le Gall, praised Egypt’s advancement in the African tech space scene, especially that she is set to host the African Space Agency. He also stated that Egypt is Africa’s gateway to the space industry.
During the 10 – 11 June Europe-Africa Space Earth Observation High-Level Forum, Prof. Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education, praised the inauguration of the African Space Agency, predicting that the agency will promote cooperation with Europe in the tech space. He also expressed Egypt’s readiness to become an integral partner in joint mega space projects, ensuring that the country is equipped with a robust infrastructure to support the development of such projects.
Locally, EgSA signed a cooperation protocol with Benha University. Dr Gamal El Saeed, Benha University, said that the primary goal behind the agreement is to support the mutual scientific research goals of the two bodies with the help of the capabilities of research centres, workshops, well-equipped laboratories, and human resources.
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From his end, Dr El-Qousi said the agreement is a major step forward in the agency’s tech space mission, stating that the protocol will greatly benefit both parties and the country’s overall objectives in the industry.
On 16 February, the latest Egyptian Space Day, Dr Ghaffar said Egypt is on the verge of a breakthrough achievement, which is the opening of a satellite manufacturing and assembly centre in the country’s International Space City in New Cairo in late 2022. The centre will be established and operated in a joint effort with China.
He stated that Egypt is willing to partner with countries in Asia and the Americas instead of limiting the cooperation with European and fellow African countries, pointing to the “Tikkad 7” summit agreements signed in Japan.
Dr Ghaffar also stressed that “Egypt’s space development efforts aren’t exclusively focused on the launch of new satellites but also on space medicine, scientific research, and other subfields.” He also mentioned that the ministry is maximising its sponsorship efforts for student space projects across the nation’s universities and institutes, referring to the first Egyptian satellite developed by a team of undergraduate students.
Earlier this year, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Dr El-Qousi and Dr Amr Talaat, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, to discuss the latest updates in the use of the Tiba-1 satellite to develop the state’s Satellite Communications System, in conjunction with the transition to the New Administrative Capital.
According to a report published by Disrupt Africa’s Tech Startups in 2019, Egypt is Africa’s first technology hub. In other words, Egypt isn’t only seeking to become a key player in Africa’s space industry; she is seeking to become a regional leader in all fields of technology. Thanks to dozens of Egyptian tech startups that managed to acquire significant investment funds, the country is only projected to advance rapidly in terms of tech growth.