Angola participated as a guest of honour at the inaugural Africa Space Expo (ASPEX 2026), held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, alongside the United States and Morocco, in a showcase that brought together governments, space agencies, companies, investors, research institutions and emerging talent from across the continent’s space sector.
Angola was represented by Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira, who set out the country’s vision for the role of space technologies in economic development, digital transformation and the deepening of cooperation among African nations.
In his address, the minister underscored the evolution of the space sector across Africa and argued for a greater continental capacity to design, develop and deploy space-based solutions tailored to Africa’s own development priorities.
“The capabilities exist. The talent exists. We need to connect them, create markets and turn knowledge into results,” Oliveira said. The minister also presented a series of milestones achieved by Angola in the space domain, highlighting ANGOSAT-2 and the Conecta Angola programme, which has enabled the installation of 43 connectivity points at universities, schools and hospitals and extended services to more than 366,000 people in rural areas. The commercial arm of the programme, Conecta Angola Comercial, already involves 77 internet service providers.
Oliveira further emphasised the regional dimension of Angola’s space capabilities, noting that ANGOSAT-2 is already being used in Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia. He also highlighted that Angola hosts the regional office of the SADC Satellite Sharing Programme in Luanda and chairs the programme’s Steering Committee.
Among the projects presented at the expo was ANGEO-1, currently under development and designed to strengthen Angola’s Earth observation capabilities, alongside Observa+, an initiative aimed at bringing geospatial data closer to the practical needs of local communities. Angola’s accession to the Space4Ocean Alliance was also highlighted as part of its broader effort to advance international cooperation in the use of space technologies for ocean protection.
Source: O País / Original article: https://www.opais.ao/sociedade/angola-em-destaque-na-primeira-africa-space-expo/
