Talatona – Angola hosts from April 2 to 5 the third edition of the NewSpace Africa (2024 African Space Conference), in which the largest space agencies in the world are expected to participate, the spokesperson for the event organization, Gilberto Gomes has said.
Gomes said the conference will discuss how technology can be used to resolve the situation that Africa is struggling with regarding poverty, in the sense of the transformative potential of space technology in issues linked to agriculture, health and security.
The largest space event on the continent organized by Space in Africa, in partnership with the African Union and the Angola’s National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), will bring together decision-makers, government representatives, academic leaders and the African space industry, in a environment that will seek to analyze the role of space in reducing the poverty gap.
According to the source, the event will feature stands from NASA (US Space Agency), the European Space Agency (ESA), SANSA (South Africa) and KSA (Kenya).
The event will also bring together representatives from 54 countries, with emphasis on emissaries from NASA, the European space agency, as well as from Russia and China.
Gilberto Gomes explained that on the continent, space agencies will also be represented by companies specializing in Africa, around 270 institutions in the sector operating in the market, with capital worth around 19 billion US dollars, with forecast growth of around 22 billion US dollars.
It will also have venture capital investors, so that, with national institutions, they can analyze the business advantages and sign, initially, five memorandums of understanding.
"This number could grow during the net working and experience exchange sessions", he said, adding that participants will bring knowledge to share with national start-ups, in an innovative and knowledge-gathering environment.
The official also mentioned that one of the main plans is to attract foreign investment to Angola, being carried out for the first time in a Southern African country.
"This action demonstrates the involvement that Angola has made in the African space arena", he highlighted.
In this context, he mentioned that the country has made a very important journey in the staff training sector, with international instruction.
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